This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.
MATCHES (EDT)
- 10:00 am: Burnley vs. Norwich City
- 10:00 am: Everton vs. Sheffield United
- 10:00 am: Manchester City vs. Watford
- 12:30 pm: Newcastle United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
FORWARDS
Sergio Aguero, MAN v. WAT (£28): Highest goal-scoring odds; playing for the biggest favorite on the slate; at home; riding a five-match scoring streak. Is this the most creative pick? Absolutely not. Due to the small slate, you should have the ability to put multiple Manchester City attackers in your lineup, while saving elsewhere. Full disclosure: I (along with a few others) got totally burned by Norwich's upset of City last Saturday. I don't see that happening again with City playing host to Watford, who have two points through five matches. Raheem Sterling (£26) hasn't scored in his past three outings, but he's the alternative to Aguero. Gabriel Jesus (£21) found the back of the net in Wednesday's win over Shakhtar Donetsk but will likely move back to the bench with Aguero replacing him.
Teemu Pukki, NOR at BUR (£21): Burnley v. Norwich City has the second-highest implied goal total and Pukki trails only Aguero in goals per 90 minutes (1.76 to 1.22) this season. His floor is boosted by his 17 shots, including 12 shots on goal (leads the Premier League), which is something to consider given Burnley concede 14 shots (five on goal) per match. You'll have to pay up for his production, as this is the most expensive he's been all season. Ashley Barnes (£16) hasn't clicked the past two matches but Norwich's defense has allowed the most goals in the league. Meanwhile, Chris Wood (£15) has one outing over 0.75 points despite starting all five matches.
Richarlison, EVE v. SHE (£20): Richarlison has the best goal-scoring odds for a forward who doesn't play for Manchester City. Outside oh Barnes, He and Joelinton (£14) are two other affordable options playing for favorites at home. Neal Maupay (£17) has taken over for Leandro Trossard in Brighton's starting XI and is a viable play at Newcastle after scoring against Burnley last weekend.
MIDFIELDERS
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne (£26) will likely be the highest-owned midfielder on Saturday's slate, which leaves David Silva (£20), Bernardo Silva (£24) and Riyad Mahrez (£18) as alternatives that will be lesser-owned and and cheaper. De Bruyne takes the lion's share of free kicks, giving both his price and potential a boost. He's also be semi-rested after being used off the bench last weekend, though he started and played 77 minutes against Shakhtar. Mahrez has taken over a portion of free-kick duties when he makes the starting XI, but that isn't guaranteed due to City's depth. Ilkay Gundogan took six of Manchester City's 19 free kicks (he's taken seven total on the season) against Norwich City last week and could continue if Mahrez or De Bruyne are off the pitch. You could risk fading the City midfield, but Saturday's small slate makes that a risk that will be hard to recover from if they score multiple goals.
Emiliano Buendia, NOR at BUR (£17): No player has a bigger share of his team's free kicks than Buendia, as he has a complete monopoly. This has helped him provide assists in three of five matches, while his floor has dropped below 4.9 points once. Todd Cantwell has been just as productive despite not taking any free kicks, which is mostly due to him scoring two goals and providing two assists. He's quite goal dependent, making Beundia the safer play.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson, BUR v. NOR (£13): The Icelandic international is back in the mix after missing the previous two matches with a calf injury. Gudmundsson, Dwight McNeil (£14) and Ashley Westwood (£12) have all split time on set pieces, which should continue if Gudmundsson returns to the starting XI. Westwood is tasked with many of the defensive duties, while McNeil and Gudmunsson provide service from the wing. McNeil's floor has been around four all season, though he hasn't peaked seven points. Norwich City allow the most shots, shots on goal, accurate crosses and tackles won of the eight teams playing Saturday, which fits the mold of what McNeil and Gundmundsson do on the field. As far as cheap midfielders go, Jonjo Shelvey (£13) (nails on the chalkboard…) should keep his place in the starting XI and take free kicks with Sean Longstaff (ankle) ruled out. Oliver Norwood (£13) has a majority of set-piece duties for Sheffield United, which has helped him score at least 5.5 points in all five of his starts.
DEFENDERS
Lucas Digne, EVE v. SHE (£16): There's a complete dearth of quality defensive options in Saturday's slate compared to last Saturday's six-gamer, making Digne a clear-cut choice. Although Digne and Gylfi Sigurdsson tend to share free-kick duties for Everton, only Jose Holebas (£15) can boast more free kicks taken by eligible defenders on Saturday. Holebas has scored at least four points in only one of his four starts, while Digne has four-plus points in four of five starts. Everton are also solid favorites at home against a Sheffield United team who have scored just five goals in five matches, putting the clean sheet in play. Yerry Mina (£14) is also worth consideration for the Toffees, as he's been impressive from a fantasy standpoint, scoring at least 5.2 points in four of five outings. Mina's done it a variety of ways, with interceptions and tackles won his leading categories, while he did put two shots on goal in the win over Wolverhampton prior to the international break. His floor is four points up through five matches, and Sheffield United aren't all that great of an attacking side. Jack O'Connell (£14) is in a similar mold as Mina, though he'll be playing for the away underdog.
Nicolas Otamendi, MAN v. WAT (£15): Otamendi and John Stones (injured - thigh) combined for an embarrassing defensive showing against Norwich last weekend, which Otamendi bounced back from during Wednesday's shut-out win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Manchester City have absurdly high clean-sheet odds against Watford and should keep possession for much of the match, which helps Otamendi's floor given the number of passes he connects from center-back. Both Oleksandr Zinchenko (£14) and Fernandinho (£14) are midfield eligible, which leaves only Kyle Walker (£15) as another option to target for a Manchester City clean-sheet bonus.
Fabian Schar, NEW v. BRI (£13): Jetro Willems (£17) is topping the defensive pricing structure -- along with Erik Pieters (£17) -- after his rocket goal against Liverpool last weekend. He and Emil Krafth (£10) should continue to occupy the wing-back positions while Matt Ritchie and DeAndre Yedlin are sidelined, though I like Schar in this spot. He's certainly more limited in attacking upside than Willems or Ritchie, but his defensive work has been impressive, averaging 2.90 interceptions, 1.03 blocks and 1.49 tackles won per 90 minutes. Newcastle has only kept one clean sheet this season, which limits his potential for bonus points, though the safety of his defensive floor is enough to warrant consideration over some of the more cost prohibitive options.
Goalkeepers
Nick Pope, BUR v. NOR (£10): Ederson (£18) and Jordan Pickford (£17) have the top-two clean sheet odds, with Manchester City clear favorites to win, while Everton's home match against Sheffield United has much lower win odds that are still bigger than the next team, Burnley. As far as cost effectiveness goes, Pope continues to be minimum priced despite scoring at least six points in three of his five outings. Burnley have the fourth-best clean odds and Pope is fourth in saves (21) among Premier League goalkeepers. Tim Krul (£13) ranks second in saves (23) but hasn't kept a clean sheet and Norwich have shipped the most goals of any team in the league. The Norwich City at Burnley match ranks third in implied goals, so the oddsmakers expect both teams to find the back of the net. Dean Henderson (£12) is another interesting option, though an away match against Burnley will be tough to target outside of saves, with a win or clean sheet unlikely. There's enough savings on this four-match slate that you could spend more on a goalkeeper if you'd like, though Pope's price and consistency through five matches is tough to argue with.
