In Saturday’s DFS EPL Playbook we pointed out that the EPL has been wildly unpredictable this season, and Saturday’s games did not disappoint. Chelsea and Manchester United played to a scoreless draw, doubling their total number of clean sheets from the previous five game weeks. The other two games were closer to expectations, with Liverpool and Crystal Palace winning 2-1. Sunday’s slate looks rather predictable as well, but I would expect at least one surprise.

Has there ever been a game that had 1-0 written all over it like Wolves/Newcastle? Wolves have won their last two games 1-0 while Newcastle have struggled to score over the last two seasons. Everton/Southampton is probably the toughest game to predict. Everton sit on the top of the table, but they are only +140 to win at Southampton, who are 2-1-2. Everton entered the week second in the league in goals, while Southampton have eight goals for and nine against through five games.

Leicester and Arsenal are tied with nine points this season, and we should probably expect a close game, even if the over/under is difficult to figure out. Leicester have 12 goals for and eight against this season, while Arsenal have scored eight and allowed six. My guess is that Arsenal will manage to keep the scoring down, but as we have seen, anything can happen.

As always, the lineups below are examples of lineups you can make using the players in the Playbook and are not meant for plug and play.

 

Goal Keepers
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Rui PatricioWOLNEW54009.41415.70
Patricio leads the league in clean sheets, and I believe he has the best chance of getting another one Sunday. You'll have to pay for him, and he probably won't get many saves, but I'm not sure any keepers offer many saves Sunday.
Karl DarlowNEWWOL400011.62717.10
Darlow is dealing with a knock, and I have no idea what to expect if Mark Gillespie starts instead. The other problem is that Wolves have the third-fewest shots on target this season, so if Darlow isn't getting a win or a clean sheet, which we don't really expect, there may not be many points here. That being said, cheap keepers have served us well all season, and I expect that to be the case again in this slate.
Alex McCarthySOUEVE46005.0498.30
With Richarlison already ruled out and James Rodriguez questionable, McCarthy could be facing a rather toothless Everton attack. He'd still be risky, but I think I would take the risk at the price.
Forwards
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Dominic Calvert-LewinEVESOU870022.32135.94
You'd have to think he can't keep up this goal streak forever, but I wouldn't necessarily bet against him. He's a GPP play, and it seems kind of insane that he's cheaper than Danny Ings and Raul Jimenez. That being said, I'm only playing him if James Rodriguez starts.
Raul JimenezWOLNEW1030013.582217.86
There really aren't any safe forwards in this slate, especially if James Rodriguez is out, but Jimenez is safe-ish. He's scored in three of his five games this season, and I like his chances of scoring again. He has at least two shots, including one on goal, in every game this season, which keeps his floor reasonable.
Danny IngsSOUEVE900014.462022.58
You could make a compelling argument Ings should cost more than Jimenez. The only thing working in Jimenez's favor is Everton have surrendered two fewer goals than Newcastle.
Midfielders
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Alex IwobiEVESOU30002.54105.43
Iwobi hasn't started yet this season but he played 65 minutes against Brighton and had 9.4 DK fantasy points. With Richarlison out Sunday, Iwobi could be a fantastic value.
James RodriguezEVESOU1010023.451730.32
If he plays, he's the safest player on the slate, and he is forward eligible as well. I'm not particularly worried about him coming off early if he's able to start, but that would be something of a concern.
Gylfi SigurdssonEVESOU60004.35126.32
My guess is that Sigurdsson would start for Rodriguez and would replace him on set pieces and penalties. Nothing is guaranteed, and he was pretty awful last season, but we could do far worse at that price.
James Ward-ProwseSOUEVE71009.541410.24
He is basically a must-play on DraftKings, and I think he's one of the safer plays on FanDuel as well. He has double-digit fantasy points on DK in three of five games this season. 
Allan Saint-MaximinNEWWOL640012.471413.05
Saint-Maximin has double-digit fantasy points on DK in all three starts this season. He hasn't been quite so consistent on FanDuel, but he is averaging 24.15 FD fantasy points over his last two games. 
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
James MaddisonLEIARS  166.50
Maddison has come off the bench in four games this season, recording a goal and an assist on two shots and two chances created. He may not play the full 90 minutes, but he's too cheap if he does. 
Defenders
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Jamal LewisNEWWOL34003.5386.78
He has nine crosses through four starts, and perhaps more importantly, he has looked the part as a left back who can get forward in the right situations. This isn't a great matchup, but beggars can't be choosers.
Ben GodfreyEVESOU26001.24129.50
Godfrey only had three crosses for Norwich last season, but just because he didn't do it with his old team doesn't mean he can't. He'll replace Seamus Coleman in the lineup, and if there's even a chance he'll replace Coleman's fantasy production at a discount, we should take it. 
Lucas DigneEVESOU630013.311520.28
Digne is averaging 4.6 more DK fantasy points than anyone else on the slate, and he's the only player I really trust. He's not cheap, but I think he's worth it.
Ryan BertrandSOUEVE49007.31311.38
Bertrand is the most consistent defender for DK outside of Digne, with at least three crosses in four of his five games.
Jannik VestergaardSOUEVE39006.521418.65
He has 23 clearances through four games, and Everton figure to send a lot of balls into the box.
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Maximilian KilmanWOLNEW37008.731222.75
He had five clearances in both starts this season, against Fulham and Leeds. I don't completely trust him, especially against Newcastle, but the value is too much to ignore.
Wesley FofanaLEIARS  1119.50
Banana nana Fofana had nine clearances in his only start of the season against Aston Villa. Like Kilman, Fofana looks like a fantastic value, even if I don't completely trust him.

 

DK Cash DK GPP
Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
FDanny IngsSOUEVE14.46$9,000 FDanny IngsSOUEVE14.46$9,000
FJames RodriguezEVESOU23.45$10,100 FJames RodriguezEVESOU23.45$10,100
MAlex IwobiEVESOU2.54$3,000 MAlex IwobiEVESOU2.54$3,000
MJames Ward-ProwseSOUEVE9.54$7,100 MAllan Saint-MaximinNEWWOL12.47$6,400
DLucas DigneEVESOU13.31$6,300 DLucas DigneEVESOU13.31$6,300
DBen GodfreyEVESOU1.24$2,600 DKyle Walker-PetersSOUEVE7.83$4,400
GKRui PatricioWOLNEW9.4$5,400 GKKarl DarlowNEWWOL11.62$4,000
UtilAllan Saint-MaximinNEWWOL12.47$6,400 UtilStuart ArmstrongSOUEVE7.2$6,800
    Total$49,900     Total$50,000
             
DK Pivot Cash DK Pivot GPP
Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F      F     
FRaul JimenezWOLNEW13.58$10,300 FPedro NetoWOLNEW11.57$8,500
M      M     
M      M     
D      DRyan BertrandSOUEVE7.3$4,900
D      D     
GK      GKAlex McCarthySOUEVE5.04$4,600
UtilGylfi SigurdssonEVESOU4.35$6,000 Util     
    Total$16,300     Total$18,000
             
FD Cash FD GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/MAlex IwobiEVESOU5.43$10 F/MAlex IwobiEVESOU5.43$10
F/MJames RodriguezEVESOU30.32$17 F/MAllan Saint-MaximinNEWWOL13.05$14
F/MDaniel PodenceWOLNEW10.20$16 F/MDominic Calvert-LewinEVESOU35.94$21
F/MJames MaddisonLEIARS6.50$16 F/MJames RodriguezEVESOU30.32$17
DJannik VestergaardSOUEVE18.65$14 DMaximilian KilmanWOLNEW22.75$12
DMaximilian KilmanWOLNEW22.75$12 DWesley FofanaLEIARS19.50$11
GKRui PatricioWOLNEW15.70$14 GKRui PatricioWOLNEW15.70$14
    Total$99     Total$99
             
FD Pivot Cash FD Pivot GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/M      F/M     
F/MGylfi SigurdssonEVESOU6.32$12 F/M     
F/M      F/MRaul JimenezWOLNEW17.86$22
F/MRaul JimenezWOLNEW17.86$22 F/MJames MaddisonLEIARS6.50$16
D      D     
D      D     
GK      GK     
    Total$34     Total$38