This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
It's a rare seven-game slate Saturday and no team is a massive favorite. Tottenham have a favorable home match against Crystal Palace, but their defense has allowed plenty of chances to opponents. Liverpool would normally be bigger favorites, even on the road to Nottingham Forest, but they're going through a full-blown injury crisis and will be without many of their best players. Six of the seven matches have an implied goal total above 3.1 goals, so it feels more like a Champions League slate than a Premier League one, at least from a DFS perspective.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: Brentford vs. Chelsea
- 10:00 am: Everton vs. West Ham United
- 10:00 am: Fulham vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
- 10:00 am: Newcastle United vs. Wolverhampton
- 10:00 am: Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool
- 10:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace
- 12:30 pm: Luton Town vs. Aston Villa
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
James Maddison (TOT vs. CRY, $23): Spurs are in a fantasy friendly matchup against Crystal Palace, though they'll look a little different under new manager Oliver Glasner. Maddison should take all of Spurs set pieces with Pedro Porro still out and he is the most likely Tottenham player to get an assist. That, along with his +300 anytime goalscoring odds, gives him an excellent floor-ceiling combination. Pascal Gross ($23) is a similar option, though Brighton are in a worse matchup and are also struggling with an injury crisis.
Heung-Min Son ($22) will be popular as the slate's most likely goalscorer, though it's an investment to play both him and Maddison. Ivan Toney ($22) and Ollie Watkins ($23) are similar options to Son and I think there is a chance they come in at lower rostership. Toney is playing as an underdog, but a home matchup to a Chelsea side is not an unreasonable spot to target. With six other games to choose from, I'm hoping Ollie Watkins gets overlooked playing in the later match.
Harvey Elliott (NFO vs. LIV, $17): Liverpool continue to struggle with injuries to their attacking players, so Elliott has a good chance to start and play 80 or more minutes in an attacking role against Nottingham Forest. Timo Werner ($17) might start for Tottenham with Richarlison out, making him one of the cheaper access points to Spurs attack. Danny Welbeck ($17) is often an early sub risk, but depending on Brighton's bench, he could be in line for 80 or more minutes. Odsonne Edouard ($17) has surprisingly strong goalscoring odds as an underdog, but Spurs concede a lot of chances to opposing teams. I think it's a good idea to play Edouard with other Tottenham options hoping for a shootout.
Jacob Ramsey (AVL at LUT, $15): Salary is a bit tight, so I'm looking for upside on the lower end of the salary range. Ramsey has played 90 minutes in his past three starts and his anytime goalscoring odds of +350 are pretty good for his price. Youri Tielemans ($14) is a similar option for Villa, though I think he is slightly more likely to be subbed early. Jack Harrison ($15) has regularly been playing 90 minutes in his recent starts for Everton. I think West Ham are more likely to sit back and soak pressure as they have for much of the season as underdogs. After all, they've conceded 13 shots assisted per match this season.
Bargain Bin ($13 or less)
It's difficult to find values at forward/midfield for this slate. I think you'll have to look at cheaper defenders in order to pay up once or twice at forward.
Jakub Moder ($10): Moder started and played 90 minutes midweek in the FA Cup,and injuries to Brighton might require him to start again. At $10, Moder seems like one of the few viable sources of salary relief should he start.
Tahith Chong ($13) and Andros Townsend ($13): I feel like I'm reaching here, but Luton have been a competent team at home, and Chong and Townsend are both cheap. I'll probably only use them in lineups that have at least one Aston Villa player.
DEFENDERS
Andrew Robertson (LIV at NFO, $14): It's going to be difficult to spend up for defender, but Robertson seems like the strongest option if you make that choice. Robertson has delivered at least 20 floor points in four of his last five starts and he'll be taking half of Liverpool's set pieces if he starts. For $14, he seems underpriced.
Bargain Bin ($10 or less)
It's difficult to fade Robertson, but maybe the case is that you can find two cheap defenders who can keep up and use the extra salary to upgrade your midfielders/forwards. There are certainly plenty of places to look.
Ibrahima Konate ($10) and Joe Gomez ($10): I'm not enthusiastic about Konate since I think Virgil van Dijk ($15) is much more likely to be targeted on set pieces, but he could be a source of a cheap clean sheet. Joe Gomez may start as a midfielder, which could allow him to get into some central attacking positions, but I also expect him to take on a more defensive role.
Valentino Livramento ($9): Livramento hasn't offered much attacking upside this season for Newcastle, but he's cheap enough for me to take a chance on in a good home matchup against Wolves.
Clement Lenglet ($10) and Ezri Konsa ($9): I don't expect Aston Villa to struggle against Luton Town, but they are capable of causing opponents trouble at home. When they have the ball, they cross aggressively. I think this gives Lenglet and Konsa a better-than-usual chance to collect clearances and other defensive stats as favorites.
Zanka ($8) and Murillo ($8): Brentford and Nottingham Forest are both home underdogs, and Zanka and Murillo project to be the two cheapest options at defender. They offer vital salary relief and a shot at racking up defensive stats.
GOALKEEPER
Sam Johnstone (CRY at TOT, $7): I plan on using Johnstone in lineups without Tottenham players. I think he can rack up saves in this matchup and he is priced as if he is playing against Manchester City at home. I never count on $7 goalkeepers to get a win, but it wouldn't be an outrageous outcome this weekend. Otherwise, I plan on focusing on the cheapest goalkeepers. None of the favorites have particularly good clean sheet odds and with seven matches, it seems likely that at least one underdog will collect a lot of saves.
