This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (EDT)
10:00 am: Burnley v. Swansea
10:00 am: Crystal Palace v. West Bromwich Albion
10:00 am: Everton v. Tottenham
10:00 am: Middlesbrough v. Stoke City
10:00 am: Southampton v. Watford
12:30 pm: Manchester City v. Sunderland
ODDS REPORT
EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS
Burnley: David Jones, Johann Berg Gudmundsson
Swansea: Gylfi Sigurdsson
Crystal Palace: Yohan Cabaye, Jason Puncheon
West Bromwich Albion: Matt Phillips, Craig Gardner, James McClean
Everton: Kevin Mirallas, Gerard Deulofeu, Leighton Baines, Ross Barkley
Tottenham: Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela
Middlesbrough: Stewart Downing, Gaston Ramirez
Southampton: Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse, Dusan Tadic
Watford: Ben Watson, Juan Zuniga
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva
Sunderland: Wahbi Khazri
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPR
Steve Mandanda, CRY vs. WBA ($5,100): Among teams that remain from last season, Mandanda couldn't have a better matchup in which to make his Premier League debut. West Brom averaged just 0.89 goals per game last season, which was better than only Aston Villa (0.71), while the next-highest team averaged 0.14 more goals per game. What further bolsters the matchup is West Brom's inefficiency, as they scored on only one of every 11.4 shots, which was third-worst in the Premier League last season. Mandanda comes to Crystal Palace from Marseille, who allowed just 1.11 goals per game last season, ranking seventh in Ligue 1.
DEFENDER
Brice Dja Djedje, WAT at SOU ($3,300): Dja Djedje comes to Watford after six seasons in Ligue 1, the last three of which came with Mandanda, coincidentally. Watford cold play a five-man backline, pushing Dja Djedje up field in a more attacking wingback role. Last season for Marseille, the Ivory Coast international recorded a useful 3.9 crosses per 90 minutes. Most of Southampton's defense, including both first-team fullbacks, are questionable coming into Saturday's match, which cements Dja Djedje's potential value at such a low price. He is of a slight risk in terms of fitness himself and should be monitored as lock approaches.
Matt Targett, SOU vs. WAT ($4,200): With Ryan Bertrand out for at least the first game of the season, Targett should comfortably slot into the left-back role he took up for a time last season. While not as prolific in the attack as Bertrand, Targett has a decent amount of initiative, sending in 3.7 crosses per 90 minutes last season. Watford, while overall a solid defensive squad, allowed the most crosses in the Premier League last season (24.6 per game).
MIDFIELDER
Andros Townsend, CRY vs. WBA ($6,700): He may be priced a bit too high to be a great cash game play, but Townsend brings in a considerable ceiling from the midfield. Townsend found playing time very hard to come by at Tottenham, but that all changed with his move to Newcastle, sending in 6.5 crosses per 90 minutes and scoring four goals. He had only two assists for the season, but he had a high number of key passes, indicating he may have been unlucky not to get more. Crystal Palace have plenty of strong midfielders who are capable of setting up goals, but they struggle in scoring them, as they were the second-least efficient finishers last season in terms of shots per goal. Partnering with Yannick Bolasie, Yohan Cabaye and Wilfried Zaha (or Bakary Sako), Townsend will be given as much opportunity as he can handle to create goals.
Christian Eriksen, TOT at EVE ($9,400): Eriksen edges Kevin De Bruyne by $100 to be the most expensive midfielder on the slate, forcing many to choose who to anchor their fantasy midfield. Taking it a step further, with Manchester City being such heavy favorites at home against Sunderland, the majority will likely take De Bruyne. I prefer Eriksen because of De Bruyne's lack of full match fitness after a long run at the European Championship with Belgium, plus Manchester City's late kickoff, with one possible pivot, Leroy Sane not even in the player pool. In the event that De Bruyne does start, it's still questionable whether he'll play close to 90 minutes. On the road against Everton doesn't sound like a desirable matchup, but Tottenham and Everton ranked first and third, respectively, in shots per game last season, Everton allowed 55 goals last term and they just sold center back John Stones. Eriksen, who will take corners and set-pieces, was third among midfielders last season in shots per 90 minutes (Sadio Mane and Theo Walcott), though both players ahead of him averaged nearly twice as many goals per 90. If he can convert a few more of those shots, his goal tally could spike.
David Jones, BUR vs. SWA ($3,400): Newly promoted Burnley led the Championship with 72 goals last season. While they still figure to rank in the bottom half of the Premier League in goals, the Clarets appear to pack a sufficient amount of attack to render Jones' price laughable. In addition to crosses from corners (of which he averaged 3.9 per 90 minutes), Jones hit 4.4 crosses per 90 from open play while adding seven assists.
Kevin Mirallas, EVE vs. TOT ($4,600): If the Belgian can regain a starting spot under new manager Ronald Koeman, he possesses considerable attacking upside. Mirallas converted an impressive 3.7 shots per 90 minutes (trailing only Phillippe Coutinho) into a solid 0.36 goals per 90 minutes. In addition to the shots and goal upside, Mirallas takes a number of corners and delivered a solid 4.1 crosses per 90 minutes last season.
FORWARD
Gerard Deulofeu, EVE vs. TOT ($6,500): Confirming whether Deulofeu will take corners (if Mirallas starts, it detracts from Deulofeu's value) will go far in affirming his usability in cash games, as he ranked second, behind only Dimitri Payet, in crosses per 90 minutes last season (9.2 per game). While he only scored two goals last term, Deulofeu returned a remarkable 0.52 assists per 90 minutes – the third highest assist rate in the league (minimum 900 minutes) behind only David Silva and Mesut Ozil and ahead of big names like De Bruyne, Dusan Tadic, Payet and Eriksen).
Sergio Aguero, MCI vs. SUN ($10,600): With Manchester City the heaviest favorite, it should be no surprise that last season's standout performer in goals scored per 90 minutes (0.91 goals per 90) gets a recommendation. Sunderland hung onto their Premier League life by the skin of their teeth last season, with just two more points than relegated Newcastle. Sunderland also allowed the most shots per game of any Premier League team last season, with opponents teeing up 15.1 opportunities per game, which contributed to their league-worst 2.2 goals allowed per away match.
