DraftKings DFS Soccer: EPL Picks for Saturday, Dec. 9

MATCHES (ET)

• 10:00 am: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Burnley
• 10:00 am: Manchester United vs. AFC Bournemouth
• 10:00 am: Sheffield United vs. Brentford
• 10:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Nottingham Forest

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday Premier League Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Alejandro Garnacho (MUN vs. BOU, $8,000): My first impression is that many of the spend-up options at forward are too expensive. Pascal Gross ($10,400) is overpriced as a defensive midfielder if he no longer takes a monopoly of set pieces, which is likely the case if Billy Gilmour starts. Morgan Gibbs-White ($9,600) is not a priority playing as a road underdog away to Wolves. On paper, Manchester United's matchup at home to Bournemouth is great for Marcus Rashford ($9,000), but he's been in terrible form this season and been getting subbed off early (and missed training Friday). I prefer Garnacho for $1,000 cheaper. He's only scored under 7.5 floor points twice in nine starts this season in all competitions. I'm a bit concerned about his minutes, but he's played more than 75 minutes in four of his past six starts. He is one of my favorite tournament targets this week and I wouldn't flinch if you wanted to play him in cash games. It's a good spot for Manchester United and there are no locks at forward. 

With fixture congestion, starting XIs are difficult to predict. If either Antony ($6,900) or Rasmus Hojlund ($6,800) start, both are too cheap for the matchup. Antony played 90 minutes against Chelsea and I'd play him in cash games over Garnacho. 

Simon Adingra and Evan Ferguson (BHA vs. BRN, $6,600 and $7,200): Manchester United and Brighton have similar implied goal totals just about two, but generally speaking I think the pricing is better for the Brighton options. Adingra is coming off two starts in which he scored over 12 floor points, and he's played at least 84 minutes in each of his past seven starts. His role and goal/assist equity in one of the slate's best matchups makes him seem like a good cash-game option to me. Evan Ferguson is the slate's most likely goalscorer, but his anytime goalscoring odds of +105 are not high enough to make him a priority in cash games. I think Ferguson is a sub risk, but Brighton have been dealing with many injuries and he's gone 90 and 87 minutes in his past two starts. If I knew Ferguson was going to play 90 minutes, I'd say he's at least $1,000 too cheap.

Saman Ghoddos (BRE at SHU, $4,900): Bryan Mbeumo was subbed off early in Brentford's midweek fixture and Ghoddos took most of Brentford's set pieces as a result. If Mathias Jensen remains out due to injury, I think Ghoddos will continue to play an important role on set pieces. Attacking full-backs/wingers have been extremely successful against Sheffield United this season, so I like the matchup for Ghoddos, as well. Even cheaper is Keane Lewis-Potter ($3,900) should he start. I'm not sure how many minutes he'll play, but I'm interested in any and all cheap forwards against Sheffield United this season.

MIDFIELDERS

Bruno Fernandes (MUN vs. BOU, $10,600): Bruno is no longer a monopoly set-piece taker with Luke Shaw back in the lineup, but he still takes most of Manchester United's direct free kicks and should be on half of his team's corners. He also took United's most recent penalty. While I realize United have struggled at times, Bruno still has a strong role and I think United should have most of the possession at home to Bournemouth. 

Pablo Sarabia (WOL vs. NFO, $7,700): Sarabia got his first start since September on Tuesday and played 79 minutes while taking all of Wolves' set pieces. He hasn't been reliable when it comes to minutes during his tenure at Wolves, so I think it's possible he doesn't start or is substituted at the 65th minute. But he's priced quite well for a set-piece monopolist playing at home to Nottingham Forest, who have conceded 7.4 corners and 20.8 crosses per match on the road this season.

Mathias Jensen ($7,100) would likely take set pieces for Brentford, but he might not be fit enough to start or play much more than 60 minutes. Kaoru Mitoma ($6,900) is going to be very popular in tournaments at his price. He hasn't scored a goal since September, but he's capable of dropping 20 or more fantasy points whenever he does score.  He's been in and out of the lineup due to injury which has impacted his minutes, but he usually plays a full 90 when fit.

Billy Gilmour (BHA vs. BRN, $4,800): I was surprised to see Gilmour take most of Brighton's set pieces midweek, especially since he played the entire match with Pascal Gross on the pitch. He only took corners on the right side, so I think his role is now a split with Gross. Even though Gilmour is a more defensive midfielder, I think the set-piece split against Burnley is a valuable role. I don't really care for any of the other sub-$5,000 priced players, either. Vitaly Janelt ($4,200) would be interesting if he starts as a left-back, but otherwise, I think I am trying to spend up at midfield. 

DEFENDERS

Luke Shaw (MUN vs. BOU, $5,200): If Shaw starts as a left-back, I am likely to find the salary for him. He should take half of United's corners and I think he'll be capable joining the attack against a weak Bournemouth defense. If he start's as a center-back, he loses most of  his shots assisted and crossing equity. I'd be fine finding the salary for Diogo Dalot ($5,700) in that case. He shoots more as a left-back and if Shaw is a center-back, it is likely that the more defensively inclined Aaron Wan-Bissaka ($4,600) will start on the opposite flank as a right-back.

Hugo Bueno (WOL vs. NFO, $4,400): Bueno has started the last two matches as a wing-back and I think he's a bit too cheap if he starts in that role again. He can be frustrating due to early substitutions, but I was reassured to see that he played 89 minutes midweek against Burnley. Joel Veltman ($4,200) looks like a solid option should he start at right-back for Brighton. He's not a particularly attacking player, but I expect Brighton to control the match and this means Veltman will have opportunities to join the attack moving forward.

GOALKEEPER

Jason Steele (BHA vs. BRN, $5,800): I'd like to play one of the favored home goalkeepers if I can and Steele has the best win and clean sheet odds of all the options. I think it would be completely fine to play whoever starts between Jose Sa ($5,200) and Daniel Bentley ($5,100), since Wolves have the same clean sheet odds as Brighton, though Brighton are more likely to win. Andre Onana ($5,600) is a bit cheaper than Steele, but he's been making several technical errors this season that have led to goals. 

If you want to spend down, Wes Foderingham ($4,100) is the cheapest home goalkeeper. The positive part of Sheffield United being terrible this season is that they concede many shots on target. Foderingham is averaging 4.87 saves per match this season and his 29 saves from shots outside the box (which are in theory easier to save) is the best in the Premier League.