DraftKings DFS EPL Picks for Saturday, Sept. 21

MATCHES (ET)

• 10:00 am: Aston Villa vs. Wolverhampton
• 10:00 am: Fulham vs. Newcastle United
• 10:00 am: Leicester City vs. Everton
• 10:00 am: Liverpool vs. AFC Bournemouth
• 10:00 am: Southampton vs. Ipswich Town
• 10:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Brentford

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Mohamed Salah (LIV vs. BOU, $10,400): Liverpool have the best matchup at home to Bournemouth, and the RotoWire Cheat Sheet identifies that their implied team total of nearly 2.50 is best by a solid margin. Salah doesn't take set pieces, but there aren't many floors that you can feel confident about at the forward position, and his 9.4 floor points per game based on open play is solid. His goal odds of -135 are also best on the slate. 

Someone like Dwight McNeil ($9,200) takes set pieces and has a better floor, but even if he has an edge in terms of floor, Salah isn't that far behind, and his goal contributions offer a ceiling someone like McNeil has a tough time matching. I think McNeil is a good play as a set-piece monopolist, but given Everton's struggles to score goals (editor's note: Everton have more goals than Liverpool over the last two league matches), I'm apprehensive to make him a priority in cash games.

Dominic Solanke (TOT vs. BRE, $6,800): In cash games, the popular tactic might be to spend down twice at forward. Tottenham have the second best implied total and Solanke's -105 anytime goalscoring odds are tied with Diogo Jota ($7,600) for second best. Spurs don't really have a backup to Solanke and he's played 90 minutes in both of his starts this season. 

I think Jordan Ayew's ($5,500) price offers salary relief to play the top options at each position. He's in a positive matchup, has a decent floor, played 80 minutes in his most recent start and might take a set piece or two. Ayew isn't a must by any means, but he projects well in my personal projections, and I think he is a sneaky good option.

With no standout options at forward, I'm expecting Liverpool forwards to see a lot of rostership. Salah will be an attractive option in all formats, while Jota and Luis Diaz ($8,600) profile like great GPP options. Diaz has been particularly impressive this season, already netting three goals, though his minutes lately have been concerning and his replacement Cody Gakpo played well as a starter midweek.

Newcastle's Anthony Gordon ($8,800) is an attractive option if Kieran Trippier doesn't start since he'll take set pieces. Son Heung-Min ($8,200) and Brennan Johnson ($6,100) are affordable pieces for Tottenham if you want to stack them with Solanke. Finally, I haven't mentioned that Aston Villa are in a good spot against Wolves. That said, their fantasy options have been lackluster. Normally, I'd want to play Ollie Watkins ($9,500), but he has only played more than 65 minutes once this season even if Unai Emery said Friday that the striker is "100 percent."

MIDFIELDERS

James Maddison (TOT vs. BRE, $8,500): Maddison feels like one of the safer options, as he does well in open play and is splitting set pieces with Dejan Kulusevski ($6,600). I think both are good options in cash games. The set-piece split is annoying for DFS, but Maddison has logged 9.1 open-play floor points per start this season, while Kulusevski is averaging just over six floor points. They aren't completely reliant on set pieces to hit their floors and Tottenham's game environments are often very friendly for fantasy.

Bryan Mbeumo (BRE at TOT, $6,400): This isn't the first time I've recommended a set-piece taker against Spurs, but Mbeumo is affordable at $6,400. He takes Brentford's penalties and should take a share of corners and direct free kicks. Tottenham are a team that allow opposition opportunities to score goals and floor points, and Brentford's 1.21 implied goal total as big underdogs reflects this. Even though Spurs are strong favorites, I'm comfortable playing Mbeumo in cash games and tournaments.

I didn't highlight him, but Andreas Pereira ($7,800) is always in the cash-game discussion based on his set-piece role. Pereira is priced near Maddison, but he has a significantly weaker open-play floor and he needs plenty of corners to pay off his price. This can certainly happen, but Fulham's matchup against Newcastle isn't easy, and if set pieces don't go his way, Pereira isn't as likely as options like Mbeumo or Maddison to deliver a bailout goal.

There are a lot of cheap midfielders worth mentioning. Harry Winks ($3,800) is splitting corners for Leicester City. Youngster Tyler Dibling ($4,400) of Southampton took a couple set pieces in Gameweek 3. I would be surprised if he played more than 70 minutes, but he's an interesting option in an attacking role. Kalvin Phillips ($3,800) plays a more defensive role but is splitting set pieces for Ipswich. 

John McGinn ($5,000) and Jacob Ramsey ($4,200) are cheap ways to access a favorable Aston Villa matchup against Wolves. McGinn has resumed playing 90 minutes in an attacking role in recent starts, and even though he has been frustrating for DFS purposes, I think he is a cash-game option.

DEFENDERS

Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV vs. BOU, $6,900): I treated Andrew Robertson ($6,200) and Alexander-Arnold as essentially interchangeable last weekend, but after watching Liverpool in recent matches, I think it's worth chasing Alexander-Arnold's upside. A 75- or 80-minute sub is still possible, but he will shoot and be more active in open play than Robertson, who has been more dependent on set pieces. Robertson is averaging just over four open-play floor points per start, while Alexander-Arnold is averaging just over seven open-play floor points.

Leif Davis (IPS at SOU, $4,900): Davis is great value at the defender position. He splits set pieces and his 7.2 floor points per match to open the season have been impressive in the context of Ipswich's difficult schedule. Southampton's Yukinari Sugawara ($5,800) will line up against Davis, and he has been impressive in an attacking role over his last two starts. With William Smallbone out, he is likely to play a role on set pieces in addition to his open play value.

Elsewhere, Leicester's Victor Kristiansen ($3,700) is cheap and has split corners over his past three starts. I'm not a big fan of Lucas Digne ($5,600), but he undoubtedly should be mentioned as an option in all formats. He's in a good matchup and has been splitting set pieces with Youri Tielemans. He's scoring 8.1 floor points per start despite averaging just 77 minutes in them.

GOALKEEPER

Kepa Arrizabalaga (BOU at LIV, $3,500): In cash games, it's unlikely there will be goalkeeper chalk because there are 12 options to choose from. I feel like any goalkeeper has a chance for a decent floor against Liverpool, who are taking 15.5 shots (5.25 on target) per match. Arrizabalaga's price allows you to upgrade at any of your forward positions.

I think Bernd Leno ($4,500), Jordan Pickford ($4,600) and Arijanet Muric ($4,300) are all solid values compared to the other mid-priced options. Fulham, Everton and Ipswich are all in matches that are essentially toss-ups. Muric seems like the best option of the bunch, as you get a cheaper price for essentially the same implied win odds.