DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Picks

This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.

As always, Step 1 in building a good lineup: make sure your players are starting. There is a bit of guesswork in projecting lineups until they are actually announced, and all recommendations and projections are subject to change based on this. All said, be sure to check the lineups page approximately one hour before kickoff.

Goalkeepers:

David de Gea v. West Brom ($4,000): de Gea is the easy chalk play. Manchester United has allowed just one goal at home this season through five matches and has three consecutive clean sheets in all competitions. United is 1/3 favorites over a West Brom side averaging just 0.5 goals per away match. Disclaimer: Man Utd hasn't been prolific in the goal-scoring department and West Brom's defense is vastly underrated (they've allowed just two goals in six league away matches), so I personally think the 1/3 win odds is a little too heavy and wouldn't be surprised by a 0-0 scoreline.

Adam Federici v. Newcastle ($2,900): This applies only to the ALL DAY DraftKings contests that start at 7:45 a.m. Federici is a new introduction between the sticks replacing underachieving Artur Boruc and is discounted as if he were still the backup. He hasn't been any better, worse in fact, allowing seven goals in just two matches. But, those were away matches at Manchester City and Southampton (the top two scoring sides at home this season) and this match is at home against a Newcastle side that has just one away goal scored all season.

Other goalkeepers to consider:Boaz Myhill at Manchester United ($2,800)

Defenders:

Marcos Rojo v. West Brom ($3,000): Rojo is the best defender to match with de Gea. He's not a great attacking threat (though capable of contributing some in that category), but actually a very good defender racking up interceptions and tackles.

Cedric Soares at Sunderland ($3,200): Contributes adequately in crosses, fouls won, interception and tackles won. Defensive bonus is very possible as his side is 4/5 favorites.

Adam Smith v. Newcastle ($2,300):Simon Francis has been playing centerback of late and correspondingly lost a lot of his value. Smith has taken the fullback production and is the best pairing with Federici in goal.

Other defenders to consider:Patrick aan Aanholt v. Southampton ($2,300); Nathan Ake at Leicester City ($2,200); Daryl Janmaat at Bournemouth ($3,400); Juan Carlos Paredes at Leicester City ($2,100); Gary Cahill at Stoke City ($2,700); Sebastian Coates v. Southampton ($2,000); Charlie Daniels v. Newcastle ($2,500); Virgil van Dijk at Sunderland ($2,600); Danny Simpson v. Watford ($2,200); Erik Pieters v. Chelsea ($3,800); Ramiro Funes Mori at West Ham ($2,200); Seamus Coleman at West Ham ($4,000); Carl Jenkinson v. Everton ($3,300); Kurt Zouma at Stoke City ($2,900)

Midfielders:

Marc Albrighton v. Watford ($5,600): Albrighton is a fixture of the midfield every week. This home matchup against a very cross-prone Watford side just furthers the need to have Albrighton in your lineup.

Willian at Stoke City ($5,000): Willian is carrying an out-of-sorts Chelsea on his back. He earned both of the goals at midweek in the Champions League (one cross turned into an own goal and the second being a SportsCenter-worthy free kick).

Riyad Mahrez v. Watford ($7,400): The Algerian's league form has seemed impossibly good with regression a must, but we are 11 weeks in and the window for regression has passed – Mahrez really is this good. I don't love recommending Albrighton and Mahrez so highly, but they preform extremely well together, so stacking them is not a problem. I prefer Mahrez to goal-scoring wonder-forward Jamie Vardy. Yes, Vardy's goal scoring (top of the league) is undeniably great, but the game when he doesn't score leaves him with a very low floor considering his price.

Dusan Tadic at Sunderland ($7,300): Tadic is a fairly easy pick, as he contributes well in a number of categories, giving him a solid floor, and his score could be huge if he bags a goal.

Other midfielders to consider:Dimitri Payet v. Everton ($7,000); Matt Ritchie v. Newcastle ($4,200); Ben Watson at Leicester City ($2,900); Robbie Brady v. Swansea ($4,200); Junior Stanislas v. Newcastle ($2,800); Ashley Young v. West Brom ($4,300); Jefferson Montero ($4,800); Stephane Sessegnon at Manchester United ($3,200); Victor Moses v. Everton ($4,900); Yann M'Vila v. Southampton ($3,000); Jonjo Shelvey ($4,600); Ross Barkley at West Ham ($6,400); Georginio Wijnaldum at Bournemouth ($4,600); Steven Davis at Sunderland ($2,800); Xherdan Shaqiri v. Chelsea ($4,600); Juan Mata v. West Brom ($6,600); Gylfi Sigurdsson at Norwich City ($5,200)

Forwards:

Jeremain Lens v. Southampton ($5,000): I'm not sure if Lens is correctly positioned as a forward, but getting an extremely active midfielder in a forward role is extremely beneficial from a cash game perspective. Southampton is heavily favored over Sunderland despite being a home match for the Black Cats. Sunderland has been okay at home (it's their terrible away form that has them second-last in the table), and Lens is a true jack-of-all-trades producer across all stat categories.

Gerard Deulofeu at West Ham ($4,100): Deulofeu is another forward that contributes in peripheral stats and is especially attractive at this price. He was a major part of Everton's six-goal outburst last weekend, racking up both a goal and an assist. Teammate Arouna Kone will likely be more popular at just $200 more and coming off a three-goal, one-assist game, I get it. However, his floor is quite a bit lower than Deulofeu's, and he cannot be counted on for anything near that kind of offensive production regularly.

Other forwards to consider:Jermain Defoe v. Southampton ($4,500); Jamie Vardy v. Watford ($7,200); Ayoze Perez at Bournemouth ($5,000); Enner Valencia v. Everton ($4,200); Odion Ighalo at Leicester City ($5,400); Pedro at Stoke City ($5,800); Josh King v. Newcastle ($3,000); Romelu Lukaku at West Ham ($7,200); Graziano Pelle at Sunderland ($7,000); Arouna Kone at West Ham ($4,300); Jonathan Walters v. Stoke City ($3,900); Wayne Rooney v. West Brom ($6,800); Solomon Rondon at Manchester United ($4,300); Anthony Martial v. West Brom ($6,300); Andy Carroll v. Everton ($4,000); Diego Costa at Stoke City ($6,600)