DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Picks

Written by

Ryan Belongia

Published on May 6, 2022

MATCHES (ET)

For detailed stats and odds, check out the
DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Saturday's slate includes four games and features Chelsea as the biggest favorite with the highest implied goal total. For the second consecutive week, Wilfried Zaha ($9,900) is the most expensive player. His price seems a bit egregious but Crystal Palace are in a great spot at home against Watford. Their implied goal total is currently just above 1.75, the highest number I can remember seeing for them this season. Zaha has been in good form, scoring plenty of goals and showing a higher floor than we've seen in the past. He makes for a decent option in GPPs considering he has hat-trick upside and isn't likely to be overly popular. Ivan Toney ($8,400) has the best goalscoring odds at +115 for Brentford's home matchup against Southampton. Brentford have played better of late and Southampton have been conceding goals. I'd expect Toney to be more popular than Zaha based on the cheaper salary and better goal odds.

Eberechi Eze, CRY vs. WAT ($7,300): Eze has started back-to-back games for Palace and he's taken the majority of set pieces in each of them. He's also coming off his first goal of the season last weekend. As already mentioned, Palace are in a great spot at home against Watford. If Eze doesn't start, Dwight McNeil ($7,200) would be a similar option. McNeil has put up double-digit floor points in three consecutive games and Burnley's home matchup against Aston Villa isn't prohibitive. The Chelsea forwards will be relatively popular in tournaments. Kai Havertz ($7,400) has the second-best goalscoring odds behind Toney. Timo Werner ($6,900) is priced under $7,000 for the first time in five weeks. There should be goals for Chelsea at home against Wolves, who were just beaten 3-0 by Brighton and have been shutout in three straight games. Romelu Lukaku ($4,800) is exceptionally cheap. You might say rightfully so considering he has the lowest floor of any forward in the league and he hasn't been scoring goals, either. Nevertheless, I wouldn't be able to pass up that price if he starts.

Nathan Tella, SOU at BRE ($4,500): Midfield and defender are priority positions on this slate which makes it necessary to spend down at forward. Tella has scored at least seven floor points in consecutive starts. Yoane Wissa ($5,200) would make sense, too, but he's $700 more expensive. Shane Long ($3,900) doesn't have a floor but his salary and lack of popularity make him a fine option for tournaments. Joshua King ($3,600) would be slightly more appealing considering he takes penalty kicks.

MIDFIELDERS

James Ward-Prowse, SOU at BRE ($9,500): Unlike last week, Ward-Prowse doesn't stand alone at the top of midfield. As we've seen many times this season, he and Mason Mount ($8,700) are featured on the same slate and it's a decision I've gotten wrong plenty of times. With both Marcos Alonso and Reece James back in the fold, Mount's role on set pieces is slightly diminished, but he still offers more open-play upside than Ward-Prowse. For cash games, I'd still side with the safety of Ward-Prowse, who offers plenty of upside as evidenced by nine goals and five assists on the season. Chelsea have the better matchup and are more likely to score multiple goals, and combined with the $800 salary difference, that might have me preferring Mount in GPPs.

Christian Eriksen, BRE vs. SOU ($8,500): You could argue that Eriksen is the best option based on his recent form and cheaper salary. He's scored 12-plus floor points in five consecutive games and he's put up 19 fantasy points in each of his last two. He has the slight edge in matchup over Ward-Prowse considering they're playing against each other and Brentford are at home with the higher implied goal total. All of this probably makes him the better option of the three for cash games. I'd prefer Michael Olise ($8,300) in tournaments for his set-piece floor and upside in a soft matchup against Watford.

Moving to the cheaper range, last week I mentioned the potential upside of defensive midfielder Josh Brownhill ($5,300). He took four shots and scored the game-winning goal on a cool, one-time finish from the edge of the box. He doesn't have the point-per-dollar value to make him a priority in cash games, but he won me a tournament at 10% rostership last week and he won't be popular this Saturday, either. Imran Louza ($4,100) continues to share set pieces for Watford. He sent in eight crosses and scored 11.6 floor points last week, and Saturday's matchup against Crystal Palace isn't as bad as it might look based on the odds. If Eberechi Eze doesn't start, Conor Gallagher ($5,600) would share corner kicks for Palace. If that's the case, I'd prefer him over Brownhill as the matchup against Watford provides extra upside.

DEFENDERS

Marcos Alonso, CHE vs. WOL ($7,000): Alonso and Mason Mount have shared corner kicks equally in Chelsea's two most recent matches. Alonso has put up double-digit floor points in five consecutive starts and has as much or more upside than any defender on the slate.

Reece James, CHE vs. WOL ($6,500): James has taken at least three shots in back-to-back starts and he's taken multiple set pieces in each of those games, as well. He and Alonso are such good options that rostering them together makes sense in any format. Lucas Digne ($6,300) is a solid option, too. He seemed healthy last week after recovering from a broken collarbone and Aston Villa should have the majority of possession and create more chances in their away matchup against Burnley. I'll be spending up for two of these top three in most of my lineups. Cheaper options include Kiko Femenia ($4,400), who's still splitting set pieces for Watford. The full-backs in the Brentford-Southampton match are cheap enough, as is Hassane Kamara ($3,600), who scored a nice goal against Man City two weeks ago.

GOALKEEPERS

Edouard Mendy, CHE vs. WOL ($5,800): Chelsea's win and clean sheet odds are considerably better than the rest, making Mendy a worthy spend-up option if you can afford it.

Nick Pope, BUR vs. AVL ($4,600): Pope is the cheapest home goalie and Aston Villa have been shutout in three of their last five matches.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.