This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. Everton
- 10:00 am: Liverpool vs. Southampton
- 10:00 am: Nottingham Forest vs. Crystal Palace
- 10:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leeds United
- 10:00 am: West Ham United vs. Leicester City
- 12:30 pm: Newcastle United vs. Chelsea
- 2:45 pm: Wolverhampton vs. Arsenal
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
This weekend represents the final session of Premier League competition prior to the World Cup break. As such, it's a strong Saturday slate of seven matches which will certainly make for an exciting day of DFS action. The widest favorites are Manchester City (-750) over Brentford and Liverpool (-410) over a reeling Southampton squad, who would currently be relegated if the season ended today. Saints also sacked manager Ralph Hasenhuttl on Tuesday and welcomed former Luton Town boss Nathan Jones on Thursday. Accordingly, if you want Liverpool players in your lineup this weekend, you're often going to have to pay top dollar.
FORWARDS / MIDFIELDERS
Harry Kane, TOT vs. LEE ($21): Fading Erling Haaland ($24) is always dangerous, but I have a feeling he might receive limited run during a rather undaunting home matchup against Brentford. Conversely, Leeds' high, pressing style can often lead to high-octane back-and-forth affairs and Kane is the undisputed focal point for Spurs while teammate Heung-Min Son is sidelined with a facial injury. It's quite possible he tallies a goal or two on the counter during a match that bettors currently believe will yield more than three goals. Haaland is -240 to score, so it's difficult to argue against the chalk, but Kane just provides a bit better value for lineup building purposes. If Kane scores, the assist is most likely going to come from Dejan Kulusevski ($16), but defender Ivan Perisic ($11) has been the one to take on most of the playmaking volume in Son's brief absence, as he's now the main set-piece taker.
Wilfried Zaha, CRY at NFO ($19): Nottingham Forest have conceded the second-most goals this season and Zaha is in excellent form playing up top for Crystal Palace. He's typically involved at both ends of the pitch, which helps provide a stable fantasy scoring floor, as well. There's a chance manager Patrick Vieira moves him back toward the wing for this contest, in which case Odsonne Edouard ($17) would likely return to his striker role, but Zaha and free kick specialist Eberechi Eze ($16) are still the Palace players to target. Although bettors don't necessarily see this contest turning into a shootout, it's conceivable that Palace could exceed expectations on the heels of a nice victory against West Ham United.
Anthony Gordon, EVE at BOU ($17): Based purely on goals conceded, Bournemouth just might have the weakest defensive unit in the Premier League (32 goals conceded in 14 matches). Everton have struggled to score this season (12 goals in 14 matches), but I like the Toffees to get back on track during an appealing away matchup. Gordon has been arguably the best Everton attacker this season and it wouldn't be surprising to see him have a strong outing, assuming he starts. Taking recent volume and set pieces into account, Demarai Gray ($14) also could easily find the score sheet and break his 11-game goal contribution drought. It doesn't sound like Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be available, making Neal Maupay ($14) a worth value option.
Tyler Adams, LEE at TOT ($13): If paying the premium for Kane or even Haaland, it's always helpful to have a lower-priced, higher-floor option in your back pocket. Enter Adams, who is healthy again and almost always good for four to five tackles and an interception or two. Adams isn't going to score very often and is actually still looking for his first goal contribution of the year, but perhaps that will change during the second-highest implied match total of the weekend. Lucas Paqueta ($13) is another player that appears undervalued relative to his usage and a more offensive-minded option at the same price point.
DEFENDERS
Aaron Cresswell, WHU vs. LEI ($12): As far as top-end defenders are concerned, Cresswell has provided fair value for his price in recent weeks, and this week's matchup against Leicester City presents another decent opportunity for some quality volume. Leicester aren't terribly strong at full-back and Cresswell is known to be effective out on the flank whipping in crosses against weaker defenses. If the price is too rich, fellow defender Thilo Kehrer ($10) is also priced nicely and will likely be busy Saturday, as well.
Andrew Robertson, LIV vs. SOU ($11): Robertson hasn't had the strongest year for fantasy purposes, but this spot is simply too attractive to pass up. In terms of final score, the odds lean heavily in favor of a Liverpool clean sheet in this contest and Southampton could be in for a long afternoon on the road at Anfield. Robertson is a couple dollars cheaper than fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold ($13) and either option presents a tremendous opportunity to reap points from the defensive position. This is a relatively affordable option to get some Liverpool exposure in your lineup while keeping some cash available for an elite keeper matchup like Alisson or Ederson. As mentioned above, Ivan Perisic ($11) is also a name to consider at this price as he vacuums up some of the volume left behind by the sidelined Son.
Marc Cucurella, CHE at NEW ($9): On paper, it isn't a great spot for Chelsea, who failed to score last time out and now face the best team in the league as measured by goals conceded this season. However, manager Graham Potter has a way of getting the best out of his playmakers when his squad are up against it and Cucurella could provide nice value priced well below his fellow defensive counterparts Thiago Silva ($12) and Kalidou Koulibaly ($13). At some point, Newcastle's back line is bound to start showing signs of slowing down and perhaps this is a spot to capitalize.
Marc Guehi/Tyrick Mitchell, CRY at NFO ($10, $9): I was hoping to get some Arsenal exposure in the lineup for what could easily be a very unexciting matchup at Wolverhampton, but William Saliba ($12) and Gabriel ($12) are too expensive this weekend for the limited upside they present. Guehi and Mitchell are adequate replacements and Mitchell is always a menace at left-back. Particularly if you're lighter on Palace attackers, a Guehi/Mitchell and keeper Vicente Guaita stack could pay off nicely given the right conditions.
GOALKEEPER
Alisson, LIV vs. SOU ($14): As mentioned, Southampton are a bit of a hot mess at the moment, and they haven't scored more than one goal in a league match since the end of August. Alisson is almost a no-brainer considering alternative elite options Ederson ($13) and Hugo Lloris ($13) are only one dollar cheaper and face considerably more formidable opposition.
Vicente Guaita, CRY at NFO ($11): Nottingham Forest struggle against better competition and this appears to be a spot where they simply won't have the quality to compete with a pacy, talented Palace side. Notably, Forest have only scored 10 goals in 14 matches this season, so Guaita has a nice opportunity to come away with the clean sheet victory. Bettors expect this to be a relatively low-scoring affair, with the two most likely outcomes being 1-1 and 0-1. Give me Guaita with this nice matchup over Nick Pope ($11) versus Chelsea and Jordan Pickford ($12) versus a feisty Bournemouth outfit. If wanting to go even cheaper, one could probably do worse than Danny Ward ($9) at West Ham United, who have struggled to score with regularity this season.
