This may be the hardest EPL DFS slate I can remember. Only Manchester United have what I would consider a good lineup, at home to Newcastle. The other four teams in the slate are in the bottom six in goals conceded per game. Newcastle struggle to score with Callum Wilson out, and while I’m tempted to take a cheap attacker or two and hope for the best, I don’t think that will end well. The problem with the slate is there aren’t very many other good places to save money. FanDuel has a few more bargains than DraftKings, but FanDuel also has a few more players who are really expensive, especially considering their matchups. In the end, the slate should provide a nice challenge, especially if we get some surprising lineup news.
| Goalkeepers | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Emiliano Martinez | AVL | LEI | 4700 | 11.67 | 9 | 17.68 | |
| Aston Villa are fifth in the league in saves and are second only to Manchester City in clean sheets and goals allowed. Leicester's attack is a bit scary, but I trust Martinez and Villa's defense at home. | |||||||
| Bernd Leno | ARS | MCI | 3900 | 7.36 | 8 | 11.35 | |
| Only Leeds have allowed more saves to opponents than Manchester City. City have also scored the second-most goals in the league, so the risk is clear, but there is a reason Arsenal have allowed the third-fewest goals per game in the league this season. | |||||||
| Forwards | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Raheem Sterling | MCI | ARS | 8200 | 11.78 | 22 | 17.61 | |
| Sterling has six goals in five games against Arsenal, and he has four goals and two assists in his last six starts this season. I think he is risky, even on FanDuel, but he is probably the best bet on Saturday's slate to score a goal. | |||||||
| Mason Greenwood | MUN | NEW | 6500 | 5.15 | 13 | 6.14 | |
| Greenwood has quietly been pretty solid in 2021, averaging 7.8 DK fantasy points in four starts. Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani are better GPP plays, but I think Greenwood is solid for cash. If both Cavani and Martial are out, Greenwood could thrive. | |||||||
| Bertrand Traore | AVL | LEI | 6100 | 9.27 | 13 | 11.22 | |
| I would be lying if I said I trust him against a good defense like Leicester, but his price and form are too good to ignore, especially on DraftKings. Traore is second on the team in shots, shots on target and crosses in their last seven games. | |||||||
| Midfielders | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| James Maddison | LEI | AVL | 8500 | 15.37 | 18 | 17.69 | |
| Aston Villa have surrendered the third-most crosses in the league this season, and Maddison leads Leicester with 5.35 crosses per start. He also leads the team in chances created per start and is second only to Jamie Vardy in shots per start. | |||||||
| Kevin De Bruyne | MCI | ARS | 10000 | 19.17 | 15 | 23.52 | |
| He has at least three shots and three chances created in four consecutive starts, with 29 crosses in that game. He hasn't started a game in a month, so he may not play the whole 90, but the may be the safest player on the slate. There may be better values on DraftKings, but De Bruyne is an absolute must-play on FanDuel. | |||||||
| Bruno Fernandes | MUN | NEW | 9700 | 22.05 | 23 | 31.34 | |
| Fernandes struggled after New Years but he has been great in February, with 13 shots (seven on target), three goals, eight chances created and 20 crosses in three games. Only three teams have conceded more goals per game than Newcastle, and only West Brom have had less possession. I will glady play Fernandes on FanDuel if I can afford him, but I think he is a fantastic play on DraftKings. | |||||||
| Jack Grealish | AVL | LEI | 7100 | 18.84 | 19 | 24.07 | |
| On the one hand, he is probably too cheap on DraftKings after one bad outing against a Brighton side that have been quite stout defensively of late. On the other hand, I don't love this matchup at Leicester , and Grealish only managed four chances created and little else against them back in October. Villa have had an entire week off after playing seven games in the previous four weeks, so I am optimistic Grealish will bounce back Sunday. | |||||||
| Phil Foden | MCI | ARS | 9300 | 12.14 | 16 | 15.98 | |
| I am slightly concerned that Foden will turn into a pumpkin with Kevin De Bruyne back, but it is important to note Foden was playing better even before De Bruyne's injury. Foden had two goals and six chances created in the last two games he started next to Kevin De Bruyne. Foden is easier to afford on FanDuel but is playable on both sites. | |||||||
| Midfielders | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Marc Albrighton | LEI | AVL | 5100 | 7.17 | 8 | 8.82 | |
| Barring some surprising lineup news, I think Albrighton is your best bet for a cheap midfielder. He struggled last week against Liverpool but he had a shot, two chances created and three crosses in just 29 minutes against Wolves two weeks ago. Prior to the Liverpool game, Albrighton had at least three crosses in six consecutive starts. | |||||||
| Defenders | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Matt Targett | AVL | LEI | 4200 | 7.27 | 12 | 14.07 | |
| Target has at least 4.2 DK fantasy points in eight consecutve games, and while that seems like a low bar to clear, I don't think we can count on that kind of production from any other defender who costs less than $5,300. We have to save money somewhere, and Targett helps accomplish that. Ahmad El Mohamady may have more upside, but he is more expensive and is hard to trust after making just one start all season. | |||||||
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | MUN | NEW | 5300 | 8.3 | 15 | 15.80 | |
| He has at least 9.7 DK fantasy points in five consecutive games, and his team has the best matchup of the slate by far. Luke Shaw has been even better, but he is a lot more expensive. | |||||||
| Luke Shaw | MUN | NEW | 6400 | 10.06 | 13 | 14.56 | |
| Shaw is averaging 22.8 FD fantasy points in his last four games, and I think he will at least get close to that total in a nice matchup against Newcastle. Shaw is second only to Bruno Fernandes in chances created per start for Manchester United. | |||||||
| Caglar Soyuncu | LEI | AVL | 3000 | 3.67 | 9 | 9.73 | |
| Soyuncu remains cheap for someone who has at least 12.8 FD fantasy points in all three games since rejoining the starting lineup. Aston Villa should be a surprisingly good matchup, as they have allowed the sixth-most clearances in the league this season, more than any team on the slate. | |||||||
| Ezri Konsa Ngoyo | AVL | LEI | 2800 | 5.68 | 10 | 13.74 | |
| I like that he can get it done in a variety of ways. He had five blocks against Brighton last week and 10 clearances the week before against Arsenal. Leicester do not allow a ton of clearances but they do allow a fair amount of blocks. Konsa Ngoyo has double-digit FD fantasy points in six of his last seven games. | |||||||
Example Lineups
As always, the lineups below are examples of lineups you can make using the players in the Playbook and are not for plug and play.
| DK Cash | DK GPP | ||||||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
| F | Mason Greenwood | MU | MU | 5.15 | $6,500 | F | Marcus Rashford | MU | MU | 11.26 | $7,700 | ||
| F | Bertrand Traore | AVL | LEI | 9.27 | $6,100 | F | Raheem Sterling | MCI | ARS | 11.78 | $8,200 | ||
| M | James Maddison | LEI | AVL | 15.37 | $8,500 | M | Marc Albrighton | LEI | AVL | 7.17 | $5,100 | ||
| M | Bruno Fernandes | MU | MU | 22.05 | $9,700 | M | Mason Greenwood | MU | MU | 5.15 | $6,500 | ||
| D | Aaron Wan-Bissaka | MU | MU | 8.3 | $5,300 | D | Aaron Wan-Bissaka | MU | MU | 8.3 | $5,300 | ||
| D | Matt Targett | AVL | LEI | 7.27 | $4,200 | D | Joao Cancelo | MCI | ARS | 10.62 | $5,500 | ||
| GK | Emiliano Martinez | AVL | LEI | 11.67 | $4,700 | GK | Emiliano Martinez | AVL | LEI | 11.67 | $4,700 | ||
| Util | Joao Cancelo | MCI | ARS | 10.62 | $5,500 | Util | Bernardo Silva | MCI | ARS | 7.76 | $7,000 | ||
| Total | $50,500 | Total | $50,000 | ||||||||||
| DK Pivot Cash | DK Pivot GPP | ||||||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
| F | 1 | F | |||||||||||
| F | Bukayo Saka | ARS | MCI | 14.51 | $7,800 | 1 | F | ||||||
| M | Jack Grealish | AVL | LEI | 18.84 | $7,100 | 1 | M | ||||||
| M | 1 | M | Anthony Martial | MU | MU | 8.31 | $6,700 | ||||||
| D | 1 | D | |||||||||||
| D | 1 | D | |||||||||||
| GK | 1 | GK | |||||||||||
| Util | 1 | Util | Sergio Aguero | MCI | ARS | 2.12 | $6,800 | ||||||
| Total | $14,900 | Total | $13,500 | ||||||||||
| FD Cash | FD GPP | ||||||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
| F/M | Kevin De Bruyne | MCI | ARS | 23.52 | $15 | F/M | Kevin De Bruyne | MCI | ARS | 23.52 | $15 | ||
| F/M | James Maddison | LEI | AVL | 17.69 | $18 | F/M | Bruno Fernandes | MUN | NEW | 31.34 | $23 | ||
| F/M | Phil Foden | MCI | ARS | 15.98 | $16 | F/M | Bernardo Silva | MCI | ARS | 11.18 | $15 | ||
| F/M | Jack Grealish | AVL | LEI | 24.07 | $19 | F/M | Harvey Barnes | LEI | AVL | 16.25 | $15 | ||
| D | Luke Shaw | MUN | NEW | 14.56 | $13 | D | Luke Shaw | MUN | NEW | 14.56 | $13 | ||
| D | Caglar Soyuncu | LEI | AVL | 9.73 | $9 | D | Ezri Konsa Ngoyo | AVL | LEI | 13.74 | $10 | ||
| GK | Emiliano Martinez | AVL | LEI | 17.68 | $9 | GK | Emiliano Martinez | AVL | LEI | 17.68 | $9 | ||
| Total | $99 | Total | $100 | ||||||||||
| FD Pivot Cash | FD Pivot GPP | ||||||||||||
| Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
| F/M | 1 | F/M | |||||||||||
| F/M | 1 | F/M | Anthony Martial | MUN | NEW | 12.12 | $18 | ||||||
| F/M | Mason Greenwood | MUN | NEW | 6.14 | $13 | 1 | F/M | Jack Grealish | AVL | LEI | 24.07 | $19 | |
| F/M | Bruno Fernandes | MUN | NEW | 31.34 | $23 | #REF! | F/M | ||||||
| D | 1 | D | |||||||||||
| D | 1 | D | |||||||||||
| GK | 1 | GK | |||||||||||
| Total | $36 | Total | $37 | ||||||||||