This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: Everton vs. Aston Villa
- 10:00 am: Leeds United vs. Southampton
- 10:00 am: Leicester City vs. Arsenal
- 10:00 am: West Ham United vs. Nottingham Forest
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS
Jarrod Bowen (WHU vs. NOT, $9,000): If you listened to our DFS show, you heard that I came into the discussion not being enthusiastic about Bowen. He doesn't have a set-piece monopoly and he no longer takes penalties. This means he is capable of some five-to-seven-point floor performances. That said, in the context of the slate for cash games, he is the best spend-up option and I'll try to prioritize fitting him in. His most recent matchups have been difficult, but he has solid goalscoring odds and supplies plenty of value from open play. While Nottingham Forest have improved, they are still believe average, especially away from home. Gabriel Martinelli ($8,400) is too expensive in cash games for me due to early sub risk. You can still consider him in tournaments along with Eddie Nketiah ($8,200). Both have plenty of goal and assist upside, and Arsenal have the best implied-goal total of the slate.
Dwight McNeil (EVE vs. AVL, $7,400): It's always difficult to measure how strongly we should react to small samples after a new manager comes in, but Everton have looked a lot better under Sean Dyche, and McNeil has been taking more set pieces and playing more minutes the past three matches. Aston Villa aren't an easy matchup, but I think McNeil and teammate Alex Iwobi ($6,500) should offer a solid floor for cash games.
There are many enticing options in the price range of McNeil and Iwobi that offer some solid upside. Either Danny Ings ($6,300) or Michail Antonio ($6,900) will have the best goalscoring odds on the slate, depending on who starts (Gianluca Scamacca is also a possibility). Patrick Bamford ($6,100) has a solid matchup against Southampton and played 90 minutes last match. His teammate Wilfried Gnonto ($7,600) might take some set pieces, as well. While West Ham have the best clean-sheet odds, I don't think they are a prohibitively difficult matchup and the prices on Brennan Johnson ($5,200) and Chris Wood ($4,900) allow you to get onto different roster constructions in GPPs.
MIDFIELDERS
Bukayo Saka (ARS at LEI, $9,700): Saka splits set pieces, racks up shots and crosses, and almost always plays a full 90 minutes. Leicester City are one of the most porous defenses in the Premier League in terms of conceding goals and are a DFS-friendly team to attack. He's a cash-game lock. Don't overthink this one.
Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO at WHU, $6,200): You'll have some options for your second midfielder and I'm not certain who the best one is. Southampton are bad, but Leeds haven't won any of their previous six matchups and don't have a strong defense. You are definitely paying for James Ward-Prowse's set-piece monopoly ($8,300), but I think he could be worth it, especially if he lines up in an attacking position. Perhaps I am overthinking this and I should just opt for the services of Martin Odegaard ($7,700) if I spend up. He is cheaper, has a split of set pieces and is in the best matchup on the slate. His floor isn't guaranteed since he plays more centrally, but he always ends up in threatening attacking positions. From a cash-game point of view, the savings on Gibbs-White over both of these options feels too good to pass up. He has goal and assist equity from open play and should take most of Nottingham Forest's set pieces. That he plays for an underdog is already accounted for in his salary and it's not difficult to imagine a bad West Ham team conceding some chances at home. Jack Harrison ($7,100) is a great tournament option taking most of Leeds' set pieces in an exploitable matchup against Southampton.
Declan Rice (WHU vs. NOT, $3,700): I was surprised to see Rice taking corners against Tottenham last weekend, but it appears he is on left-sided corner duty for West Ham. This could change (say, if Aaron Cresswell starts), but Rice is a good value if West Ham line up similarly to how they did at Tottenham. His open-play contributions are underrated and he is averaging more than one shot and shot assisted per 90 minutes this season. Frequent readers of this column will not be surprised that I am interested in a cheap Mohamed Elyounoussi ($3,400) should he start against Leeds. He is a boom-or-bust option appropriate for lineups that are not contingent on a strong West Ham performance.
DEFENDERS
Vladimir Coufal (WHU vs. NOT, $5,100): There isn't much to write home about for the defender position, but Coufal is a solid cash candidate if he starts as a right wing-back. The same thing can be said of Emerson ($4,900), though he is often subject to an early substitution. Ryan Belongia is a fan of Victor Kristiansen ($4,500) and I think he is a great shout even as an underdog to Arsenal. He has been taking some corners ahead of James Maddison ($8,800) and I think he makes sense in lineups that speculate on that fixture being a back-and-forth affair.
Renan Lodi (NFO at WHU, $4,000): Lodi is a bit cheap for an attacking oriented full-back and I think he makes a fine second defender option in cash games. Ben White ($3,900) recorded three crosses last weekend and ended with an unanticipated nine crosses against Brentford earlier in the month. In an up-and-down match against Leicester, he may continue to offer some attacking upside even though he is a converted center-back. I think it's fine to use a center-back in your second defender spot, especially if it correlates with your tournament lineups. For example, options like William Saliba ($2,900) and Nayef Aguerd ($3,300) seem a bit too cheap for their clean-sheet odds.
GOALKEEPER
Lukasz Fabianski (WHU vs. NOT, $5,400): Goalkeeper is subject to so much variance that it's always difficult to recommend a particular player and West Ham have not been particularly good at keeping clean sheets this season, with only four in 23 league matches. This weekend, however, they have a nearly 40-percent implied probability to keep a clean sheet. That's the highest on the slate, so if I can afford to spend up in cash games, I will select Fabianski.
The only other team on this slate I'd be surprised kept a clean sheet is Leicester. I'll be making goalkeeper decisions in tournaments purely based on which outfield players I am rostering and correlating with my defenders.
