Our Fantasy EPL 22/23 Draft Kit promises to be the most comprehensive set of pre-season Draft Premier League articles ever produced! A key component of our Draft Kit will be the Team Preview articles which analyze key assets to sit alongside our all-important Draft Rankings. This article delves into the Best Fantrax Fantasy EPL Players from Leicester, as we take a deep dive into the prospects of their three best assets! Click here for details on how you can access our 22/23 Draft Kit.
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Leicester Best Fantasy Players
As noted above, these are the Best Leicester Players for the Fantrax Fantasy EPL platform. We analyze the Foxes' top three prospects ahead of the new season, with a recommended draft pick for each player.
James Maddison
Position: Midfielder
21/22 Points: 404.5 (7th best midfielder)
21/22 Points Per Start: 13.6 (28 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 13.9 (33 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 9-13 (12 Team League: End of First Round)
Overview: A true tale of two half-seasons characterised Maddison's 21/22 season, but an imperious spring will be etched into every draft manager's mind to propel him to an Average Draft Position worthy of Round 1.
James Maddison started the season struggling through an on and off recurrence of the hip injury that had cut his previous season short in early April. His struggles were so bad, in fact, that he had 1 (one) attacking return from the start of the season until late November. A goal against Brentford got him his only 10+ point fantasy return in that stretch. Managers who rostered him were understandably growing frustrated with the "elite" fantasy asset posting abysmal underlying numbers in addition to his dried up attacking returns. 7 Key Passes, 7 Shots on Target, and 1 successful cross in 12 games is firmly in the droppable category. In any meaningful category (scored or otherwise) you look at, he was performing poorly. Some glimpses of his potential resurgence came in bit-part appearances in European games. At this point in the season, he was the 82nd highest scoring midfielder.
On 28th November, he scored a goal and assisted 2 against Watford, scoring a whopping 30.5 points and continued his resurgence with 2 more 15+ point performances in the next 3 GWs. He was well and truly back. From GW13 to GW38 he became the second highest scoring midfielder, only bested by an otherworldly KDB. He played 23 of the 25 matches available, scoring 11 goals and contributing 11 assists in that stretch. In this one 25 game stretch, he scored more points than in the whole of 20/21. So what changed with the Watford game? That was the first game in which he absolutely dominated set pieces. From averaging 1 per game between GW1-GW12, his corners went up to 2.91 per game, and so did free kicks. His set piece dominance became so prevalent that, although he virtually did not take any in the first 12 weeks (he literally did not take any in the first 5) and did not take any penalties, he went on to command 45% of all of Leicester's set pieces in the season. This is the Maddison we know and love.
With rumours of a transfer away and a pre-season uninterrupted by injury, he might even overperform his end-of-first-round draft grade. The fact that Southgate seems to have forgotten he exists and is unlikely to include him in his World Cup squad is as much a disappointment to the player as a blessing for his fantasy managers.
Harvey Barnes
Position: Midfielder
21/22 Points: 286.5 (20nd best midfielder)
21/22 Points Per Start: 10.5 (24 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 11.3 (30 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 40-48 (12 Team League: Mid-Late Round 4)
Overview: Barnes' season mimicked that of Leicester: spotty, inconsistent but at times showing potential. The lack of European commitment could propel him to become a top15 midfielder in 22/23.
At the start of the season, Barnes was ranked around the same spot as he is this season. His 21-22 ADP of 41.77 is eerily similar to the 48.95 he has for this season at the time of writing. Just like Maddison, Barnes also took a while to get going, but he did not follow the early season disappointment up with the kind of lights-out stretch his teammate did. His season ended strongly with 4 assists and 2 goals in his final 3 starts of the season, which rounded his goal involvement stats up to 6 goals and 12 fantasy assists to complete his most prolific season to date.
So if he scored and assisted more than he ever has, why didn't he have a successful fantasy season? Well for once, he only started 24 games, and we all know that starts are all that matter in our fantasy game. The other damning stat comes courtesy of our Ghost Point tracker, which clocks him at measly 5.4 ghost points per start. For comparison, that is on par with Kai Havertz, Jordan Henderson, and Mo Elneny. Damning, as I had already said.
As for 22/23, there is good reason to be excited. For one, Leicester seem to be streamlining the squad: they have let Ademola Lookman go back to his parent club and although a wing signing is expected, currently Barnes is the only natural winger on roster (Ayoze and Maddison can operate from the wing). Unfortunately, the lack of wingers could also be a hindrance to Barnes' production, as frustration in the transfer market and the lack of options could push Rodgers to favour the 3-5-2 formation with Vardy and Iheanacho up front and wingbacks (of which they have plenty). This would mean that Maddison, KDH, and Ndidi would occupy the midfield three and there would be no place for Barnes. As much as the lack of options suggests that this is a real fear, Leicester have been much more successful in getting the most out of Vardy and Maddison in the 4-3-3, so the preferred formation is still up in the air.
The lack of European football and a squad that does not have many WC attendees bodes well for Leicester and Barnes, as he will not be overplayed. And last but not least, our friends at Overthinking Football have introduced the "Quality Starts" metric, which shows how many times a player has performed over the average of similar players on any given GW. Barnes posted a very respectful 65% in that metric, matching the likes of Martin Odegaard and Bruno Fernandes in that particular stat. If he manages to get more starts and Leicester can put together a challenge for the top 6, he will surely be amazing value in the middle of the 4th round.
Jamie Vardy
Position: Forward
21/22 Points: 257 (19th best forward)
21/22 Points Per Start: 11.7 (20 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 12.4 (27 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 33-37 (12 Team League: Late Round 3/Early Round 4)
Overview: 21/22 was the first season when Vardy has begun to show his age, but despite a disappointing 20 starts, he managed to equal last season's goal tally. He is still the go-to starter if match fit.
Jamie Vardy, to my honest surprise, managed to score 15 goals in 21/22. That is exactly the same number he got in 31 starts the season before. He managed that from an xG of 9.5, which confirms that he is still a top-tier striker, able to overperform his xG (he has done so in all but 2 seasons since 2015). A hamstring and a knee injury limited his availability and there are question marks around his ability to stay healthy all season.
After bringing in Iheanacho and Daka in the last few seasons, everyone thought Leicester would start moving away from Vardy and playing the new strikers more and more, but that has not been the case. Moreover, whenever given the chance in 21/22, they only managed to impress in very short bursts... definitely not enough to seriously be considered as contenders for the starting spot as long as Vardy is healthy. Therein lies the risk of drafting Vardy. Currently, Vardy is looking like a 3rd round pick, with his ADP hovering around 35. Forwards with similar ADP include Mahrez, Zaha, and Watkins. The last 2 have seemingly no impediment to playing time, are in prime age, and healthy enough to be considered nailed-on starters for their clubs. Mahrez, although unlikely to surpass 21 starts, still has the potential to become a top15 player in those 21 starts. Vardy represents the highest risk/reward factor at this spot in the draft. If he stays healthy, he will most likely go on to start around 30 games scoring close to 20 goals. That performance would no doubt land him as a top 15 overall scorer, which would mean getting him at the end of round 3 would be the steal of any draft. However, if he does get injured, he could end up being irrelevant, and that is a huge price at Round 3 grade. Proceed with caution when drafting Vardy.
More Best Fantasy Players: Arsenal | Aston Villa | Bournemouth | Brentford | Brighton | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Fulham | Leeds | Liverpool | Man City | Man United | Newcastle | Nottm Forest | Southampton | Tottenham | West Ham | Wolves
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