This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: Fulham vs. AFC Bournemouth
- 10:00 am: Liverpool vs. Burnley
- 10:00 am: Luton Town vs. Sheffield United
- 10:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
- 10:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Brentford
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday Premier League Cheat Sheet
FORWARD
Darwin Nunez (LIV vs. BUR, $8,800): Saturday's five-game slate features Liverpool as the biggest favorite with the highest implied goal total. Nunez has a decent floor based on shot volume and chances created in additiong to the second-highest goalscoring odds and a massive ceiling. He seems a bit underpriced, though I'm hesitant to call him a must for cash games because the optimal lineup construction might not include an expensive forward. There are good options at midfielder and defender to spend up for so you'll need to decide where it makes the most sense to punt.
Other options in this range include Diogo Jota ($8,300), whose -165 goalscoring odds are tops on the slate. Liverpool have had a lot of great forwards throughout their storied history but none of them average more goals per shots on target than Jota, a true sniper. Luis Diaz ($7,400) offers Liverpool exposure along with salary relief and maybe even some leverage as I'd expect Nunez and Jota to be slightly more popular. The Liverpool forwards are viable in any format given their implied goal total.
Looking elsewhere, very few will roster the in-form Matheus Cunha ($9,900), as he's the most expensive player on the slate. Fresh off a hat trick against Chelsea, Wolves are flying and have a respectable 1.67 implied goal total for their home matchup against Brentford. Tottenham have a total north of two for what could be an entertaining goal-fest at home to Brighton. Richarlison ($9,600) has been banging in the goals of late. He's coming off a brace against Everton and has scored in seven of the last eight league games. Salary constraints are likely to leave him relatively overlooked and under-rostered. I suppose I should also mention Willian ($7,600), who, with penalty-kick duty and a few corners, is a fine option if you're not sold on Liverpool or Luton Town.
Chiedozie Ogbene (LUT vs. SHU, $6,800): Luton Town are in a fantastic spot at home against Sheffield United. Their win odds (almost 55 percent) and implied goal total (almost two) are both season highs. They also can't stop scoring after putting four past Newcastle and Brighton in back-to-back games. Ogbene has played 90 minutes in three consecutive starts and he's scored at least 8.5 floor points in all of them. Combine that with the prime matchup and it makes him viable for cash games.
Carlton Morris ($6,800) offers better goalscoring odds for the same price and Elijah Adebayo ($7,300) has been brilliant of late with five goals in his last four. Elsewhere, Ivan Toney ($6,900) seems like a decent option in any format considering he takes penalties and direct free kicks while pretty much always playing 90 minutes. Timo Werner ($7,200) and Brennan Johnson ($7,100) offer exposure to the slate's game with the highest-implied goal total. Cheaper tournament options include Rodrigo Muniz ($5,800), who's coming off his first league goal and set to lead the line with Fulham as slight favorites home to Bournemouth. Ben Brereton Diaz ($5,300) and Will Osula ($4,300) make sense in Luton stacks on the opposite side.
MIDFIELD
Alfie Doughty (LUT vs. SHU, $8,400): I've mentioned it's a great spot for Luton and that makes Doughty stand out as their majority set-piece taker. He's whipped in 10-plus crosses in three of the last four games and 8-plus in six of the last seven. That will continue as long as Luton are starting two big target men in Adebayo and Morris.
Andreas Pereira (FUL vs. BOU, $7,700): I'm not sure who the better option is between Doughty and Pereira. It's difficult to ignore Pereira's last three games in which he's put up floor-point totals of 19.7, 21.1 and 13.2 while playing at least 82 minutes in each. Fulham have a relatively favorable home matchup and he's $700 cheaper so I wouldn't argue with anyone who preferred Pereira to Doughty. James Maddison ($9,200) is strictly a GPP option as he seems to have lost corner-kick responsibility since returning from injury. I'd expect some of the field won't know that, which is unfortunate because you'd like him to offer more leverage for a decreased role. I'd rather take a chance on Ross Barkley ($7,600), who continues to roll back the years with exceptional performances. He's produced double-digit points in six consecutive games with the help of two goals and three assists and there's no better spot to continue that run than a home matchup against Sheffield United.
All of the Liverpool midfielders are underpriced with Dominik Szoboszlai (hamstring) still out. Alexis Mac Allister ($4,900) has at least 11.8 floor points in three consecutive games without the help of set pieces. Curtis Jones ($4,000) is clearly too cheap for the goal/assist equity he provides in such a favorable matchup. Harvey Elliott ($5,300) may go overlooked just because he's more expensive than Mac Allister and Jones but probably offers more upside than both. Looking elsewhere, Lewis Cook ($5,100) can be considered for cash games if Alex Scott ($5,800) doesn't start. Jordan Clark ($3,600) has started three straight games for Luton in an attacking role. He's unlikely to play more than 70 minutes, but that's certainly long enough to be involved in a goal against Sheffield United.
DEFENDER
Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV vs. BUR, $6,800): There's some uncertainty about how long Alexander-Arnold will play after going 58 minutes against Arsenal and 22 minutes off the bench a few days before that. After a week off, I wouldn't be overly concerned considering his discounted salary and how good Liverpool's matchup against Burnley is. You wouldn't be surprised to see a fully healthy Alexander-Arnold priced around $9,000 in this spot and for those reasons, he's the first defender in for me despite other strong options.
Pedro Porro ($7,100) has continued to take most of Tottenham's corners even with Maddison back in the lineup. Andrew Robertson ($5,700) could make his first start since October after recovering from a shoulder injury. I wouldn't expect 90 minutes but similar to Alexander-Arnold, his price is discounted and he'd be sharing corner kicks. Porro would be the safer option but maybe the salary is more important.
Sergio Reguilon (BRE at WOL, $4,400): Reguilon played 79 minutes and split corners in his first start for Brentford last week. He's probably a little too cheap for that role playing on the left wing but his minutes are a concern with Keane Lewis-Potter or Samman Ghoddos waiting to come off the bench. He's affordable enough not to worry too much about that when it comes to cashgames. If you're looking for a punt, Virgil van Dijk ($3,500) and Jarell Quansah ($2,900) are underpriced with Liverpool in such a favorable spot.
GOALKEEPER
James Trafford (BUR at LIV, $3,600): Trafford made eight saves and allowed two goals against Liverpool when the two teams met a little over a month ago. Alisson ($5,900) got the win and clean sheet on the opposite side but finished with just 10 points as he made no saves. Now Liverpool are at home and there's a decent chance there's something similar. I usually prefer spending down on five-game slates and that $2,300 could go a long way.
I've been impressed by Bournemouth recently and Neto ($4,600) has the best win odds of the cheaper keepers. Would it surprise anyone if Brentford beat Wolves or if Brighton beat Spurs? Not me, so I'll play their keepers on lineups where it correlates.
