This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
Holiday fixture congestion continues Saturday with a five-game slate to tackle at FanDuel. We have two spots that we are going to want to target very heavily on this slate with Man City hosting Sheffield and Aston Villa hosting Burnley. City might be back to their terrifying best and on the Aston Villa side we have some value picks that will help us pay up elsewhere.
- 10:00 am: Aston Villa vs. Burnley
- 10:00 am: Crystal Palace vs. Brentford
- 10:00 am: Manchester City vs. Sheffield United
- 10:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Everton
- 12:30 pm: Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester United
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Julian Alvarez, MCI vs. SHU ($24): The price is big, but the role he has is hard to ignore. Alvarez has the best goalscoring odds and a large set piece role. We have seen Bernardo Silva ($21) take on the a split of sets for Man City recently, which makes him my second favorite piece over Phil Foden ($22). Jack Grealish ($18) has shown a solid floor recently in open play and is priced a tier below the rest of City.
Douglas Luiz, AVL vs. BUR ($19): The Aston Villa split of sets is between Luiz and John McGinn ($18). Both are in play on this slate as big favorites at home against Burnley. They don't have near the goal upside of the above mentioned Man City options, but have a great floor. Ollie Watkins ($21) has the goal upside for Aston Villa, but he is very goal dependent, making him a tournament only option at similar pricing to the Man City options.
Alejandro Garnacho, MU at NFO ($17): Manchester United had struggled mightily offensively until they got a big win over Aston Villa led by a Garnacho brace. I think this is an interesting tournament spot because we can see goals from both sides. I certainly don't trust the Man United defense making so Morgan Gibbs-White ($16) is interesting as the set piece man for Forest. Marcus Rashford is an option as well ($17) and you could even make a case for Bruno Fernandes ($23) because of how much he does for this team, but it is hard to get there with his pricing relative to all the other options.
Moussa Diaby, AVL vs. BUR ($14): There are two very enticing value options on the Aston Villa side with Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo ($13). I trust the minutes slightly more for Diaby and he has better goalscoring odds by about seven percent. Pablo Sarabia ($15) has taken over a strong set piece role for Wolves and gives us another nice mid-range option. Teammate Thomas Doyle ($9) is a solid punt if he starts as well as he may get some share of sets.
DEFENDERS
Rico Lewis, MCI vs. SHU ($13): Lewis gives you a way to get more exposure to Man City and still have some goal upside. The other City defender options are just not as DFS-friendly when they will be on the front foot much of the game and not racking up many defensive points. Alex Moreno ($11) is a nice option for Aston Villa for similar reasons as Lewis.
Harry Toffolo, NFO vs. MU ($12): Toffolo has taken some of the role on sets for Forest lately and I mentioned that I like this game to be open and back-and-forth. Saman Ghoddos ($10) has also taken a role on sets for Brentford and they should have some opportunities against Crystal Palace. If you want to look at defensive floor options, you can go to any of the center backs for Sheffield or Burnley. Jordan Beyer ($14), Dara O'Shea ($12), Jack Robinson ($10), and Auston Trusty ($9) are all in a similar tier in tough matches.
GOALKEEPER
Ederson, MCI vs. SHU ($14): Ederson and Man City are massive favorites and have excellent clean sheet odds. It is hard to ignore that safety, but don't expect many save opportunities and if City do concede he could struggle. Emiliano Martinez ($13) is the pivot with strong win and clean sheet odds as well. I could see just choosing the one that pairs with one of your defender options if you play Lewis or Moreno there. If you want a little bit of salary savings, Jose Sa ($11) and Wolves host Everton and I like them to win here.
