It is always rough when Manchester City play in the last game of a three-game EPL DFS slate. City manager Pep Guardiola rotates his players more than any manager in the Premier League, so knowing who will start for City is a challenge at best. At the same time, it never feels good to fade Manchester City, especially when they are playing one of the bottom three sides. There are enough players I like in the other games that I probably won’t have a ton of exposure to Manchester City, but that doesn’t mean I feel great about it.

 

Goalkeepers
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Sam JohnstoneWBACRY43006.0199.81
Johnstone has been great of late, keeping clean sheets in three of his last four games, with at least five saves in two of those. Crystal Palace have managed just three goals in their last six games, and while they are a different team with Wilfried Zaha back, I think we are getting a decent shot at a clean sheet at a bargain price.
EdersonMCIFUL59009.031413.82
City are the only team on the slate in the top half of the league in opponent's saves. Fulham are tied for 11th and the remaing four teams are in the bottom seven. With saves likely at a premium, City's likely win and clean sheet are worth more than normal. Ederson has 15 clean sheets and 20 wins in 28 games and I fully expect City to right the ship after a poor showing against Manchester United last week.
Vicente GuaitaCRYWBA51005.7109.20
West Brom have been better defensively of late, but they have scored the fewest goals in the league over the last six game weeks. Crystal Palace is a completely different team with Wilfried Zaha back, and there is a reason they are +255 to win and keep a clean sheet. I wish he was a bit cheaper on DraftKings, but he is pretty clearly in a much better spot than the keepers who cost less.
Forwards
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Wilfried ZahaCRYWBA730012.61814.92
No team has possessed the ball less than West Brom this season, and Wilfried Zaha should thrive in that type of game. It was nice to see him play 45 minutes against Tottenham last week in his first game in over a month, and I like this price for someone who is +160 to score a goal and +850 to score at least two.
Dominic Calvert-LewinEVEBRN660011.091919.10
He remains scoreless since returning from a hamstring injury, but he still leads this season with 13 goals on the season. Calvert-Lewin has the kind of explosiveness Burnley have struggled for years to contain, and I simply think he is too cheap, even if he is in the midst of a slump.
Chris WoodBRNEVE49005.871711.29
Wood's scoring is down due in large part to injuries to himself and teammates, but he has six shots on goal over his last two games, including a goal against Arsenal last week. Wood has at least 10 goals in three consecutive Premier League campaigns, and now that he is healthy, I think he will start to provide value for DFS.
Midfielders
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Eberechi EzeCRYWBA59008.86119.67
Eze has great before Wilfried Zaha got hurt, but he has been pretty terrible since then, with zero shots or chances created in four consecutive games. He was subed off for Zaha at halftime against Tottenham, and there is no guarantee he will start, but if both are in the starting lineup, I think Eze can regain his form of a month ago, when he had three straight games with double-digit fantasy points.
RicharlisonEVEBRN870010.622114.28
How much is a hot streak worth? $2300 on DK and $2 on FD, it seems. That is the price difference between Richarlison, who had his run of four consecutive league games with a goal ended by Chelsea last week, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. There is no doubt I would rather play Richarlison if I can afford him, though he is expensive considering he does very little for fantasy outside of scoring goals.
Dwight McNeilBRNEVE72009.66138.95
McNeil has been at his best this season when Johann Berg Gudmundsson provides a threat on the right side to keep defenses honest. Gundmundsson is back, and McNeil has 14 crosses and four chances created over his last two games.
BernardEVEBRN48004.8888.33
Bernard is averaging double-digit fantasy points on both sites in games he starts. With James Rodriguez out and Gylfi Sigurdsson a doubt, Bernard could be a strong play in all formats.
Erik PietersBRNEVE36004.0677.41
I would like Pieters better if DraftKings listed him as a defender, which is where he will play Saturday with Charlie Taylor injured. Pieters has eight crosses over his last three starts, and while his ceiling may not be particularly high, I believe his floor is.
MidfieldersTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Kevin De BruyneMCIFUL1060018.962323.73
If you only play one City attacker, and you may have to with the way the prices are in this slate, De Bruyne is your guy. He is almost always the safest option on any slate, but he especially stands out in this slate, where all the other expensive players are strikers who are as likely to give you nothing as they are to score a goal.
Defenders
PlayerTeamOpp.DK $DK FPPGFD $FD FPPG
Lucas DigneEVEBRN680011.761415.26
I don't usually love to pay up for Lucas Digne, but if both Rodriguez and Sigurdsson are out, Digne could have the set pieces all to himself. Even if one of those midfielders does start, no team has allowed as many crosses as Burnley this season.
Darnell FurlongWBACRY43006.89910.72
Conor Townsend has been far more prolific sending in crosses of late, but Furlong is a safe option with a good matchup, and he is relatively cheap.
Conor TownsendWBACRY56007.391212.20
Townsend is a strong FD GPP play, and he is a strong UTIL play on DraftKings because there are very few safe options around his price.
Joachim AndersenFULMCI35004.351314.35
He has at least 14 FD fantasy points in six of his last seven games, and he should get plenty of clearances against Manchester City.
Michael KeaneEVEBRN36004.891314.33
Keane had a disappointing game against Chelsea but before that he had at least five clearances in six consecutive starts. Only three teams have conceded more clearances than Burnley this season, making Keane one of the safest plays on the slate.

 

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
FDwight McNeilBUREVE9.66$7,200  FDominic Calvert-LewinEVEBUR11.09$6,600
FEberechi EzeCRYWBA8.86$5,900  FWilfried ZahaCRYWBA12.6$7,300
MErik PietersBUREVE4.06$3,600  MEberechi EzeCRYWBA8.86$5,900
MKevin De BruyneMCIFUL18.96$10,600  MBernardEVEBUR4.88$4,800
DLucas DigneEVEBUR11.76$6,800  DLucas DigneEVEBUR11.76$6,800
DDarnell FurlongWBACRY6.89$4,300  DConor TownsendWBACRY7.39$5,600
GKVicente GuaitaCRYWBA5.7$5,100  GKEdersonMCIFUL9.03$5,900
UtilConor GallagherWBACRY8.1$6,400  UtilBernardo SilvaMCIFUL7.24$6,700
    Total$49,900      Total$49,600
              
DK Pivot Cash  DK Pivot GPP
Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  Pos.PlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F       F     
F       F     
M       M     
M       MCallum RobinsonWBACRY4.92$5,000
D       D     
D       DDarnell FurlongWBACRY6.89$4,300
GKEdersonMCIFUL9.03$5,900  GK     
UtilConor TownsendWBACRY7.39$5,600  UtilGabriel JesusMCIFUL9.1$8,000
    Total$11,500      Total$17,300
              
FD Cash  FD GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/MKevin De BruyneMCIFUL23.73$23  F/MEberechi EzeCRYWBA9.67$11
F/MConor GallagherWBACRY11.65$14  F/MWilfried ZahaCRYWBA14.92$18
F/MBernardEVEBRN8.33$8  F/MBernardEVEBRN8.33$8
F/MPhil FodenMCIFUL15.78$17  F/MKevin De BruyneMCIFUL23.73$23
DJoachim AndersenFULMCI14.35$13  DLucas DigneEVEBRN15.26$14
DMichael KeaneEVEBRN14.33$13  DConor TownsendWBACRY12.20$12
GKVicente GuaitaCRYWBA9.20$10  GKEdersonMCIFUL13.82$14
    Total$98      Total$100
              
FD Pivot Cash  FD Pivot GPP
PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary  PosPlayerTeamOppFPPGSalary
F/M       F/M     
F/M       F/M     
F/MEberechi EzeCRYWBA9.67$11  F/M     
F/MGylfi SigurdssonEVEBRN11.45$15  F/M     
D       D     
D       DJoachim AndersenFULMCI14.35$13
GK       GKJordan PickfordEVEBRN13.02$12
    Total$26      Total$25