Fantasy Premier League

FPL set-pieces: Holebas in group of top defenders

By The Scout 11 Jun 2019
Jose Holebas, Watford

Left-back produced the third-most assists from dead balls last season as The Scout assesses Watford's Fantasy numbers

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When building a Fantasy Premier League squad, knowing the set-piece takers for each club can give managers the edge over mini-league rivals.

Ahead of 2019/20, The Scout analyses which players to target.

Watford

Few defenders in FPL can match the set-piece potential of Jose Holebas (£5.0m).

The Watford left-back created 27 chances from free-kicks and corners last season.

Only Lucas Digne (£6.0m) of Everton, with 32, was more productive among players at the back.

Indeed, Holebas’s five assists from set-pieces placed joint-third overall in FPL, matching the total of Ryan Fraser (£7.5m) for AFC Bournemouth.

Watford sat third from bottom in the Premier League for shots from set-pieces, with 114.

Yet, thanks partly to the quality of Holebas's deliveries, only seven teams bettered their 12 goals from set-pieces.

Watford's set-piece takers
Choice Penalty Corner Free-kick
First Deeney Holebas Deulofeu
Second Cleverley Pereyra Pereyra
Third Gray Masina Capoue

Holebas took 115 of the Hornets' 177 corners but Craig Cathcart (£4.5m) and Troy Deeney (£6.5m) were the main threats at set-pieces.

They had 13 shots each, with centre-back Cathcart netting all three of his goals last season this way.

Overall, however, Watford struggled in the air and Deeney’s eight headed shots from set-pieces was a team-leading figure.

Missed opportunities

Holebas was also among a handful of players who shared direct free-kicks duties.

He had four attempts, while Gerard Deulofeu (£6.5m) and Roberto Pereyra (£6.0) had six apiece and Etienne Capoue (£5.0m) had five.

None of them scored, though, with Watford missing all 22 of their direct free-kicks in 2018/19.

Penalties were also a rarity for Javi Gracia’s men last term, with Watford only being awarded one spot-kick.

As their first-choice taker, it was Deeney who stepped up to convert.

See: FPL set-pieces: Players to target from each club

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