DraftKings DFS Soccer: EPL Picks for Saturday, Aug. 19

MATCHES (ET)

• 10:00 am: Fulham vs. Brentford
• 10:00 am: Liverpool vs. AFC Bournemouth
• 10:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Mohamed Salah, LIV vs. BOU ($11,000): It's going to be difficult to avoid playing Liverpool in all formats, including an expensive Salah. Liverpool have an implied win probability just under 80-percent at home hosting Bournemouth, along with an implied goal total just above 2.5. This is almost a goal more than Brighton, who have the second-highest implied goal total. I think slate dynamics allow you to spend up once at forward in cash games and it's a tricky decision between Salah and Pascal Gross ($10,200). 

Salah is more of a boom-or-bust option, but he should be able to achieve a modest floor without set pieces. Last season in Premier League play, he averaged 3.42 shots and 1.78 shots assisted, and his goalscoring odds of -135 are the best of the slate. I underestimated Gross' role in the Brighton attack last week, but he still splits set pieces and won't be on penalties. I don't think he'll have as much freedom moving forward away to Wolves as he did home against Luton Town, so I prefer to finding the $800 to play Salah over Gross if I can find it.

Luis Diaz, LIV vs. BOU ($6,500): The non-Salah attackers seem underpriced relative to Salah. I don't think you can count on any of Diaz, Diogo Jota ($7,700) or Cody Gakpo ($6,900) to play more  than 75 minutes, but they are still well-priced to gain access to the Liverpool attack. I opted to highlight Diaz as a cash option due to his price, position on the left wing and favorable goalscoring odds of +135. Bryan Mbeumo ($8,200) is an intriguing second forward option. I think he is solid value for a split of set pieces and open-play floor, and he gets a boost for being on penalty duty for Brentford. I think it's tough to justify spending this much salary to play a non-Liverpool player in cash games, but I think at the very least Mbeumo is a solid option in GPPs.

David Brooks, BOU at LIV ($3,800): Brooks split set pieces and was aggressive shooting against West Ham last week, logging four shots (two on target). The matchup away to Liverpool is clearly bad for Bournemouth players, but I think he is cheap enough to be viable in certain cash-game constructions, though I'm more likely to utilize Brooks in GPPs. You can play for a match where Brooks contributes an early goal or assist for Bournemouth, creating a  positive gamescript for other Liverpool players in the rest of your lineup.

This is going to be a difficult slate from a tournament point of view and it's difficult to not play Liverpool pieces. The Brentford-Fulham game projects to be lower scoring, while Brighton players are expensive in comparison to their Liverpool counterparts. Unless these matches feature very few goals, I think Salah needs more than one goal to be necessary to win a GPP. From a big picture point of view, fading Salah gives you plenty of salary to mix and match players from Brighton and Liverpool.

One cheap forward I like exclusively in tournaments is Matheus Cunha ($5,200). Cunha had a great match against Manchester United on Monday and he could easily be the source of a cheap goal. Brighton pressed high up the pitch as usual in their opener and I think Wolves are better equipped than Luton Town to take advantage of this and score a goal on the counterattack.

MIDFIELDERS

Dominik Szoboszlai, LIV vs. BOU ($6,100): Szoboszlai looked great in his Premier League debut for Liverpool. He plays in a less advanced role for Liverpool than he played for RB Leipzig, but he was still active in open play, recording three shots assisted and he took both of Liverpool's left-sided corners. I expect more floor points from open play against Bournemouth and with a partial role on set pieces, Szoboszlai looks like a great value in cash games.

Pedro Neto, WOL vs. BHA ($3,800): Wolves were massive underdogs away to Manchester United on Monday, but that didn't stop Neto from recording an eye-popping stat line including 15 crosses, three shots and four shots assisted. He took most of Wolves' set pieces and it was encouraging to see him play a full 90 minutes after several halftime substitutions last season. Neto is underpriced, even in a difficult home matchup against Brighton.

I didn't recommend Solomon March ($10,400) for cash games last Saturday and he almost made me pay for it with a first-half goal. Given the value options at midfield, I probably won't play him again this week in cash, but I think he could be a strong tournament option. Lineups with March will be in a good position to leverage themselves against Salah lineups since it will be difficult to play both simultaneously. His teammate Kaoru Mitoma ($7,800) played a full 90 in the opener and is priced just above the other Liverpool forwards. I think he has a chance to see lower than usual rostership in an otherwise solid matchup against Wolves. 

DEFENDERS

Trent Alexander-Arnold, LIV vs. BOU ($7,900): This is a steep price for Alexander-Arnold and you should compare him to alternatives at other positions such as Mbeumo and Mitoma. In the past it might have been easier to side with Alexander-Arnold, but it's more difficult now that Liverpool split set pieces three ways. I ultimately prefer Alexander-Arnold since he could outscore the defender position by a large margin and the matchup against Bournemouth is too good to pass on. You could save a lot of salary by playing Andrew Robertson ($6,200) instead. He is a good option, but his attacking role is not as strong as Alexander-Arnold's and there is also always the risk of an early substitution if Kostas Tsimikas is on the bench.

Ibrahima Konate, LIV vs. BOU ($3,100): There are some solid spend down options you can look to for your second defender. I highlighted Konate since he is too cheap for a center-back with such strong clean-sheet odds. Aaron Hickey ($2,900) is cheap for a full-back and Illia Zabarnyi ($2,500) is projected to start at the minimum price. Both are unspectacular options, but they could come in handy for lineups that need some help meeting the three-team requirement.

GOALKEEPER

Alisson, LIV vs. BOU ($5,900): I'm neither brave nor original for recommending Allison, but I do think within the context of this slate it makes even more sense than usual to spend up at goalkeeper. Allison is playing at home and Liverpool's win and clean sheet odds are much better than anyone else on the slate. Outside of galaxy-brained tournament strategy, there is almost no reason to not find the $400 to upgrade Jason Steele ($5,500) to Allison. I think Bernd Leno ($4,600) will be popular as a cheaper home goalkeeper, especially since he scored 29.8 points last weekend. In cash, I think it's worth finding the $1,300 to get up to Allison. I'm fine rostering Neto ($3,600) in GPPs even if I have some Liverpool players. He should see plenty of opportunities to saves and could make a winning lineup even if Liverpool score a couple goals.