This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Crystal Palace are home favorites against Manchester United with an implied win probability above 40 percent. Palace have an implied goal total of 1.75, while United have an implied goal total of 1.57.
3:00 pm: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
DraftKings Showdown DFS Fantasy Soccer: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United Cheat Sheet
CRYSTAL PALACE TEAM PREVIEW
Crystal Palace have begun to play quite well under Oliver Glasner. In April, they got away wins at Newcastle and at Liverpool. They've been using a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 formation and I expect that to continue.
| Player | DK Pos. | Flex Salary | Notes |
| Dean Henderson | GK | $6,600 | |
| Chris Richards | D | $3,400 | I've seen some sources project Nathaniel Clyne ($3,600) to start instead of Richards. Neither is a priority option. |
| Joachim Andersen | D | $4,000 | Adam Zdroik's favorite player. |
| Marc Guehi | D | $3,400 | Guehi is coming off a knee injury and may not start immediately. If he doesn't, he could come off the bench for Richards or Clyne. |
| Tyrick Mitchell | D | $4,600 | Mitchell and Munoz are both good options, but I slightly prefer Mitchell against the struggling Antony over Munoz against Garnacho. |
| Daniel Munoz | D | $5,200 | |
| Adam Wharton | M | $7,400 | Wharton actually has an okay floor without set pieces, but he needs to be $1,000 cheaper before I consider him. |
| Will Hughes | M | $6,000 | I don't think Hughes is a good play, but I think the field will agree. You can consider him in GPPs. |
| Eberechi Eze | F/M | $9,600 | Eze missed the Fulham match with a knee injury but has been a full participant in training this week. He's been subbed early even without injury concerns, but he is still a top play. |
| Michael Olise | M | $10,000 | Olise only took right-sided corners even without Eze on the pitch last weekend. I don't think he or Eze has a monopoly of set pieces. |
| Jean-Philippe Mateta | F | $9,000 | Mateta has two braces and seven goals in his last eight starts. He's tough to fit into lineups at this price. |
Eze missed Palace's recent fixture against Fulham with a knee issue. He trained this week and is expected to start, but even when fit he has been subbed off a bit early in recent starts which is concerning. A sub-70 minute appearance is in the range of outcomes.
Eze and Olise haven't played together in a large sample of games under Glasner, but some trends are beginning to emerge with set pieces. Eze has taken only one penalty this season and Mateta has scored two while Olise has scored one. Eze wasn't on the pitch for any of these penalties, so I think he will take them if the opportunity presents itself. Olise has been taking primarily right-sided corners and Eze has taken primarily left-side corners. Things could change, but a 50/50 set piece split seems most likely.
This season, only Sheffield United have conceded more floor points per game than Manchester United. And yes, I double and triple checked that. This should be a smash spot for Palace for fantasy points.
MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM PREVIEW
United are dealing with several injuries in their attack and defense. This will probably force Jonny Evans and Casemiro to start as center-backs.
| Player | DK Pos. | Flex Salary | Notes |
| Andre Onana | GK | $5,800 | If you like danger, Onana should have plenty of opportunities for saves. Manchester United average over 17 shots allowed per match. |
| Diogo Dalot | D | $5,400 | Dalot should be a popular play in most formats given his salary and the price dynamics of this slate. |
| Casemiro | M | $4,000 | Casemiro has maintained a reasonable fantasy floor for this price even as a center-back, though that comes with the caveat that he has played against Burnley and Sheffield United. |
| Jonny Evans | D | $3,200 | Evans might be useful as the cheapest available starter. |
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | D | $4,200 | Wan-Bissaka barely contributes anything offensively. I prefer other punts. |
| Christian Eriksen | M | $6,800 | Eriksen has taken some set pieces recently, but he is a sub risk if Scott McTominay is on the bench. He's a reasonable but risky option. |
| Kobbie Mainoo | M | $4,800 | Mainoo is a great young player, but he typically doesn't score a lot of fantasy points. |
| Alejandro Garnacho | F/M | $9,200 | Garnacho is great on paper, but similar to Mateta, he's tough to afford with other top options. |
| Bruno Fernandes | M | $10,200 | Reports online suggest that Bruno is dealing with a wrist injury, but he is otherwise moving around fine. Still, it's something to monitor. |
| Antony | F/M | $8,600 | Played 90 minutes last weekend against Burnley but only 55 minutes against Sheffield United. Amad Diallo is very likely to sub in for Antony or Garnacho. |
| Rasmus Hojlund | F | $7,800 | I think his substitution at the 65th minute against Burnley was primarily due to fixture congestion. I'd expect him to play more minutes against Palace, but Diallo may sub in for him again. |
I think Fernandes should continue to take most of United's set pieces, but it's worth pointing out that Eriksen took some corners in the FA cup semi-final a few weeks ago and against Burnley last weekend. It's worth pointing out that Bruno might not even start this match. He's been pictured wearing a protective cast on his wrist and Erik ten Hag mentioned they discovered an undisclosed minor injury after the Burnley match. It's unclear if ten Hag was referring to the wrist or something else. If Fernandes doesn't start, United set pieces will be a complete guessing game, though I'd expect Eriksen to at least play a role. (Editor's note: Fernandes is one of the rare players who doesn't miss matches. The only way he'd miss out is if he got into a fight with ten Hag.)
CASH-GAME STRATEGY
If Eze, Olise and Fernandes all start, they are easily the top plays overall. They all project similarly and I think you can captain any of them, but I have a slight preference towards Olise. Eze is returning from a leg injury and I prefer the matchup at home and as a slight favorite. It was good to see that he played 90 minutes last week for the first time since returning from injury.
You aren't left with much salary after playing the three options above and no one in particular stands out as a must-have flex option. I think Mitchell and Munoz are good options as wing-backs against a United team that concedes many fantasy points. On the other side, Dalot always offers some attacking upside.
If you are fine with a cheap center-back, you're able to afford Eriksen. I'd feel better about doing that if McTominay wasn't on the bench. Otherwise, I think Eriksen is a sub risk and even if he takes a few set pieces I am not sure he is worth it in that case.
Onana averages 3.8 saves per match, so I think he is an okay option if you don't want to play the full/wing-backs above. He's probably more likely to score more 10 points than the outfield players in this price range.
TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
Playing all three of Eze, Olise and Fernandes, with one at captain, makes it nearly impossible to play attackers like Mateta, Garnacho and Hojlund with them. I think this dilemma makes tournaments extremely interesting. If you want to simply fade one of those three, Eze seems like the natural choice since he is coming back from injury.
I'm personally more interested in lineup constructions that feature Eze, Olise and Fernandes but allow me to pay up for an additional attacker. This type of construction is likely to lose if one of them gets a goal and assist, but if the fantasy points are more balanced, a cheaper captain might be optimal even if they are not the top scoring player overall. I've included some of my ideas below.
Lineup Ideas (GPP only)
Onana CPT - Fernandes - Olise: Since Palace have a pretty high implied goal total, I don't expect Onana captains to be particularly popular. United have conceded 5.4 shots on goal per match this season, so Onana has plenty of save upside to make him worth captaining. This type of construction allows you to play Eze, who could rack up shots on goal, or you can fade Eze and opt for another United attacker in a more traditional 1-0 construction.
Mitchell CPT - Mateta: Mateta has been in terrific goalscoring form, but his price is tough to fit into a lineup. Captaining Mitchell gives you enough salary to play whatever combination of players you'd like along with Mateta. Like I mentioned above, this gambit fails if one of Olise, Eze or Fernandes puts up a huge fantasy score, but at the same time, it could be very competitive if Mitchell gets an assist.
Hojlund CPT - Fernandes: Hojlund has been a bit frustrating in fantasy, but he offers brace upside at a very reasonable price that doesn't force you to punt multiple positions. I don't think he'll be a popular captain choice.
Bonus: If you like playing for sub goals, Diallo is only $4,600. Good luck.
