They’re out there. The true prize for any keen-eyed drafting coach is the player that nobody else has spotted. Call them sleepers, call them hidden gems, it matters not. They’re the guys that shine beyond their team-mates in the weaker squads.
Here at StatrDraft we know that they can make for a healthier bench or even a strong rotation option for your starting line-up, both of which are the things that win seasons. Where better to go shopping than the bottom third of the table? Today we’ll be taking a look at the current bottom 6 teams in the premier league at time of publication to see who we’d take on to our panels. While the focus here is Opta-based scoring, it’s worth remembering that almost all the players we’re recommending below are severely under-priced in the bargain bucket over at FPL too.
Southampton
Dead last, dead on arrival, dead in the water…the outlook is grim for the saints. One win this season so far, a super-glamorous 1-0 victory of Everton, and currently hurtling towards 0.5 goals scored and 2 goals conceded per season. This should be the shop of last choice. No attacking returns, no defensive prowess, but there is one decent buy amidst the wreckage. Aaron Ramsdale, who don’t forget iso ne of (in theory) only 20 regular starting goalies in the premier league. Why does this matter? Well, if you’ve been following our exploits over at tloog.soapbox.ie, you’ll see that we have 20 goalies picked between us, making them crucial for a decent squad. An experienced premier league goalie in front of a (let’s face it) shite defence is always going to be busy, and busy goalies outscore goalies kept bored by their strong back line every single game week.
Wolves
A team in peril, currently sitting second from the bottom and showing nothing but terrible results this season. The obvious pick here is Matheus Cunha who has been proving himself as fixture-proof despite a weak line-up as the Ivan Toney of old. What’s the catch? Well, if you don’t want to spend a forward slot on him, there’s a half-decent midfielder to be had in Lemina, who’s picking up a reasonable 9 points per game in Opta scoring. Wolves’ next 6 games are likely their kindest run of the season so they could pull out of this poor streak before Christmas…and if not, it’s probably a rough 2025 for them if they don’t sort themselves out. .
Crystal Palace
This one is odd, admittedly, but the best option right now for Palace is literally any Palace defender. It may seem counterintuitive given their table position, but outside the injured Eze, their best five players for points per game are 4 defenders (Munoz, Guehi, Mitchell and Chalobah) and goalie Dean Henderson. Based on current attacking involvement and recent form, we’re going with Chalobah.
Ipswich
It’s Leif Davis. it’s only Leif Davis. it’s always Leif Davis. He’s the fantasy coach’s dream – a defender with attacking returns that plays every game and is young enough not to have much by way of injury issues. And yes, Liam Delap is looking good on and off this season but whatever about strikers being hard to find, good defenders are absolute gold dust this season. The only real worry for Davis owners is the possibility of a move to pastures new this January, but then that’s the case for any top-drawer player. Add to this a string of tasty upcoming fixtures and he’s probably the safest bet in this article.
Everton
Dwight McNeil is one of our favourite players this year, not just for Everton but across the entire player pool. That said, he’s a bit injury prone, and even though his points per game have him in the overall top 20 this year, we’re looking out front for Everton. Ndiaye is outperforming Calvert-Lewin with fewer games played. He almost singlehandedly got Sheffield United promoted in 2022 and makes for a great consistent bench choice.
Leicester
Facundo Buonanotte is the star of the show for Leicester this year and it’s not even close. He seems to be at the heart of every attacking move Leicester make this season. The only downside is the frequency of yellow cards, for which he’s picked up a suspension already. If he can get on top of his discipline, the former Brighton man could be the player of the season for the foxes.
Jimi Kavanagh
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