The interesting part of Saturday’s EPL DFS slate is that all three games are kind of the same. We have three teams that should be pretty clear favorites that are all dealing with significant injuries. I think Southampton, Aston Villa and Leicester are all starting to figure out how to play with their new-look squads, and there could be some nice DFS values there. At the same time, I think we are getting some Brighton, Sheffield and Wolverhampton players at a discount due to matchups that are not nearly as scary as they look on paper.
Goalkeepers | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Aaron Ramsdale | SHU | SOU | 4200 | 5.41 | 7 | 8.46 | |
Ramsdale has at least four saves in four consecutive games, and he is coming off a clean sheet against Aston Villa. Southampton have been shut out in consecutive games, and they could struggle to score again if Takumi Minamino is out. | |||||||
Rui Patricio | WOL | AVL | 4400 | 5.73 | 8 | 9.28 | |
Like Leicester, Aston Villa has plenty of attacking talent up front but a giant hole in the midfield. Villa are coming off a 1-0 road loss to Sheffield, and I think Patricio has a pretty good shot at a win and/or a clean sheet considering his price. This is probably a better matchup than what Robert Sanchez has, considering Villa have fewer goals and more shots on target than Leicester. |
Forwards | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Bertrand Traore | AVL | WOL | 8200 | 9.56 | 14 | 11.34 | |
Traore was very good against Sheffield, with six crosses, two chances created and five shots. I don't completely trust it, but I like his chances against a suspect Wolverhampton defense. | |||||||
Danny Ings | SOU | SHU | 7400 | 10.11 | 21 | 16.71 | |
Ings has only scored once in his last eight games, but I blame that mostly on Southampton's injuries and a run of tough fixtures. He is too good to be this cheap on DraftKings, espeically against hte worst team in the league. | |||||||
Ollie Watkins | AVL | WOL | 8500 | 11.96 | 22 | 19.00 | |
Wolves have allowed the seventh-most touches in their penalty area this season, and only Raheem Sterling and Mohamed Salah have more touches in the opposition penalty area than Ollie Watkins over the last eight weeks. |
Midfielders | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Youri Tielemans | LEI | BHA | 8100 | 10.4 | 13 | 14.31 | |
Tielemans led Leicester with 10 crosses, three chances created and three shots against Burnley. I love his chances of doing that again Saturday, especially at his price. | |||||||
Pedro Neto | WOL | AVL | 8300 | 14.48 | 19 | 16.06 | |
Neto wasn't great against Manchester City on Tuesday, but he had double-digit fantasy points on both sites in the six games before that. He is super safe and he won't break the bank. | |||||||
Pascal Gross | BHA | LEI | 9600 | 11.03 | 16 | 12.96 | |
Gross is averaging 8.4 crosses and 3.0 chances created in his last nine games. I wouldn't normally love this matchup, but with all of the injuries Leicester are dealing with, I think Gross should be safe. | |||||||
James Ward-Prowse | SOU | SHU | 9000 | 13.41 | 18 | 17.84 | |
Even with Southampton's struggles of late, James Ward-Prowse has at least 8.0 DK fantasy points in seven of his last eight games. I think this is the game Southampton and Ward-Prowse turn things around, and I like him in all formats. | |||||||
Ross Barkley | AVL | WOL | 6200 | 8.84 | 12 | 11.94 | |
Barkley has been inconsistent this season, but I think the loss at Sheffield proved they need him in the side with Jack Grealish out. Barkley had seven crosses against Leicester in his last start, and five chances created in the two starts before that. I think he is a GPP play on both sites, but I would be willing to use him in cash games as well at his price. | |||||||
Midfielders | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Leandro Trossard | BHA | LEI | 7600 | 9.67 | 17 | 12.89 | |
Trossard was disappointing against West Brom, but I see no reason to believe he won't bounce back. He is pretty cheap for someone who has double-digit DK fantasy points in five of his last six starts. | |||||||
Stuart Armstrong | SOU | SHU | 6300 | 8.3 | 14 | 12.01 | |
Armstrong has at least 7.0 DK fantasy points in seven of his last eight games; the lone exception came against Manchester City. Now that Southampton finally have a nice matchup, we should try to take advantage. | |||||||
Marc Albrighton | LEI | BHA | 6800 | 7.17 | 9 | 9.11 | |
Albrighton is averaging 5.34 crosses per 90 minutes this season, more than James Maddison. His 1.68 chances created per 90 minutes makes him a useful cheap option on FanDuel as well. |
Defenders | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Ryan Bertrand | SOU | SHU | 4800 | 6.43 | 9 | 9.13 | |
Bertrand has at least two crosses in eight consecutive games despite playing seven of the top 12 teams in that span. He had seven crosses a month ago against Newcastle, and I think he can put up similar numbers in this game now that he finally has another good matchup. | |||||||
Jan Bednarek | SOU | SHU | 3000 | 4.61 | 13 | 13.01 | |
Only Burnley have allowed more clearances than Sheffield, and Bednarek had eight clearances in the reverse fixture in December. Jannik Vestergaard may have the higher ceiling, but Bednarek is cheaper and, I think, safer. | |||||||
Caglar Soyuncu | LEI | BHA | 2700 | 3.73 | 11 | 10.67 | |
Soyuncu is no longer a bargain, but he is still the cheapest defender you can feel confident in on FanDuel. Soyuncu has double-digit Fd fantasy points in five of his last six games. | |||||||
Dan Burn | BHA | LEI | 3400 | 3.86 | 7 | 9.30 | |
Burn has 11 crosses, three chances created and four shots (two on target) in his last three games, and while this matchup probably isn't as good as the previous three, Burn looks like an excellent play for his price. | |||||||
Ethan Ampadu | SHU | SOU | 4500 | 5.16 | 13 | 13.31 | |
Ampadu has at least five clearances in three consecutive games, and I like his chances of making it four-in-a-row. | |||||||
Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
Kean Bryan | SHU | SOU | 3300 | 4.06 | 10 | 9.94 | |
Bryan has 10 clearances in his last three games, including six against Aston Villa on Wednesday. He may not be quite as safe as Caglar Soyuncu or Ethan Ampadu, but he may be a better value. | |||||||
Lewis Dunk | BHA | LEI | 4100 | 6.26 | 15 | 14.34 | |
I don't love paying up for him, especially since his only attacking returns come on headers from set pieces. That being said, the number of cheap attackers on the slate makes it easy to afford Dunk. He has double-digit FD fantasy points in eight conosecutive games, averaging 17.4 fantasy points in that span. |
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 | Pedro Neto | WOL | AVL | 14.48 | $8,300 | F | Ollie Watkins | AVL | WOL | 11.96 | $8,500 | ||
F | Leandro Trossard | BHA | LEI | 9.67 | $7,600 | F | Danny Ings | SOU | SHU | 10.11 | $7,400 | ||
M | Youri Tielemans | LEI | BHA | 10.4 | $8,100 | M | Ross Barkley | AVL | WOL | 8.84 | $6,200 | ||
M | Stuart Armstrong | SOU | SHU | 8.3 | $6,300 | M | Ruben Neves | WOL | AVL | 8.24 | $5,500 | ||
D | Dan Burn | BHA | LEI | 3.86 | $3,400 | D | Ryan Bertrand | SOU | SHU | 6.43 | $4,800 | ||
D | Ryan Bertrand | SOU | SHU | 6.43 | $4,800 | D | Ahmed El Mohamady | AVL | WOL | 4.73 | $5,100 | ||
GK | Rui Patricio | WOL | AVL | 5.73 | $4,400 | GK | Rui Patricio | WOL | AVL | 5.73 | $4,400 | ||
Util | Marc Albrighton | LEI | BHA | 7.17 | $6,800 | Util | Youri Tielemans | LEI | BHA | 10.4 | $8,100 | ||
Total | $49,700 | Total | $50,000 | ||||||||||
DK Pivot Cash | DK Pivot GPP | ||||||||||||
Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
F | F | Anwar El Ghazi | AVL | WOL | 12.13 | $10,300 | |||||||
F | F | ||||||||||||
M | M | ||||||||||||
M | M | ||||||||||||
D | D | ||||||||||||
D | Ahmed El Mohamady | AVL | WOL | 4.73 | $5,100 | D | |||||||
GK | GK | ||||||||||||
Util | Joel Veltman | BHA | LEI | 7.82 | $6,600 | Util | Stuart Armstrong | SOU | SHU | 8.3 | $6,300 | ||
Total | $11,700 | Total | $16,600 | ||||||||||
FD Cash | FD GPP | ||||||||||||
Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
F/M | Pedro Neto | WOL | AVL | 16.06 | $19 | F/M | Ross Barkley | AVL | WOL | 11.94 | $12 | ||
F/M | James Ward-Prowse | SOU | SHU | 17.84 | $18 | F/M | Youri Tielemans | LEI | BHA | 14.31 | $13 | ||
F/M | Pascal Gross | BHA | LEI | 12.96 | $16 | F/M | Danny Ings | SOU | SHU | 16.71 | $21 | ||
F/M | Youri Tielemans | LEI | BHA | 14.31 | $13 | F/M | Pedro Neto | WOL | AVL | 16.06 | $19 | ||
D | Caglar Soyuncu | LEI | BHA | 10.67 | $11 | D | Lewis Dunk | BHA | LEI | 14.34 | $15 | ||
D | Lewis Dunk | BHA | LEI | 14.34 | $15 | D | Matt Targett | AVL | WOL | 13.62 | $11 | ||
GK | Rui Patricio | WOL | AVL | 9.28 | $8 | GK | Rui Patricio | WOL | AVL | 9.28 | $8 | ||
Total | $100 | Total | $99 | ||||||||||
FD Pivot Cash | FD Pivot GPP | ||||||||||||
Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | ||
F/M | F/M | ||||||||||||
F/M | F/M | Anwar El Ghazi | AVL | WOL | 16.52 | $16 | |||||||
F/M | F/M | ||||||||||||
F/M | F/M | Pascal Gross | BHA | LEI | 12.96 | $16 | |||||||
D | Jan Bednarek | SOU | SHU | 13.01 | $13 | D | |||||||
D | Ethan Ampadu | SHU | SOU | 13.31 | $13 | D | |||||||
GK | GK | ||||||||||||
Total | $26 | Total | $32 |