Best Fantasy EPL Players 22/23: Liverpool

Jul 8, 20226 min read

Updated: Jul 28, 2022

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 Liverpool, 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.

Check out our 22/23 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you would ever need. Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Strategy, Draft 101. We've got it all!!!

Liverpool Best Fantasy Players

As noted above, these are the Best Liverpool Players for the Fantrax Fantasy EPL platform. We analyze the Reds' top three prospects ahead of the new season, with a recommended draft pick for each player.

Mohamed Salah

Position: Forward

21/22 Points: 572 (2nd best forward)

21/22 Points Per Start: 18.2 (30 starts)

22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 16.3 (32 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: 1-3 (12 Team League: Early Round 1)

Overview: Salah has recently signed a new long term contract and this is great news for fantasy managers who should be considering him in the first 3 picks off the draft board. You really can't go wrong with Salah.

Last season was a stellar one for Salah. In terms of fantasy output, it was his 2nd best in the Premier League in terms of PPS, nearly rivalling his amazing first year in 17/18. The numbers really do speak for themselves: he had the 2nd most FPts from 18.2 PPS (30 starts), shared the Golden Boot with 23 goals (5 penalties) from 21.7 xG, 14 assists (1 fantasy assist) from 10.4 xA and 9.6 gPP90. However, he did appear to drop off in the 2nd half of the season as fatigue set in from a long campaign including AFCON in January, which ended with 4 consecutive 120-minute matches in the knockouts. To emphasise the difference in his performances pre- and post-AFCON, it's worth taking a look at the stats more closely. Before AFCON, Salah was in amazing form, but it was a different story after:

Pre-AFCON vs. Post-AFCON

Starts (sub) 20(0) vs 10(5)

PPS 19.7 vs 15.2

gPP90 9.9 vs 7.4

Goals (xG) 16(12.4) vs 7(9.2)

Assists (xA) 10(6.8) vs 4(3.5)

G+A(xG+xA) per start 1.3(0.96) vs 1.1(1.04)

So while it looks like Salah was actually getting and creating more chances after AFCON, he wasn't taking them at the same rate and his general output on the field reduced with his ghost points down significantly. Looking ahead, if we attribute this to physical and mental fatigue setting in from a gruelling season, we can project Salah's potential to stay more in line with his pre-AFCON form given he'll have a months rest during the World Cup. We should also expect more starts (at least 33) given he'll be more rested and available for the whole campaign.

There are some risks to factor in, his age will be brought up given he's just turned 30, but short of the bionic James Milner he is the most professional player in the Liverpool squad so I can't see any slow down happening yet. The other risk is how new signing Darwin Núñez adapts. Replacing Mane is no small task as he really took to that central striker role in the second half of the season. However, I don't foresee this to be too much of an issue given a front 3 of Diaz, Jota and Salah is already bedded in, so If Núñez struggles there is no rush to shoehorn him into the side. Overall I see these risks as pretty low and you can guarantee at the very worst he'll be a top 10 asset come the end of the season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Position: Defender

21/22 Points: 520.75 (best defender)

21/22 Points Per Start: 16.3 (32 starts)

22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 15.1 (32 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: 1-5 (12 Team League: Early-Mid Round 1)

Overview: Another monster season from Trent with the 3rd most FPts, making his ADP of 12.4 look like an absolute insult. He really kicked on after a disappointing campaign for him and Liverpool in 20/21 and the sky really is the limit.

The 21/22 season saw a shift in positioning for Trent, with him drifting in more centrally to deliver balls from the half space, which helped him create the most chances in the league (90 KPs). Add in the extra points for being on one of the best defences in the league and there's certainly a case to be made for him being taken in the first 5 draft picks this coming season. Similar to Salah, Trent had mixed halves to his season. After exploding out of the blocks with 19.3 PPS (16 starts) in the first half he definitely regressed after that with just 13.3 PPS (16 starts). This could potentially be due to some niggling injuries he picked up and fatigue setting in from Liverpool's long cup campaigns. Looking on to next season, with Salah still in front of him and the tall frame of Nunez to aim at, Liverpool's chief creator could move onto bigger heights. I'd expect another big season from Trent as the young defender keeps on improving each year!

Luis Diaz

Position: Forward

21/22 Points: 161.5 (9th best forward since GW24)

21/22 Points Per Start: 13.5 (11 starts)

22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 14.2 (27 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: 6-10 (12 Team League: Mid-Late Round 1)

Overview: Diaz will be one of the most explosive assets in the Premier League this coming season, having made the left wing spot his own. Expect big things from the Colombian, who could replicate Mane's level of production from previous seasons.

Diaz came in January and hit the ground running, allowing Mane to shift to a central role and displacing Jota from the starting eleven. With Mane having departed for Bayern Munich, Diaz looks to have the spot nailed down and showed in his 11 starts last season that he can produce some exciting looking numbers. In his 11 starts, he bagged 4 goals and 3 assists on top of a very healthy 10.2 gPP90, which amounts to just a 33% reliance on returns for fantasy points. We know from previous seasons that Mane produced good ghost point numbers playing on the wing (especially in comparison to Salah) and we should see this continue with Diaz.

In 18 starts at Porto, Diaz scored 14 goals and provided 4 assists. So while his goal output clearly slowed down, his assists remained similar. As he beds further in the Liverpool system, we could potentially see some more goal output this season as he's certainly a greedy boy always looking to cut in on his right foot and get a shot off. Diaz looks to be worth a draft pick anytime from the middle of round 1, if you get him at the end of the round you'll be laughing.

Honorable Mention(s):

Andy Robertson really shouldn't be taken too far behind the above in the draft. He started the 21/22 season with little to no pre-season after a big summer workload from the Euros, then got injured which saw some rotation with Tsimikas. Robbo managed just 6.9 PPS (8 starts) from GW1-12; however, he really got into his stride after that with 15.9 PPS (21 starts) across the rest of the season. It's worth noting he overperformed his xA/90 more than in previous years, so maybe expect an assist or 2 less if he reverts back to normal. Looking ahead, with a full pre-season and a month's rest during the World Cup, Robertson looks to be a serious contender to keep up that 2nd half of season form partnering Luis Diaz on the left side. While the presence of Tsimikas may put some off, it could be argued that it allowed Robertson to stay fresh through the season and post more impressive numbers than previously (his best output before this season was 12.2 PP90 in 19/20). This could see him taken early in the 2nd round or maybe sneak into the end of the first round.