Saturday’s EPL DFS slate is as notable for the players who are missing as for the players who are playing. Aston Villa is missing its best player in Jack Grealish. Newcastle’s best player, Allan-Saint Maximin, is back and playing well, but they will be hard-pressed to score much with Callum Wilson out. Kalvin Phillips is not Leeds’s best player or best scorer, but he might be their most important player. Wolverhampton, meanwhile, look like they are finally finding their footing without their best scorer, Raul Jimenez. West Brom will not have the services of Robert Snodgrass, and while I do think he’s a good player, West Brom was one of the worst teams in the league even when he was playing well. 

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.

 

Goalkeepers
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Karl DarlowNEWWOL44006.0999.82
Wolves have allowed the seventh-most saves in the league, and only four teams have scored fewer goals. I think I would like it even better if Martin Dubravka got the start, especially since he would save us quite a bit on FanDuel.
Emiliano MartinezAVLLEE460011.44717.35
No team has allowed more saves than Leeds, and Martinez is fourth in the league in saves. Martinez may not have a great shot at a win with Jack Grealish likely out, but he's probably the safest keeper on the slate.
Rui PatricioWOLNEW52005.61129.08
I went back and forth between Patricio and Robert Sanchez, and finally settled on the cheaper one. Both have a solid chance to win and keep a clean sheet, but neither is likely to record more than a save or two. Patricio is worth a shot in a GPP, but there is no reason to spend up for cash games.
        
Forwards
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Ollie WatkinsAVLLEE710012.052219.03
Only Patrick Bamford has more shots in the box than Watkins this season, and only West Brom have conceded more shots in the box than Leeds this season. Watkins is risky with Jack Grealish out, but Villa still has some players who can get Watkins the ball in dangerous areas.
Mbaye DiagneWBABHA65007.81712.10
Since Diagne made his debut five weeks ago, he is fifth in Non Penalty Expected Goals. He only has one goal to show for it, and while it is probably fair to question his finishing, I think it is also fair to say he could easily have another goal or two. Brighton has been a much tougher matchup of late, though I am optimistic about Diagne's chances after watching Brighton concede two goals on two shots on target against a Crystal Palace team that was missing Wilfried Zaha.
Willian JoseWOLNEW54003.58147.35
It is hard to recommend a striker who didn't have a single shot against Leeds last week, especially when Leeds have conceded the third-most goals in the league. That being said, Jose did create four chances in that game. Now that he has had some time to adjust to the Premier League, I expect Jose to start providing attacking returns sooner than later. It's rare to get a competent striker in a fantastic matchup so cheap, but I'm only interested for GPPs.
RaphinhaLEEAVL1070014.721919.58
Raphinha may be slightly safer on DraftKings, but he is much easier to afford on FanDuel. You should absolutely play him if you can, but there is no need to force it on DraftKings, where there are a handful of players who are nearly as good and they come at a discount.
        
Midfielders
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Anwar El GhaziAVLLEE790010.441114.91
El Ghazi struggled in his first start in well over a month, but I think that's as much due to Leicester's defending as anything else.
Allan Saint-MaximinNEWWOL67007.94159.52
Newcastle have scored four goals in the three games Allan Saint-Maximin has started since returning from Covid, and Saint-Maximin has scored or assisted on three of those four goals. With Callum Wilson out, it is hard to imagine Newcastle scoring a goal from open play that Saint-Maximin is not involved in.
Leandro TrossardBHAWBA85009.841712.87
Trossard has nine shots (four on target), three chances created and nine crosses in his last two starts. He has another nice matchup against West Brom, who have conceded 12 more goals than any team in the league. Trossard leads Brighton in assists and is second in shots in the box.
Pedro NetoWOLNEW950014.581816.06
Neto is basically just a cheaper version of Raphinha except with a better matchup. Neto scored a goal against Southampton after switching sides with Adama Traore, a move that I believe makes them both more dangerous. Neto is safer than Traore and I will gladly pay the extra $1 for him on FanDuel.
Ross BarkleyAVLLEE59009.311412.49
I think fading Barkley on Draftkings is a huge mistake, and he is a nice GPP play on FanDuel. Barkley created four chances and had a shot on goal in the reverse fixture against Leeds, and he'll provide nice value if he can do that again. Perhaps more importantly, he was on set pieces for Villa with Jack Grealish out, sending in seven crosses against Leicester. Barkley didn't do much else against Leicester, but I think we could get some shots and chances created in a much better matchup against Leeds.
MidfieldersTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Joao MoutinhoWOLNEW57006.451210.03
Mouthinho has at least four crosses and one shot in four consecutive games, with seven chances created in that span. I think we'll get some chances created against a beat up Newcastle side, and we know the floor is high on DraftKings.
Jonjo ShelveyNEWWOL51008.341211.49
Shelvey hasn't been quite as consistent as Joao Moutinho, but he will have set pieces mostly to himself so long as Ryan Fraser and Matt Ritchie are on the bench.
Ainsley Maitland-NilesWBABHA35002.775.92
Maitland-Niles had his best game with his new team last week, with two crosses, two clearances, two interceptions, one shot and one chance created. He is by far the best punt play on the slate if you're looking to spend up elsewhere.
        
Defenders
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Lewis DunkBHAWBA43006.341514.53
Dunk leads Brighton with 15 headed shots and two headed goals. Only Crystal Palace have conceded more headed shots than West Brom this season. He is not cheap, but his ceiling is as high as any defender's on the slate. Dunk is a cash play on FanDuel, where he has at least 11.2 fantasy points in seven consecutive games.
Romain SaissWOLNEW37005.981116.19
Newcastle have allowed the third-most shots from headers this season, and all three of Saiss's goals this season were headed. Saiss is a better value than Dunk and while Dunk is safer, Saiss is under consideration for cash games due to his price.
Diego LlorenteLEEAVL31003.36712.00
Llorente has at least four clearances and 15 FD fantasy points in both of his starts this season. Brighton have allowed the third-most clearances in the league, and its hard to imagine how we can bench Llorente on FanDuel if he starts.
Federico FernandezNEWWOL25003.5513.39
Fernandez leads Newcastle in clearances per game and he had double-digit FD fantasy points in six of his last seven games before going down with a hamstring injury. He has been training for a week and has a chance to play Saturday, but we won't know for sure until late in the day. If you wait on Fernandez and he cannot go, Emil Krafth is a fine replacement. He is averaging 10.6 FD fantasy points per start this season.
Dan BurnBHAWBA39003.8579.24
Burn has been great the last two games, with eight crosses and three chances created against Crystal Palace and four shots including two on target against Aston Villa. I don't know how exactly he'll do it against West Brom, but I feel pretty confident he will take advantage of a nice matchup.

 

 

Example Lineups:

 

DK Cash  DK GPP
Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
FBertrand TraoreAVLLEE9.68$7,400  FNeal MaupayBHAWBA8.88$7,500
FPedro NetoWOLNEW14.58$9,500  FOllie WatkinsAVLLEE12.05$7,100
MRoss BarkleyAVLLEE9.31$5,900  MRoss BarkleyAVLLEE9.31$5,900
MJoao MoutinhoWOLNEW6.45$5,700  MJack HarrisonLEEAVL11.94$7,000
DLewis DunkBHAWBA6.34$4,300  DPascal StruijkLEEAVL5.11$3,800
DPascal StruijkLEEAVL5.11$3,800  DDan BurnBHAWBA3.85$3,900
GKKarl DarlowNEWWOL6.09$4,400  GKRui PatricioWOLNEW5.61$5,200
UtilMatheus PereiraWBABHA11.65$9,000  UtilPedro NetoWOLNEW14.58$9,500
    Total$50,000      Total$49,900
              
DK Pivot Cash  DK Pivot GPP
Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
FLeandro TrossardBHAWBA9.84$8,500  FPatrick BamfordLEEAVL12.76$8,800
F       F     
M       MJoao MoutinhoWOLNEW6.45$5,700
M       M     
D       D     
D       D     
GK       GK     
UtilAnwar El GhaziAVLLEE10.44$7,900  UtilLeandro TrossardBHAWBA9.84$8,500
    Total$16,400      Total$23,000
              
FD Cash  FD GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/MRaphinhaLEEAVL19.58$19  F/MRaphinhaLEEAVL19.58$19
F/MPedro NetoWOLNEW16.06$18  F/MPedro NetoWOLNEW16.06$18
F/MPascal GrossBHAWBA12.78$16  F/MPatrick BamfordLEEAVL20.82$21
F/MLeandro TrossardBHAWBA12.87$17  F/MAllan Saint-MaximinNEWWOL9.52$15
DDiego LlorenteLEEAVL12.00$7  DDiego LlorenteLEEAVL12.00$7
DLewis DunkBHAWBA14.53$15  DRomain SaissWOLNEW16.19$11
GKEmiliano MartinezAVLLEE17.35$7  GKEmiliano MartinezAVLLEE17.35$7
    Total$99      Total$98
              
FD Pivot Cash  FD Pivot GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/M       F/MOllie WatkinsAVLLEE19.03$22
F/M       F/M     
F/M       F/M     
F/MJack HarrisonLEEAVL16.17$16  F/M     
DEmil KrafthNEWWOL9.30$6  DEmil KrafthNEWWOL9.30$6
D       D     
GK       GK     
    Total$22      Total$28