Genie is back with some new tips and tricks for ways to get an edge in your league. As we approach draft season, this article will give you some different Fantrax EPL Draft strategies. The goal of this article isn't to completely change the way you think when it comes to draft day, but instead give you some different ways to approach your overall Fantrax strategy and approach to building your Fantasy EPL roster throughout the draft! Click here for details on how you can access our 23/24 Draft Kit.
Check out our 23/24 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need. We've got a Live Draft Aide, Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Cheat Sheets, Strategy Articles, Draft 101. Dominate your draft!
Genie Style Draft Tips and Tricks
Our very own Genie back once again, this time with her personal tips and tricks for Fantrax Draft Season!
Avoid the "Injured" Bunch
Every year, I see the same trend in drafts. A once-superstar or even above-average asset struggled with injuries the season before or even suffered a season ending injury, and managers are excited to draft him based on his previous value from years prior. Players such as Ricardo Pereira, Calvert-Lewin, Martial, and Neto all fit this bill last season and ended up costing managers expending valuable draft capital on them. You never truly know how long a player will be hampered by an injury, especially major ones like ACL tears. It could take some players years to find their feet again, and they are of course more susceptible to other injuries once they start playing consistently again.
As tempting as it is to see some of the bigger name injury prone players slip to the mid rounds, it's truly best to leave them alone. If they are just coming off an injury, there is no guarantee they will start the first few game-weeks, and then once they finally do you're most likely looking at an early sub around 60'. Imagine spending a round 5 pick on a player, and he doesn't start until gameweek 4 only to get you 4.5 points....seems like a waste to me. It's different if you use a 13th round pick or even a few FAB to gamble on someone coming back, as it's an easy drop if he doesn't start within a week or so, or show poor form.
Here are a few players I'm looking to steer clear of in the upcoming draft due to their injury records...
Pedro Neto (WOL, F)
Neto has only started 18 games in the last 2 seasons. In 2022-23, he only cracked double digits two times, both were in August before he struggled with injuries, poor form, and constant rotation. It's hard to know if he will ever find the form that made him a first round contender, or how Wolves will lineup next season. Based off his last two years, there is every chance he struggles again. If you end up seeing him after Round 12/13, then take the punt, otherwise use your picks elsewhere.
Hamed Traore (BOU, M)
Hamed hit the ground running once he signed in January, but after a string of 4 consecutive starts he was constantly sidelined with knocks and illnesses. While he is incredibly talented, he doesn't seem to be very durable. When he is fit he is easily a MID2, and has shown to be somewhat matchup-proof. The issue for me is how high he may go in drafts based on the small sample size. Brooks is returning to the fold as well, and while he is in somewhat of a similar boat after his battle with cancer, Bournemouth have been extremely careful with his return, grooming him for the 23/24 season.
Reece James (CHE, D)
Totti will be happy with this inclusion. While I think James can easily be a top 20 player especially under Pochettino, he is just way too injury prone to waste a round 1-3 draft pick on. In his 4 seasons at Chelsea, he has 16, 25, 22, and most recently 14 starts in the EPL. He has never made it close to 30 starts in a year, and I'm not sure this is the year he does that. This has been his worst season for starts, and there have been quite a few times he has been taken off early due to injury or as a "precaution". His upside is easily a top 3 defender, but for the draft capitol you will have to spend on him as your DEF1, you are better off trying to get the likes of Trent or Trippier.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (EVE, F)
This one really doesn't need much explaining. DCL only has 15 starts, 7 goals, and 3 assists across the past two seasons. Why are we still wasting valuable draft slots on this man? He has all the potential in the world but just can't stay fit. Who knows if it is due to his poor fitness, diet, or just bad luck. Regardless, he is one I am completely avoiding unless he is available in round 16, and even then I'm really not too sure I want to deal with the stress he brings to the table.
Thiago (LIV, M)
This talented player has managed a maximum of 20 starts in his last 3 seasons. He's essentially missing roughly half the season every year. When in form he is incredible to watch and roster due to his ghost points and role in the Liverpool midfield. Liverpool are looking to add more depth and options in the midfield so not only could injuries hamper his overall minutes, but now rotation as Klopp may look to be cautious with him. Expect lots of rests and early subs when he is fit and on the pitch. He is one to avoid given he doesn't light the world on fire with upside, and consistency in ghost points can be found elsewhere, without all the injury problems.
Avoid "Defensive" Midfielders
Before I continue with this topic, I want to say Casemiro and Rodri are excluded from this category despite their defensive midfield roles. These two defensive midfielders are also a key part of the attack. Casemiro is all over the pitch and a threat from set plays, registering 4 goals and 3 assists last season. Rodri is on the highest scoring team in the league, and has quite the right foot on him, but also a team full of finishers, registering 2 goals and 6 assists last season. Both these players represent solid MID3-4 options.
The rest of the pool of defensive midfielders are worth swerving in the draft. Why waste a draft pick on a player with such a low ceiling? From my season managing Free Agents FC and years of playing Fantrax, I have found that those "safe floor" midfielders are among the most commonly available player to stream each gameweek. Wasting a round 9-12 pick on them, as a result, doesn't make sense. Sure, every now and again someone like Hojberg has a nice purple patch of form, but at the end of the day that's all it will be...a purple patch, and it can happen to any number of these defensive minded midfielders.
Those later round picks are much better off being used to draft a player with upside, a player who has had a great preseason, or of course filling out the rest of your defender slots with good opening fixture players. While having a set and forget 7-9 point player will usually do you well in the long run, the fact is these players are so readily available, you should gamble on someone becoming a 10-11 ppm player in the long run. Looking back to last season in the IGL Champion's Division draft, the likes of Almiron, Mac Allister, March, Mbeumo, and Andreas Pereira were all taken round 8 or later. These players ended up providing the upside managers crave. Safer players such as; Norgaard, Billing, and Soucek all went in similar rounds. You never know when you will strike gold and find the next Solly March, and if said player ends up flopping, well, it's an easy drop to the Free Agency and you can replace them with any number of safer floor players.
Draft 1-2 Promoted Assets
This is always a conundrum for Fantrax managers. Promoted assets can have incredible stats from the Championship but fail miserably to replicate them in the EPL the next season. Managers wonder not only how early to draft promoted assets, but whether they should draft them at all or just wait until a few weeks in and see who hits the ground running.
My advice is to aim to roll the dice on 1-2 promoted assets AFTER round 6. Yes, that means maybe you miss out on whoever the new "big ticket" promoted player may be, but you also take away the risk of wasting a valuable draft pick on a player who might seriously not be ready for the EPL. Promoted players can sometimes offer sneaky value in the late rounds where most managers will turn to the tried and tested assets of the year prior. By promoted players I don't specifically just mean those who competed in the Championship last year, but also any new signings made by the three promoted teams: Burnley, Sheffield United, and Luton Town. Sometimes promoted teams, full of adrenaline, can really hit the ground running the first few weeks, but the tough part is deciding on which player to gamble.
Usually I like to look to any promoted wingers, attacking mids, or wing-backs that will fall to the later rounds. Obviously looking at just the starters, and ones that have logged good minutes with no new signings ready to displace them. While you can get players who end up getting more dispossessions than anything I always find it is worth the risk. An uptick in competition can spur certainly players to go up another level. Brennan Johnson and Andreas Pereira were my two that I aimed to get between rounds 6-10 in the last draft. Andreas provided me with solid MID2-3 value especially during that October-November purple patch. While Johnson was one you really needed to be patient with, he ended up providing great value later on in the season. So the dilemma is always will you end up drafting an Andreas or a Johnson?
Patience with these players should be very thin. A few weeks to prove their worth then either drop or hold depending on their form. There should be plethora of decent promoted player pickups over the first few gameweeks, but I like to throw a dart to try and get ahead of the curve.
The Sky is the Limit
This classic saying has to be applicable when choosing your first and second round picks. I always like to shortlist players who I know can either contend for the golden boot, get the most assists, or come close to the 12 goal and 12 assist combination mark. As much as we talk about ghost points, and wanting the players who won't really "bust" in the first few rounds, attacking returns week in and week out will win you a league. There was a lot of worry about Haaland last season due to his goal dependency. Well, I'm sure those who got him in the mid 1st round were quite happy with his record breaking season - scoring 30+ points 6 times in his 33 starts.
The likes of Salah, Kane, Haaland should always be among the first off the board. All will continuously contend for the golden boot barring some injury or weird circumstance. Obviously those at the back end of the draft order won't get the chance to select said players, so that's when you need to look even more at ceiling, ceiling, ceiling. While the likes of Trippier will get you a consistent 15+ most weeks just off ghost points, if his clean sheets start to dwindle then of course so will his upside. Where as if you went for someone such as Saka, Jesus, or Rashford, you have the chance to get close to 25-30 attacking returns from them, potentially more if they have themselves a season.
Looking to the 2nd round, I try to adopt a similar strategy. Look for a player that has an extremely high ceiling, one to get those attacking returns. Despite me maybe ranking a defender or two in the top 20, the only one I'm seriously considering would be Trent because of the team he plays for and his ability to both score and assist week in week out. I'm sure Liverpool will improve defensively next year making him a bit of an under the radar 2nd rounder. Looking at the attackers, City and Liverpool assets should be ones near the top of your list. They are huge rotation risks but on their day can easily get you 30+ given the free flowing nature of their teams. So the main takeaway here is: CEILING, CEILING, CEILING!!!
Non-Premium Defenders
This is a topic I know all too much about. Rarely will you see me draft a defender before round 7-8. Although there has been the odd occasion in which I drafted a Chilwell or Shaw in the earlier rounds. When it comes to the non-premium defenders, I really consider it a dart board. Now the way I define "non-premium" may be different than a lot of you. I usually look at defenders who aren't considered a top 10-12 overall defender as the non-premium lot. There may be only 4-5 of these premium defenders, but when you are looking at starting to take defenders after the 6th round I can assure you there will be closer to 10ish of them already off the board. There are three things I usually look at when I look to draft my defensive line...
1. Key Pass Potential or Aerial Dominance
This is the category I really emphasize. When drafting defenders in the later rounds I want ones that can really have one of those breakout seasons, the way Mee, Pinnock, and Schar did last year. I think of only two possible ways for that to happen. The defender is either a wing/full-back that has shown attacking potential and could increase their KP, ACNC, and assist numbers as their overall team improves, OR the defender has shown they can rack up Aerials for fun, and may just need a few more cleansheets or a few more counting stats to really break through.
The full-back approach is a hard one to predict, with managers changing constantly they all seem to line-up their team with different tactics. Semedo is one that always comes to mind during my drafts but he really never pans out. It is that kind of thinking though that may eventually find me the next Trippier. Which team this season will give those full-backs more license? I'd really hope it's Crystal Palace letting Mitchell and Ward/new signing pump in crosses or be the final pass to Eze/Olise.
The aerial dominant defenders are a favourite among managers, but sometimes you may need to dive a little deeper to find those hidden gems. Looking to see the aerial success of a defender over the last 10 games of last season is usually a better indicator on how they are trending than looking at the season as a whole. Some of these players may slip to you in round 8-9 such as Andersen, Felipe, and Kilman.
2. Early Fixtures + Defensive Record Last Year
Drafting for early fixtures is very key. We have an entire article about that as well - so I won't go into too much detail. Looking at the first 5-7 fixtures when drafting your late round defenders is crucial. You don't want a defender playing against 3 of the top 6 in the opening games, but instead one that can build some value or confidence then you can trade out or continue to play them during that purple patch.
Looking at last season's defensive record is also important. Unless there is a managerial change or a big signing, odds are their defensive ability won't just drastically change over the summer. Look at the goals against stats from last season, especially towards the latter half.
3. Mini-Stack?
Ahhh yes, another stacking discussion, one of my favourites. Stacking in the late rounds is really the best way to do it. No need to overreach in the early rounds, but instead aim for a defensive stack in the later rounds. I discussed this briefly in my Free Agents FC writeup. Stacking 2-3 defenders from a team that can keep cleansheets, has good early fixtures, or is just super busy on the defensive end is the way to go here. Usually you won't be able to get the big 6 team defenders in the later rounds, but the Varane's and Konate's of the world could fall here. Of course just getting 1 United defender won't be considered a stack. Look heavily to the early fixtures and try to get 2-3 defenders/keeper from a team you back or a team that will be very busy without conceding a lot. Think about Aston Villa going up against Newcastle and Everton the first 2 weeks. Their defenders should be busy enough to rack up some stats without conceding more than a goal or two, but also have the potential for a clean sheet.
Stay Tuned for a Full "Genie Style Cheat Sheet" Coming Later this Summer!
Check out our 23/24 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need. We've got a Live Draft Aide, Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Cheat Sheets, Strategy Articles, Draft 101, plus so much more. Dominate your draft!
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