This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
DraftKings DFS Content for Saturday's EPL slate
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: Brentford vs. AFC Bournemouth
- 10:00 am: Burnley vs. Tottenham Hotspur
- 10:00 am: Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest
- 10:00 am: Manchester City vs. Fulham
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS
Erling Haaland, MCI vs. FUL ($10,400): DraftKings Sportsbook has priced Haaland at +135 to score two goals or better. He's underpriced for those goal odds in a great home matchup against Fulham. I don't think there is much to be gained by fading Haaland in cash games. He'd be easier to fade in GPPs if he was more expensive, but he's priced near his teammates and other forwards in good matchups.
Julian Alvarez, MCI vs. FUL ($9,000): I expected the price gap between Haaland and Julian Alvarez ($9,000) or Phil Foden ($8,600) to be much bigger than it is. Alvarez took a surprising 10 corners (from both the left and right side) last match against Sheffield United to pair with eight total shots. If Foden and Grealish start with Alvarez, I won't expect such impressive numbers and a majority set-piece role again, but I think it's safe to pencil Alvarez in for a few set pieces and open-play floor to pair with his near even money goalscoring odds. If I need the extra $400, I'm completely fine playing Foden, as well. He's live to take a few set pieces, and he's stepped up as one of City's primary creative players in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, which bodes well for his open-play fantasy value.
Chelsea's Raheem Sterling ($10,000) and Nicolas Jackson ($8,400) stand out as the most obvious GPP pivots off chalky Manchester City forwards. Both have near even money goalscoring odds and good enough open-play floors that they score more than 20 DK points with just one goal. That upside is a must to be able to outscore at least two of Haaland, Alvarez and Foden in a match where City have over a 2.50 implied goal total. In larger contests, Son Heung-Min ($9,300) and Bryan Mbeumo ($9,600) are both capable of massive scores and should come with low rostership.
Richarlison, TOT at BRN ($5,600): Most of the cheap forward options are playing for underdogs in bad matchups, but I have to highlight the underperforming Richarlison. He might not start due to a knock he picked up in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, but he notably broke his goalscoring slump in that fixture, as well. I think he's a great GPP option that you can use in a second forward or midfield/utility spot and given his recent struggles, I think he'll be rostered less than he should. Bernardo Silva ($6,800) should be mentioned and if he plays in a more forward role again like he did against Sheffield United, he is underpriced.
Raul Jimenez ($3,900) is near the floor price and he's my favorite punt play of the forwards expected to start. In GPPs, he will be leverage off of lineups playing Ederson, who will be a popular goalkeeper in tournaments.
MIDFIELDERS
James Maddison, TOT at BRN ($9,800): Maddison has had an outstanding start to his Spurs tenure, injecting a long-missing creative spark Tottenham have lacked since the departure of Christian Eriksen. Maddison is the slate's only set-piece monopolist playing for a favorite, so I'd like to find the salary to afford him in cash games. Jack Grealish ($8,200) is certainly a good play if you need to save salary, but Maddison has a more reliable floor along with better goalscoring odds.
Enzo Fernandez, CHE vs. NFO ($6,500): Fernandez has split set pieces in all three of his starts for Chelsea, exceeding eight fantasy points in each of those starts. He's a good point-per-dollar value in this range, but if you play Maddison and the expensive forwards I mentioned above, it's going to be difficult to complete the rest of your roster. Mathias Jensen ($6,100) is a bit cheaper and will split set pieces for Brentford is he starts, so while Fernandez is a better option, I think Jensen is fine if you need the extra salary. Conor Gallagher ($5,300) is a boring but acceptable option, too, especially if you want to afford a slightly better goalkeeper or defender.
It's tough to find punt midfielders near or below the $4,000 price point. Ryan Christie ($4,200) might take some set pieces for Bournemouth, but he's also been subbed before the 70th minute in all three of his starts. Joe Rothwell ($3,700) is in a similar spot for Bournemouth and he was subbed off at halftime last weekend. Yves Bissouma ($4,400) was not someone on my radar heading into this season from a DFS point of view, but he's been solid in his three starts this season for Spurs. While many of his points come from defensive peripheral stats, he's also logged six shots and two shots assisted. Finally, Luca Koleosho ($3,900) had a decent outing on the wing against Aston Villa, scoring 7.6 fantasy points in 68 minutes.
DEFENDERS
I got some serious sticker shock when I saw Ben Chilwell costs $8,700. That's a similar price point as Julian Alvarez and $100 more than Phil Foden, so there is serious opportunity cost to including him in your team. At the end of the day, I don't think his floor and a partial role on set pieces separate him enough from the rest of the defender position to make him a priority.
In cash games, I'm inclined to spend down twice at defender. Malo Gusto ($6,700) and Pedro Porro ($6,900) are great tournament options, but you'd have to play them at the expense of options like Enzo Fernandez or Mathias Jensen.
Ruben Dias, MCI vs. FUL ($3,800): Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol are both ($3,900), and I don't think there is much of a difference between any of these three. Ake seems to be the one most capable of achieving ceiling outcomes, but you're just playing them for access to City's matchup against Fulham. Milos Kerkez ($4,000) seems like a decent full-back option, too. He's an attack-minded left-back coming off of a solid match against Tottenham when he got five crosses, whereas the City options are more reliant on clean sheets.
Aaron Hickey, BRE vs. BOU ($3,300): I'm not exactly thrilled to highlight Hickey, but he's a slight value for a full-back playing as a home favorite, and we need to save money somewhere. A good performance from him would entail a couple of crosses along with a couple shots or fouls drawn. Hannes Delcroix ($3,100) logged two shots and shots assisted in his Burnley debut, though he is not a natural left-back. Pay close attention to the Burnley starting XI before making a decision to punt with him.
GOALKEEPER
James Trafford, BRN vs. TOT ($4,200): One theme I noticed when researching all the positions is that we are lacking cheap value options. It's too difficult to fit Ederson ($5,900) in a lineup without making serious concessions at another position. In slates like this, I am more willing to sacrifice at goalkeeper since it's generally one of the highest variance positions on a weekly basis. Trafford is the cheapest home goalkeeper, so I think he's the "safest" of the underdog keepers. For cash games, I don't think Brentford attackers will be popular, so Bournemouth's Neto ($4,000) is a fine choice, as well.
