DraftKings DFS Soccer: EPL Picks for Sunday, May 19

The final matchweek in the Premier League is always an interesting challenge for DFS purposes. All the matches feature higher than usual totals and teams have a varying range of motivation. It's easy to build high-upside contrarian teams, but you maybe don't want to go overboard since opportunity cost is very high.

I'm going through each match to find players with upside to score 25 or more points. I'm looking for players who could get a brace or who have a nice floor and could put up a huge score with just one goal. Generally, I'm going to prefer players who are playing on favored teams, but there are some underdog options who might be interesting for the largest field GPPs.

MATCHES (ET)

• 11:00 am: Arsenal vs. Everton
• 11:00 am: Brentford vs. Newcastle United
• 11:00 am: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Manchester United
• 11:00 am: Burnley vs. Nottingham Forest
• 11:00 am: Chelsea vs. AFC Bournemouth
• 11:00 am: Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa
• 11:00 am: Liverpool vs. Wolverhampton
• 11:00 am: Luton Town vs. Fulham
• 11:00 am: Manchester City vs. West Ham United
• 11:00 am: Sheffield United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Sunday EPL Cheat Sheet

Manchester City vs. West Ham United 

City have to beat West Ham at home at the Etihad in order to secure the title and West Ham are one of the best matchups to attack in DFS. Anyone starting for City is a reasonable option.

Erling Haaland's ($11,300) anytime goalscoring odds of -330 are insanely high. I've seen some sportsbooks price him at +150 to score a brace. At this price, he needs a brace to be optimal, but it's also somewhat likely that occurs. I don't have a hunch if Haaland will be over or under rostered for his brace odds. There is plenty of value to play him and there are plenty of alternatives. I expect to end up with about one-third of my lineups featuring Haaland.

Kevin De Bruyne ($9,000) and Phil Foden ($9,400) will be popular in cash games. Both have elite open-play floors, are live to take set pieces and are capable of goals and assists. I'll play at least one in all my lineups. De Bruyne has some early-sub fragility, so I don't think he's a must. Foden is tougher to fade since you can play him in a forward spot.

Jack Grealish is interesting at ($5,500) if he starts, but that probably won't happen. One contrarian way to play Manchester City it to play Josko Gvardiol ($5,200). He's emerged as an attacking full-back who has goal upside. There are strong defender alternatives to play, but he is worth consideration.

Liverpool vs. Wolverhampton

Liverpool forwards are expensive and I'm more interested in Mohamed Salah ($10,300) in GPPs than Cody Gakpo or Luis Diaz ($8,400/$8,200). There's always the risk of some funny business with minutes since it's Jurgen Klopp's last match as Liverpool manager, but I think Salah should be safe to play good minutes, and he's always capable of a brace and has a good floor.

Andrew Robertson ($6,200) looks like great value but is coming off an injury. This adds some uncertainty to his range of outcomes since he's in play to get subbed early or takes fewer set pieces. Trent Alexander-Arnold ($7,000) is a top play though his floor hasn't been as good as Robertson's. He has the best goal upside among defenders and has played 90 minutes in his past three starts. In cash games, I think you want to play at least one of Robertson or Alexander-Arnold.

Finally, Alexis Mac Allister is worth a flier at $5,800. He usually plays 90 minutes and has some goal and open-play floor/upside. He's inexpensive for his ceiling in this game environment.

Arsenal vs. Everton

Bukayo Saka ($10,500) is always an option, but overall, I'm not super enthusiastic about Arsenal options at their prices. Everton have not conceded many floor points this season. I think my favorite option for GPPs is Martin Odegaard ($7,300). I don't think he'll see much rostership, but he has goal upside to pair with his open-play floor. I'll probably pass on Leandro Trossard ($7,200) due to sub risk and I want more ceiling at ($6,700) than Declan Rice even though he'll take some corners.

Sheffield United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Sheffield United are an elite fantasy matchup and Spurs players are cheap. Heung-Min Son ($7,800) is underpriced for his anytime goalscoring odds of -150. James Maddison has returned to playing 90 minutes and taking most of Spurs' set pieces. He'll be chalk at $6,900 and a staple in cash games. Dejan Kulusevski ($4,600) is almost hilariously cheap. Kulusevski hasn't been in top form, but he's great value at this price.

Pedro Porro ($5,500) looks like a top defender even without set pieces. He shoots a lot and Spurs will likely have possession which should lead to crossing and shots assisted. Cristian Romero ($3,200) somehow has goalscoring odds of +350. I dislike punting center-backs in a 10-match slate, but he's reasonable if you go down that road.

I think it's insane to play Sheffield United players, but Spurs haven't been dominant to close the season. I'd only look this way in large-field GPPs, but Gustavo Hamer ($4,900) and Ben Brereton Diaz ($5,700) are cheap enough to consider. Hamer has a set-piece floor, while Brereton has been in fine form since joining Sheffield United.

Chelsea vs. Bournemouth

Cole Palmer ($9,500) is an option on any slate, so I like him as a one-off if I can afford it. He can keep up with or beat the similarly-priced Manchester City options. Christopher Nkunku came on as a sub for Chelsea midweek and took some set pieces. At $7,500, he is an intriguing option but I'm still worried about his minutes. Maybe this means options who have big ceilings like Nicolas Jackson ($8,800) and Noni Madueke ($7,900) are underutilized by the field, but that's the best case I can make for them. I'm not interested in any Bournemouth options.

Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa

I'm not really interested in Aston Villa options. They don't really have a go-to fantasy scorer who profiles as good value to me and they are also road underdogs. Douglas Luiz ($4,600) is tolerable because he takes some set pieces and penalties, but that might be pushing it.

The headline options on Palace are Michael Olise ($9,700) and Eberechi Eze ($9,100). I think both are great contrarian tournament plays. I'm projecting that they will split set pieces, but both players are quick to shoot and cross, which can lead to massive floors. If one of them scores a goal, they are live to be one of the top scorers on the slate.

Brighton vs. Manchester United 

While Brighton aren't big favorites, Manchester United concede almost as many fantasy points as Sheffield United. I like a lot of their options in tournaments since I think at least one player on Brighton is going to put in a huge performance. Pascal Gross ($8000) is reasonable for his floor, though he has lost his set-piece monopoly recently, which puts a dent in his projection. 

Joao Pedro is expensive at $8,500, but United concede a lot of shots and that is how Pedro scores his floors. I like him as a contrarian option in large-field contests. Simon Adingra ($6,300) is cheap and has some upside to pay off this price. Valentin Barco ($4,400) played 90 minutes in both his starts this season, scoring eight floor points in each. He takes some set pieces when he plays and is a great defender value if he starts. Finally, Julio Enciso ($4,900) projects well on a per-minute basis and might be a punt option who you can look to in all formats.  

I expect Brighton to have more possession in this match. Some cheaper options like Alejandro Garnacho ($6,800) and Amad Diallo ($4,800) are okay options for Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes ($9,200) is in play in any matchup, as well. Fernandes wasn't popular in last year's King of the Pitch contest, yet he featured in moneyba11's winning lineup. Set-piece monopolists in reasonable spots are always options, especially when you are being paid off with lower-than-usual rostership.

Luton Town vs. Fulham

A road matchup for Fulham isn't exactly the most tempting compared to all the options to choose from, but Luton are great to target for fantasy points and Fulham have some cheap players. Andreas Pereira ($6,600) has a set-piece majority when he starts. The only downside is that he usually doesn't go a full 90, though he still projects well even with some early-sub risk. I really wanted to make a flag plant on Rodrigo Muniz ($7,000), but Fulham are much healthier now than when he was regularly playing 90 minutes. He's been subbed early the last two matches. He's worth a flier at this price, but I'll be cautious with my tournament exposure.

Brentford vs. Newcastle United

This isn't an easy matchup for Brentford, but Ivan Toney ($5,300) is extremely cheap. He has a decent floor based on shots and is the main penalty taker. I'm willing to play him even though Newcastle are favored. Sergio Reguilon ($4,900) has been taking at least half of Brentford's set pieces the past several matches. He's a good option and I don't mind playing him and Toney in the same lineup in GPPs.

Nobody on Newcastle particularly stands out to me. Anthony Gordon ($8,900) doesn't have a majority set-piece role with Kieran Trippier ($6,500) back. Normally Trippier is a pretty elite option, but he is coming back from an injury and played 60 minutes midweek. He's a risky play with Robertson and Alexander-Arnold priced similarly. 

Burnley vs. Nottingham Forest

This match features two terrible teams, but Burnley have nothing to lose with their relegation confirmed and Forest are virtually guaranteed safety unless they lose by a large margin to Burnley and Luton blow Fulham out. This match could be terrible, but it could also randomly feature a lot of goals. Morgan Gibbs-White ($7,900) would be more interesting if he wasn't splitting set pieces with players like Danilo ($4,500). Chris Wood ($5,300) is cheap enough to consider and has regularly been playing 90 minutes.  

Everyone on Burnley is inexpensive. I'm not sprinting to the podium to play these guys, but there are viable options. Jacob Bruun Larsen ($5,800) is liable for a sub at the 60th minute but also has floor games and goals in him. He took Burnley's most recent penalty. Wilson Odobert ($4,600) can put up some floor games, which makes him a viable punt forward. Vitinho ($3,400) might start in a more attacking role if you need a cheap second defender.