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
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Aaron RamsdaleSHUSOU42005.4178.46
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 PatricioWOLAVL44005.7389.28
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
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Bertrand TraoreAVLWOL82009.561411.34
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 IngsSOUSHU740010.112116.71
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 WatkinsAVLWOL850011.962219.00
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
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Youri TielemansLEIBHA810010.41314.31
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 NetoWOLAVL830014.481916.06
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 GrossBHALEI960011.031612.96
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-ProwseSOUSHU900013.411817.84
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 BarkleyAVLWOL62008.841211.94
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.
MidfieldersTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Leandro TrossardBHALEI76009.671712.89
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 ArmstrongSOUSHU63008.31412.01
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 AlbrightonLEIBHA68007.1799.11
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
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Ryan BertrandSOUSHU48006.4399.13
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 BednarekSOUSHU30004.611313.01
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 SoyuncuLEIBHA27003.731110.67
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 BurnBHALEI34003.8679.30
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 AmpaduSHUSOU45005.161313.31
Ampadu has at least five clearances in three consecutive games, and I like his chances of making it four-in-a-row.
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Kean BryanSHUSOU33004.06109.94
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 DunkBHALEI41006.261514.34
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.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
FPedro NetoWOLAVL14.48$8,300  FOllie WatkinsAVLWOL11.96$8,500
FLeandro TrossardBHALEI9.67$7,600  FDanny IngsSOUSHU10.11$7,400
MYouri TielemansLEIBHA10.4$8,100  MRoss BarkleyAVLWOL8.84$6,200
MStuart ArmstrongSOUSHU8.3$6,300  MRuben NevesWOLAVL8.24$5,500
DDan BurnBHALEI3.86$3,400  DRyan BertrandSOUSHU6.43$4,800
DRyan BertrandSOUSHU6.43$4,800  DAhmed El MohamadyAVLWOL4.73$5,100
GKRui PatricioWOLAVL5.73$4,400  GKRui PatricioWOLAVL5.73$4,400
UtilMarc AlbrightonLEIBHA7.17$6,800  UtilYouri TielemansLEIBHA10.4$8,100
    Total$49,700      Total$50,000
              
DK Pivot Cash  DK Pivot GPP
Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F       FAnwar El GhaziAVLWOL12.13$10,300
F       F     
M       M     
M       M     
D       D     
DAhmed El MohamadyAVLWOL4.73$5,100  D     
GK       GK     
UtilJoel VeltmanBHALEI7.82$6,600  UtilStuart ArmstrongSOUSHU8.3$6,300
    Total$11,700      Total$16,600
              
FD Cash  FD GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/MPedro NetoWOLAVL16.06$19  F/MRoss BarkleyAVLWOL11.94$12
F/MJames Ward-ProwseSOUSHU17.84$18  F/MYouri TielemansLEIBHA14.31$13
F/MPascal GrossBHALEI12.96$16  F/MDanny IngsSOUSHU16.71$21
F/MYouri TielemansLEIBHA14.31$13  F/MPedro NetoWOLAVL16.06$19
DCaglar SoyuncuLEIBHA10.67$11  DLewis DunkBHALEI14.34$15
DLewis DunkBHALEI14.34$15  DMatt TargettAVLWOL13.62$11
GKRui PatricioWOLAVL9.28$8  GKRui PatricioWOLAVL9.28$8
    Total$100      Total$99
              
FD Pivot Cash  FD Pivot GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/M       F/M     
F/M       F/MAnwar El GhaziAVLWOL16.52$16
F/M       F/M     
F/M       F/MPascal GrossBHALEI12.96$16
DJan BednarekSOUSHU13.01$13  D     
DEthan AmpaduSHUSOU13.31$13  D     
GK       GK     
    Total$26      Total$32