This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
Only a few weeks remain in the Premier League season and every match will need to be handicapped from a perspective of what each game means to a particular team. There are some teams that may just go through the motions until the end of the season, while others are in the heat of battle for important end-of-season points.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. Chelsea
- 10:00 am: Manchester City vs. Leeds United
- 10:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace
- 10:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Aston Villa
- 12:30 pm: Liverpool vs. Brentford
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Riyad Mahrez, MCI vs. LEE ($20): Mahrez had the majority of set pieces last match with only one going to Julian Alvarez ($19). If it's a similar lineup Saturday with no Kevin De Bruyne, I would expect a combination of Mahrez, Alvarez, and Phil Foden ($20) to take sets for the biggest favorites on the slate. All of these guys are firmly in play along with an expensive Erling Haaland ($25), who has 80-percent implied goalscoring odds. Alvarez is the next most likely goalscorer at 62 percent. I like the floor of Mahrez first in optimal builds, but you may be realistically playing two of these four Man City pieces if you can find enough money.
Playing with builds on this slate, Haaland makes your lineups very prohibitive if you want another higher-priced piece. I like the idea of getting to someone like Mahrez and Alvarez then paying down at defender and potentially goalkeeper.
I view Mohamed Salah ($22) and Harry Kane ($21) as similar plays. They are both in strong form and are a part of the next two biggest favorites after Man City. At these prices, I would rather prioritize the above Man City pieces and use these two as pivots in GPPs.
Dominic Solanke, BOU vs. CHE ($16): Chelsea are a play-against team until proven otherwise, in my opinion. Solanke has been in strong form since missing three games in late January. He comes in priced in the mid-range and makes for a strong play in a matchup that Bournemouth could use to almost lock themselves out of relegation.
Ryan Christie ($12) and Joe Rothwell ($9) have been sharing set pieces and both make for decent value plays in mini-Bournemouth stacks, though I prefer the former. If you have the salary, Philip Billing ($14) makes for a solid value option with GPP upside. Kai Havertz ($18) is the only real option in consideration for Chelsea, but he is much too expensive for me on this slate.
Jacob Ramsey, AVL at WOL ($15): Ramsey gets us some needed value and I like his upside for a hot Villa side. He is coming off a clunker and I don't expect high rostership given the other favorites on the slate. Before that last match, he had shown a solid floor and if you want to stack Villa, you could play their most likely goalscorer in Ollie Watkins ($18). Villa need this game if they want to push for a UEFA spot, as they're level with Tottenham and down two goals on differential.
DEFENDERS
Pedro Porro, TOT vs. CRY ($14): This is a strong defender slate and it makes it tough that you can only play two. Porro has gained a solid role on set pieces for Tottenham and he could be paired with teammate Ivan Perisic ($13) if you are high on Spurs, as both have a share of sets and strong floors. I like the idea of pairing both with Fraser Forster for a clean-sheet stack in GPPs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold ($14) has his massive floor back and makes for another strong play if you are heavier on Liverpool for correlation. Andrew Robertson ($13) has a decent floor, as well, but he would be ranked behind all the aforementioned defenders.
Zanka, BRE at LIV ($9): Zanka is a cheap option with big defensive upside. He only plays in specific matchups, but if he starts at Liverpool, I expect double-digit floor points. Ethan Pinnock ($15) is expensive, but has a big floor, as well. Other cheap options for defensive floors include Robin Koch ($10) and Marc Guehi ($11).
GOALKEEPER
Ederson, MCI vs. LEE ($14): Man City have the largest win and clean sheet odds on the slate. This team hasn't been great about keeping a clean sheet, but you have to like them at home when they need wins down the stretch. Alisson ($13) and Fraser Forster ($12) make sense as pivots if you are playing defenders from those teams for correlation. The cheap option I like is against Chelsea with Neto ($9) at home in a needed game.
