DraftKings DFS EPL Picks for Saturday, February 22

It's another five-game Saturday slate, featuring Bournemouth as one of the bigger favorites. Tottenham play Ipswich Town but are the fourth-biggest favorite. While there are endless ways to go for tournaments, cash games look fairly straight forward.

MATCHES (ET)

• 10:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. Wolverhampton
• 10:00 am: Arsenal vs. West Ham United
• 10:00 am: Fulham vs. Crystal Palace
• 10:00 am: Ipswich Town vs. Tottenham Hotspur
• 10:00 am: Southampton vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Yankuba Minteh (BHA at SOU, $9,200)

It's been an up-and-down season for Minteh, but he's been part of their revival in the last week, going at least 89 minutes in three straight, FA Cup included. He's an intriguing player who had inconsistent minutes earlier in the season, but he has a split of set pieces and full 90s, which immediately make him viable against Southampton. He's a lively player on the wing and will cross from open play if the situation is right. Of note, if Pervis Estupinan starts, those set pieces are no longer guaranteed.

I'm not a massive fan of Minteh's price, but I like him more than Son Heung-Min ($10,000). You could argue Minteh and Son play similar roles for their respective clubs. Both play on the wing, like to dribble inside to produce chances while also taking a split of sets. When players like Wilson Odobert ($5,400) and Brennan Johnson ($7,000) were healthy earlier in the season, Son was often subbed off early, something I'm still worried about for a $10,000 player.

Dango Ouattara (BOU vs. WOL, $7,400)

Ouattara was my favorite Bournemouth player last week and then Ryan Christie ripped open the slate. Still, Ouattara had a better floor than Antoine Semenyo ($8,000) and while he doesn't have sets like Justin Kluivert ($8,600), he's cheaper and seems more likely to go 90 now that Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra are options again. Similar to the game at Southampton, expect Bournemouth to rack up shots and chances. I'm fine with Ouattara in cash games once again after he was on roughly 30-percent of squads last Saturday.

The Rest

Mathys Tel ($6,600) is an interesting choice and he's not that much different compared to Ouattara. He's cheaper, seems ready to rip shots whenever given the opportunity and is more likely to go 90 than teammates like Son. If you need the extra $800, I don't think Tel is a bad choice in cash games.

Adama Traore ($5,700) was a ball-knowers play last week and after going close to 90 minutes in back-to-back starts, he again deserves consideration. Per 90 minutes, his floor is closer to players with set pieces, as he averages more floor points than Jarrod Bowen ($8,500). He hits his numbers no matter the matchup and if he can get on the score sheet at this price, that could be enough to get you over the cash line or win you some GPPs.

If you don't think Tottenham can secure back-to-back clean sheets, Liam Delap ($4,900) is a perfect tournament play. Ipswich Town haven't looked great as a team, but Delap has scored in back-to-back matches and it would make sense for him to score against this back line.

MIDFIELDERS

Ethan Nwaneri (ARS vs. WHU, $8,100)

Nwaneri might be the lock of the slate, at least in cash games. His DFS numbers aren't much different from Bukayo Saka's and he probably crosses more from open play. At $8,100, it'll be hard to fade him since he should be closer to $10,000 with a split of sets in this spot. In comparison, Leandro Trossard is $10,200 without sets, while Declan Rice is $7,500 with the other split of sets and playing a deeper role. I'd compare him to Omar Marmoush from last week, albeit a little more expensive. Let's hope he can also bag a hat trick.

Marcus Tavernier (BOU vs. WOL, $6,700)

I recommended Tavernier last week and then David Brooks ($5,700) started. There's a chance the same happens again, but if Tavernier starts, I want him in my cash team. This feels like a spot that will produce a ton of shots and crosses for Bournemouth, and at less than $7,000, that's a hard fade for a home match against Wolves.

The Rest

Decisions will have to be made between an expensive forward or players like Eberechi Eze ($9,400) and James Maddison ($8,700). I'll likely fade both in cash games even though they're known for being cash-game locks. 

This isn't the best spot for Eze and partly due to a nagging injury, his performances have been a little hit or miss this season. As for Maddison, he no longer takes corners and is always in play to be subbed off early by Ange Postecoglou. It's easy to fade him, especially after he screwed me in the Showdown against Manchester United.

Mateus Fernandes ($5,300) always deserves a mention at this price even if the matchup isn't the best. I'm not sure what happened to Christie last week, but if you think he can do that again, go for it.

Sasa Lukic ($4,100) was a great play last week and that could be the case again since he has a monopoly role of set pieces without Andreas Pereira in the XI. Even in tournaments, if he hits more than 10 points again, you're going to need that given his price.

DEFENDERS

Pedro Porro (TOT at IPS, $6,400)

Porro has been on sets the last two games and that's reason enough for me to lock him into cash games. While they aren't guaranteed, you don't want to be on the receiving end of 20 Porro points because you didn't think he would be on sets. Plus, if Spurs go behind, it's not hard to imagine him reaching 20 points even without sets. You can't fade that against Ipswich.

I don't think any other defender is a must and most of your second defender will depend on remaining salary. Antonee Robinson ($5,900) should again be plenty popular and has been one of the most consistent defenders in DFS. Djed Spence ($4,700) is a nice combo with Porro. Milos Kerkez ($4,900) has a great chance to rebound from last week's dud.

If Southampton line up with wing-backs, Kyle Walker-Peters ($2,900) went down in pricing after I recommended him last week.

GOALKEEPER

Aaron Ramsdale (SOU vs. BHA, $3,800)

You might have the money to pay up for David Raya ($6,000) and that's fine. Maybe he gets to 16 points, but that's not going to be my move on this slate. Ramsdale is home and while Brighton after coming off some wins, I not sold on them being fully back to form. If you don't trust Arsenal to rack up goals, Alphonse Areola ($3,600) can be considered for minimum pricing.