We have three games on Thursday’s EPL DFS slate, but only two on DraftKings. The third game features a bunch of useful fantasy players on Liverpool and Chelsea, but good luck being able to afford many of them. It’s even more difficult to fit many of those players in your lineup because Everton and Tottenham have great-looking matchups against teams in the relegation zone. It is difficult to justify playing Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane against Chelsea when you can play Harry Kane or Son Heung-Min against Fulham for the same price.
Goalkeepers | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Alphonse Areola | FUL | TOT | 4500 | 7.21 | 8 | 11.50 | |
Fulham are on the verge of climbing out of relegation zone, thanks in large part to their defense. Fulham have conceded just one goal in their last four games, and I think he has a better shot at some saves and a clean sheet than Sam Johnstone. So long as Fulham don't fall behind in the first 10 minutes the way Burnley did on Sunday, I think Fulham can sit back and defend, and I still don't trust Lucas Moura or Gareth Bale to provide consistent scoring. | |||||||
Hugo Lloris | TOT | FUL | 5200 | 8.21 | 12 | 12.70 | |
I don't understand why Jordan Pickford is more expensive. Spurs have kept two more clean sheets and conceded six fewer goals than Everton, and Fulham have scored just one fewer goal than West Brom. Spurs are slightly bigger favorites than Everton and both teams are +160 to keep a clean sheet. |
Forwards | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Dominic Calvert-Lewin | EVE | WBA | 7600 | 11.68 | 18 | 20.16 | |
Richarlison is on fire and isn't that much more expensive, so I think we might get reasonably low ownership on Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Only two teams have allowed more headed shots per game than West Brom, and Calvert-Lewin is seventh in the league in headed shots and leads the league in headed goals. Calvert-Lewin has scored more than a third of Everton's goals this season, and he is +120 to score in this game, compared to +160 for Richarlison. | |||||||
Ademola Lookman | FUL | TOT | 8700 | 12.16 | 16 | 16.27 | |
Lookman created three chances, had two crosses and recorded Fulham's lone assist in 24 minutes against Tottenham in January. He has started every game since, and he is averaging 6.9 crosses in his last seven games. |
Midfielders | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Richarlison | EVE | WBA | 8600 | 10.55 | 19 | 14.17 | |
Richarlison has scored a goal in three consecutive games, against Manchester City, Liverpool and Southampton. It would be just like him to lay an egg against the team that has allowed 11 more goals than anybody else, but he is still pretty reasonably priced considering his form and his matchup. | |||||||
Gylfi Sigurdsson | EVE | WBA | 8300 | 8.34 | 15 | 11.76 | |
Sigurdsson has at least 15 DK fantasy points in each of his last two games without James Rodriguez. If Rodriguez plays, I'll try to pay up for him, but if he misses another game, Sigurdsson will be a nice play on both sites. | |||||||
Ivan Cavaleiro | FUL | TOT | 6600 | 7.68 | 15 | 10.11 | |
Cavaleiro had three crosses, a chance created and a goal against Tottenham in January and he has 13 crosses and five chances created in his last three games despite only starting one of them. At this point, I'm playing him whenever he starts, especially on DraftKings. | |||||||
Conor Gallagher | WBA | EVE | 5500 | 7.87 | 14 | 12.24 | |
Fulham have scored twice in their last four games, and Gallagher assisted on both goals, with eight crosses and three chances created in that span. We need a cheap midfielder on DraftKings, and barring a surprise start from someone like Robert Snodgrass, I think Gallagher is our best bet. | |||||||
Matheus Pereira | WBA | EVE | 7900 | 11.44 | 15 | 15.45 | |
Pereira has at least four crosses in six consecutive starts, with at least two chances created in each of his last three. West Brom have a few interesting attackers right now, but Pereira is the safest by far. | |||||||
Midfielders | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Son Heung-Min | TOT | FUL | 9800 | 17.3 | 20 | 23.06 | |
He pretty much gets all the Tottenham set pieces, especially when Gareth Bale isn't on the pitch. He has 11 crosses and 11 chances created in his last two games, not to mention 13 goals and eight assists on the season. I think he's the safest play on both sites. |
Defenders | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Sergio Reguilon | TOT | FUL | 4700 | 7.59 | 9 | 12.83 | |
Reguilon had five crosses, two chances created, two shots and an assist against Fulham in January, and he is averaging 3.25 crosses in his last four games. He is the cheapest of the safe defenders on DraftKings, especially if Seamus Coleman doesn't start. | |||||||
Kenny Tete | FUL | TOT | 4600 | 6.9 | 8 | 11.56 | |
This matchup may not be as scary as it looks, as Tottenham have allowed the seventh-most crosses in the league this season. Tete had two crosses, two chances created and one shot against Tottenham in January, and I will gladly take that production in this slate. | |||||||
Lucas Digne | EVE | WBA | 6700 | 11.83 | 13 | 15.31 | |
Only Burnley have allowed more crosses than West Brom this season. We are paying a premium for Digne, but it should be well worth it, especially considering there is only one other game on the DK slate. Digne created five chances against West Brom back in September, and he is a GPP play on FanDuel. | |||||||
Michael Keane | EVE | WBA | 3800 | 4.97 | 14 | 14.55 | |
Keane has at least five clearances in five consecutive starts, and West Brom have allowed the eighth-most clearances this season. Perhaps just as importantly, Keane is tied for third on the team in headed shots and tied for second in headed goals. I like the idea of taking a shot on him to get his third headed goal. | |||||||
Nathaniel Phillips | LIV | CHE | 9 | 10.56 | |||
Phillips leads Liverpool in clearances per start, with double-digit FD fantasy points in five of his six starts. If for some reason he doesn't start, we can always sub in Fabinho. Neither is likely to play much more than an hour, but that's all we really need at their price. | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Tosin Adarabioyo | FUL | TOT | 3700 | 4.24 | 12 | 14.13 | |
Adarabioyo is the quintessential FD cash play, with double-digit fantasy points in six straight games and 16 of his last 17. |
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 | Ademola Lookman | FUL | TOT | 12.16 | $8,700 | F | Dominic Calvert-Lewin | EVE | WBA | 11.68 | $7,600 | ||
F | James Rodriguez | EVE | WBA | 13.88 | $9,200 | F | Lucas Moura | TOT | FUL | 4.92 | $6,900 | ||
M | Matheus Pereira | WBA | EVE | 11.44 | $7,900 | M | Conor Gallagher | WBA | EVE | 7.87 | $5,500 | ||
M | Conor Gallagher | WBA | EVE | 7.87 | $5,500 | M | James Rodriguez | EVE | WBA | 13.88 | $9,200 | ||
D | Sergio Reguilon | TOT | FUL | 7.59 | $4,700 | D | Sergio Reguilon | TOT | FUL | 7.59 | $4,700 | ||
D | Kenny Tete | FUL | TOT | 6.9 | $4,600 | D | Michael Keane | EVE | WBA | 4.97 | $3,800 | ||
GK | Alphonse Areola | FUL | TOT | 7.21 | $4,500 | GK | Hugo Lloris | TOT | FUL | 8.21 | $5,200 | ||
Util | Seamus Coleman | EVE | WBA | 4.6 | $4,900 | Util | Lucas Digne | EVE | WBA | 11.83 | $6,700 | ||
Total | $50,000 | Total | $49,600 | ||||||||||
DK Pivot Cash | DK Pivot GPP | ||||||||||||
Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
F | 1 | F | Richarlison | EVE | WBA | 10.55 | $8,600 | ||||||
F | Son Heung-Min | TOT | FUL | 17.3 | $9,800 | 1 | F | ||||||
M | 1 | M | |||||||||||
M | 1 | M | Gylfi Sigurdsson | EVE | WBA | 8.34 | $8,300 | ||||||
D | 1 | D | |||||||||||
D | 1 | D | |||||||||||
GK | 1 | GK | |||||||||||
Util | Alex Iwobi | EVE | WBA | 5.2 | $4,000 | 1 | Util | ||||||
Total | $13,800 | Total | $16,900 | ||||||||||
FD Cash | FD GPP | ||||||||||||
Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
F/M | Son Heung-Min | TOT | FUL | 23.06 | $20 | F/M | Dominic Calvert-Lewin | EVE | WBA | 20.16 | $18 | ||
F/M | Mason Mount | CHE | LIV | 17.92 | $16 | F/M | Jorginho | CHE | LIV | 14.63 | $11 | ||
F/M | James Rodriguez | EVE | WBA | 17.31 | $17 | F/M | Mason Mount | CHE | LIV | 17.92 | $16 | ||
F/M | Gareth Bale | TOT | FUL | 14.39 | $16 | F/M | Lucas Moura | TOT | FUL | 6.73 | $17 | ||
D | Nathaniel Phillips | LIV | CHE | 10.56 | $9 | D | Tosin Adarabioyo | FUL | TOT | 14.13 | $12 | ||
D | Michael Keane | EVE | WBA | 14.55 | $14 | D | Michael Keane | EVE | WBA | 14.55 | $14 | ||
GK | Alphonse Areola | FUL | TOT | 11.50 | $8 | GK | Hugo Lloris | TOT | FUL | 12.70 | $12 | ||
Total | $100 | 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 | |||||||||||
F/M | 1 | F/M | |||||||||||
F/M | Roberto Firmino | LIV | CHE | 14.90 | $17 | #REF! | F/M | Harry Kane | TOT | FUL | 27.39 | $23 | |
D | 1 | D | Nathaniel Phillips | LIV | CHE | 10.56 | $9 | ||||||
D | Tosin Adarabioyo | FUL | TOT | 14.13 | $12 | 1 | D | ||||||
GK | 1 | GK | Alphonse Areola | FUL | TOT | 11.50 | $8 | ||||||
Total | $29 | Total | $40 |