The start of the Premier League is fast approaching and it is now time to draw attention to two of the best players operating outside of the top six. Wilfried Zaha and Riyad Mahrez both have huge value in Draft Fantasy Football, but who will be a better option for the coming season? The former had a superb 2016/17 campaign, while the latter was one of the leading scorers in the 2015/16, with 240 points.
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The drop-off in the Algerian international’s game was expected, but he remains one of the best players in the division and he will be desperate to prove his worth when the action kicks off in less than two weeks’ time. As another top winger playing for a team outside of the top-six, Zaha is similar to Mahrez and, after finishing with more points last season, there will be many favouring him when drafts are taking place.
Status
One of the most important factors when considering drafting a player is their current status in real life. Ideally, you want to build a squad of players that start regularly for their side and possess high points scoring potential.
Zaha signed a new deal at Crystal Palace earlier this summer, which has consolidated his position at the club. He is likely to be the club’s main attacking threat and his game could be pushed to the next level under the management of Frank de Boer.
Meanwhile, Mahrez faces an uncertain future at club level. After staying loyal to Leicester City last summer, he has pressed for a transfer away during this close season. He handed in a transfer request which has attracted interest from Arsenal and Roma, as reported by the Standard.
The 26-year-old has been performing well in pre-season, but a move away remains a possibility. It would be a risk to draft Mahrez without knowing where the cards will fall regarding his future. For that reason, Zaha seems to be a safer pick when it comes to playing time.
Attacking threat
It was a breakthrough year for Zaha last season and he finished the season with his best figures for goals and assists. He managed to contribute seven goals and nine assists, which is an impressive return for a player operating outside of the top six.
Against Chelsea and Arsenal, he was excellent and proved that he was capable of influencing matches at the highest level. His average of 1.13 chances created and 1.46 attempted shots per ninety minutes aren’t great, but he was clinical in the final third.
For Mahrez, it was always going to be impossible to match his season from the 2015/16 campaign. He was a known quantity and sides were likely to plan to stop him getting as much space in the final third.
Although his haul of six goals and three assists isn’t bad, he would have been hoping for more and the pressure will be on to increase his productivity. Despite trailing in goals and assists, the Leicester player managed to do more in the final third. He averaged 1.59 chances created and 2.36 attempted shots per ninety minutes.
The stats suggest that Mahrez is a better option and if he continues to operate at that level, his goals and assists will increase. He showed signs of becoming deadlier in front of goal after the appointment of Craig Shakespeare, while his set piece ability adds to his fantasy value.
Verdict
The difficulty with this question is that there are still plenty of unknowns regarding Mahrez’s future. If it was decided that he will stay with Leicester for another season, he would be the better draft pick. His numbers last season were not as impressive as Zaha’s, as he finished 29 points behind the Palace winger.
However, he was more productive in the final third in terms of creating chances and attempting shots on goal. He will also benefit from playing in a better environment under Shakespeare without the pressure of being champions.
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That said, it remains a risk to draft a player that could leave the Premier League. Therefore, Zaha is the player you should draft out of the two. His end product was excellent last season and he will be the focus of Palace’s attacks more often than not. There are a lot of unknowns about Palace under De Boer, but it is safe to assume the side will still rely on Zaha in the final third.
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