This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Welcome to Matchday 9 of the 2015-2016 Premier League season. This article is to guide you to an optimal squad for your $50,000 DraftKings salary. This article will cover the contests starting at 10am EST as it accompanies the big GPPs.| Home (win odds) | (draw odds) | Away (win odds) | Chelsea (1/3) | 4/1 | AstonVilla (9/1) | |
| Crystal Palace (19/20) | 5/2 | West Ham (29/10) | |||
| Everton (9/4) | 9/4 | Manchester United (13/10) | |||
| Manchester City (1/3) | 4/1 | Bournemouth (9/1) | |||
| Southampton (3/4) | 11/4 | Leicester City (19/5) | |||
| West Brom (even) | 23/10 | Sunderland (3/1) | |||
| Watford (5/1) | 29/10 | Arsenal (3/5) |
Odds from PaddyPower.com as of 12:00pm EST, 10-15-15
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 starting lineups page approximately one hour prior to kickoff.
Boaz Myhill ($4,800): West Brom may be 17th coming off consecutive loses but Sunderland is 19th, winless on the season, and without their most valuable offensive threat in Jeremain Lens (who's serving a suspension for a red card last time out).
Petr Cech ($5,300): It has become nearly impossible to trust Chelsea, so Asmir Begovic is a correspondingly hard sell. Joe Hart is a fine choice against a Callum Wilson-less Bournemouth. Cech (and his corresponding defense) has been in great form. For me it's a near toss-up between Cech and Hart.
Other goalkeepers to consider:Joe Hart ($5,700)
Pape Soaure ($3,900): Souare hit a remarkable 11 crosses last time out against West Brom, and he leads the Premier League in crosses over the last two gameweeks. The matchup with West Ham is not easy, but Palace is a sub-even money favorite.
Nacho Monreal ($4,700): Monreal hasn't been very productive lately (despite have a two-assist performance against Leicester), but he started the season productive crossing the ball and Watford has allowed the most crosses of any team in the Premier League.
Other defenders to consider:Hector Bellerin ($5,000), Aleksander Kolarov ($6,800), Baba Rahman ($2,700), Jordan Amavi ($4,300)
Kevin De Bruyne ($8,000): De Bruyne's price continues to rise, but he is still underpriced. Now, with both Sergio Aguero (hamstring) and David Silva (ankle) out for the immediate future, it is a bit unclear if Man City will be as effective as they were at the beginning of the season. Regardless, they are 1/3 favorites over Bournemouth and De Bruyne is now the most talented player on the team.
Willian ($6,100): Simply put, Willian has been the lone bright spot for a struggling Chelsea side who's remarkably 16th in the standings. Willian has now scored in four consecutive competitive matches for Chelsea despite playing the whole game just once. I would prefer to see him on the right wing, but even if he plays a central attacking role he's a good look at this price.
Wilfried Zaha ($5,300): It's a good sign when a player has "bamboozled" an opponent, and in a 15-fantasy-point performance last time out, Zaha did just that. Crystal Palace has an extremely inventive offense with Yannick Bolasie, Jason Puncheon and Zaha spread across the midfield with Yohan Cabaye holding it all together and Bakary Sako who began his Premier League season with consecutive performances of 25+ fantasy points. Somehow, Zaha comes in cheapest of the bunch while possibly having the highest floor when he gets the start.
Other midfielders to consider:Dusan Tadic ($9,700), Yohan Cabaye ($6,500), Oscar ($7,200), Dimitri Payet ($9,100), Ashley Young ($6,000), Jesus Navas ($6,500), Steven Davis ($3,700), Yann M'Vila ($4,000)
Alexis Sanchez ($11,600): Alexis has yet to play a full match and not reach at least double-digit fantasy points. In his last three competitive matches with Arsenal he's scored six goals. His point totals have read 43-29-30. It's hard to justify a cash lineup without Sanchez, and the popularity of this logic will be evident through his high ownership percentage.
Wilfried Bony ($6,500): Starting striker for a side as steeply favored as City is, this price makes Bony close to a no brainer. He hasn't been extremely productive in his time at Manchester City, but his goal scoring for Swansea less than a year ago showcases his true abilities.
Rudy Gestede ($5,500): If Gestede can score twice against Liverpool, it's certainly possible for him to be successful against Chelsea and their ailing defense that will be without last year's two most important cogs in Branislav Ivanovic (hamstring) and Thibaut Courtois (knee). I wouldn't look here in anywhere but GPPs, but he should be a very good way to differentiate your lineup.
Other forwards to consider:Jose Rondon ($5,500), Sadio Mane ($9,100), Theo Walcott ($8,200), Diego Costa ($9,000), Dwight Gayle ($5,000), Anthony Martial ($8,700)
