Yahoo DFS Soccer: Saturday EPL Picks

Yahoo DFS Soccer: Saturday EPL Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.

MATCHES (EST)

10:00 a.m: Huddersfield v. West Ham
10:00 a.m: Leicester City v. Burnley
10:00 a.m: Newcastle v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Southampton v. Watford
12:30 p.m: Crystal Palace v. Tottenham

FORWARDS

Harry Kane, TOT at CRY (£27): Tottenham are hardly overwhelming favorites on Saturday's five-game slate, but with no Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United or Arsenal to worry about, there is plenty of room to pay up for Kane, who has scored four goals on 23 shots, including 13 on target, and drawn 12 fouls in his last four games in all competitions. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have allowed multiple goals in four of their past five Premier League games, including each of their last three.

Marko Arnautovic, WHU at HUD (£23) Unlike the leaky Palace defense, Huddersfield haven't been that bad of late, allowing one or zero goals in three of their last four games, one of which was a simple 1-0 loss to Liverpool. On the other hand, West Ham are coming off a dominant 4-0 win over Burnley, with Arnautovic finding the back of the net on one of his four shots, his third consecutive start taking at least that many, and he scored a goal in the two prior games before that run. He's also put at least one shot on target in every match but the season-opener, which came away to Liverpool, and while he is the second-highest priced forward, as explained above, there's money to be spent with few elite teams on the slate. If you're concerned about Arnautovic playing away, Leicester City's Jamie Vardy (£22) has a prime matchup at home against Burnley, who have allowed the most goals, most assists, most shots and most shots on goal on the slate.

Danny Ings, SOU v. WAT (£16): Ings comes in averaging more shots per 90 minutes than both Kane and Arnautovic, and while his matchup at home against Watford isn't as easy as what they'll face, he's also considerably cheaper. Ings scored from the penalty spot in last weekend's 6-1 loss at Manchester City, a match that saw him take five shots, including three on goal, and win two fouls, and even though it's a tough matchup, Southampton are still favored at home.

MIDFIELDERS

Christian Eriksen, TOT at CRY (£24): After falling behind early to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League earlier this week, we saw what Eriksen is capable of by connecting on seven of his 18 crosses in Tottenham's come-from-behind victory. However, it's worth recognizing that he lined up alongside Harry Winks (£13) in the defensive midfield, and defender Kieran Trippier (£19) didn't start, giving Eriksen a decent share of set pieces. That situation is likely to change away to Crystal Palace, but Eriksen's attacking upside in open play is still dangerous, and his high salary is hardly unreachable, even with Kane and other high-priced forwards and defenders.

Kenedy, NEW v. AFC (£15): The injury absence of Jonjo Shelvey (£13) is likely to move Ki Sung-yueng (£13) into the starting XI, and while he's likely to take on Shelvey's set pieces, Kenedy, does so much more across the stat sheet that he needs to be in consideration, even against a decent Bournemouth defense. Matt Ritchie (£13) is also likely to see an increase in attacking responsibilities, but Kenedy has scored at least 5.00 fantasy points in four of his past five games, with just one appearance on the scoresheet in that span. He takes shots, wins tackles and draws fouls enough that he is a serviceable fantasy contributor even without goals and assists, providing a floor that Ki and Ritchie can't quite reach.

Marc Albrighton, LEI v. BRN (£13): Another player who is likely to benefit from an increased attacking role is Albrighton, who is expected to take over Leicester's set pieces in place of the injured James Maddison (£19), one of the most consistent fantasy scorers this season. Albrighton's primary responsibility seems to be crossing from the wing, and while he doesn't connect on a ton, he's now facing a Burnley side that's allowed the most crosses and corners, as well as the second-most accurate crosses among teams on the slate.

DEFENDERS

Kieran Trippier, TOT at CRY (£19): The matchup away to Crystal Palace isn't perfect, but it'll do for Trippier, who was partially rested for Tottenham's midweek Champions League match, playing just 15 minutes off the bench. Likely to reclaim his starting right-back role, Trippier continues to be a solid fantasy contributor through accurate crosses, tackles and a few interceptions, and his role on set pieces only helps his upside. Left-back Ben Davies (£17) is a bit cheaper and coming off a fantastic match against PSV Eindhoven when he had one assist on four chances created (including three accurate crosses) and four shots, though he's unlikely to have any set-piece responsibilities.

Ricardo Pereira, LEI v. BRN (£15): Ricardo and teammate Ben Chilwell(£15) make for strong plays against Burnley, a side already discussed as one giving up loads of shots and crosses. While Chilwell has been more consistent overall, Ricardo has shown more attacking upside, and up against a Burnley team likely to sit back and try to bend-but-not-break, we could see solid scores from both players before even accounting for their potential clean sheet.

Fabian Balbuena, WHU at HUD ($£14): West Ham come in with the second-best clean sheet odds on the slate, but what really sticks out for Balbuena is that he's taken at least two shots in four consecutive matches, an impressive run for a centerback who has also intercepted eight passes over that span. Given the strong possibility for the clean sheet bonus and the potential for a goal (he had one two games ago), Balbuena is certainly worth consideration, even with West Ham playing away.

GOALKEEPER

Kasper Schmeichel, LEI v. BUR (£14): The Leicester defense will be missing starting center-back Harry Maguire, but they're still facing a team that has been shut out in two of their last three games (in fairness, they scored twice against West Ham last weekend, though they conceded four). Meanwhile, Schmeichel has made multiple saves in four straight games, and he has the best win and clean sheet odds on the slate. If you're concerned about Maguire's absence, you could always pay slightly more for West Ham's Lukasz Fabianski (£15), as he'll face a Huddersfield attack that has just five goals all season.

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. Andrew M. Laird plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: kingmorland, DraftKings: andrewmlaird, Yahoo: Lairdinho.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew M. Laird
Andrew is a former RotoWire contributor. He was the 2017 and 2018 FSWA Soccer Writer of the Year. He is a nine-time FSWA award finalist, including twice for Football Writer of the Year.
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