This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
For detailed stats and odds, check out the Fantasy Premier League: Tuesday Cheat Sheet.
MATCHES (EST)
2:45 p.m: Arsenal v. Watford
2:45 p.m: Middlesbrough v. West Brom
2:45 p.m: Swansea City v. Southampton
2:45 p.m: Bournemouth v. Crystal Palace
2:45 p.m: Sunderland v. Tottenham
2:45 p.m: Burnley v. Leicester City
3:00 p.m: Liverpool v. Chelsea
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPER
Goalkeeper scoring has been incredibly erratic this season, as the highest-priced keepers can finish with two or three fantasy points after their defense dominates a game and doesn't allow a shot in open play, but a wrongly called penalty can result in one goal allowed and no clean sheet. On the flip side, a goalkeeper on an overwhelming underdog can allow three goals and make seven saves and comfortably outperform their price. Overall, it's tough to justify paying up for keepers, so I'll likely stick with some cheaper options.
Ben Foster, WBA at MID ($4,800): Foster's 81 saves are the second-most in the Premier League, though West Brom are fourth overall as a team. They allow a decent number of shots, which should help Foster's upside against a Middlesbrough side that's taken the fewest shots in the league (as well as the fewest shots on target) and has scored a league-low 18 goals. They've scored multiple goals in just five games this season and have bagged just two in their last five games combined. While the clean sheet isn't guaranteed, Foster's highly unlikely to get lit up.
Lukasz Fabianski, SWA v. SOU ($4,400): The good: Fabianski has made at least three saves in four of the last five matches. The bad: he's allowed 14 goals over that span, including 11 in his last three home games. Southampton are coming off a solid 3-0 win against Leicester in their last league match, but before that they scored two goals in their previous four games combined. Southampton have created the fourth-most saves (83) this season, trailing only Manchester United (97), Spurs (96) and Liverpool (88), but they've scored the fourth-fewest goals (22).
DEFENDER
Tuesday's slate includes some of the best fantasy defenders in the Premier League, headlined by Liverpool's James Milner, who has scored over 280 fantasy points this season, a remarkable total when comparing it to next-highest, Danny Rose at 199.75. However, a matchup against the best defense in the Premier League (Chelsea) doesn't seem like an opportunity for Milner to rack up crosses, many of which he gets from corners, as Chelsea have allowed the sixth-fewest corners and fifth-fewest crosses this season.
On the other side of the field, Marcos Alonso has gotten plenty of fantasy attention this season, and while his brace two league matches ago shows his upside, it's one rarely seen (at least that that level), and he's scored fewer than 10 fantasy points in eight of his last 10 games. As the second-most expensive defender against the team that's allowed the fewest crosses this season, Alonso's fantasy upside isn't likely to be exceeded Tuesday.
Danny Rose, TOT at SUN ($5,400): Rose was held out of Saturday's FA Cup match due to a minor knee injury, but he is expected to be back in the starting XI for a matchup against a very poor Sunderland defense. Tottenham are understandably heavy favorites, and Rose comes in with double-digit fantasy points in eight of his last 10 games. Yes, the two single-digit outings were in his last three games, but playing at Sunderland is significantly different than those opponents (home against Chelsea and at Manchester City).
Simon Francis, BOU v. CRY ($4,400): Francis' price has come down slightly after serving a three-match ban, and while he could slot back into the starting XI, it may be in a different position. Francis was a solid contributor as a right-back, sending in at least five crosses in seven straight games before being sent off against Arsenal (he played center-back in one match, though he still had six crosses thanks to three corners). However, he may be forced back inside after Nathan Ake was recalled by Chelsea. Francis' fantasy upside is not nearly as high if he's playing centrally, but if Tyrone Mings keeps his starting CB spot and Francis is out wide, he makes for a very attractive fantasy option against a Palace team that's really struggled defensively this season.
Stephen Ward, BUR v. LEI ($4,500): Ward has been a steady fantasy producer, though his upside is somewhat limited because he doesn't take many shots. However, he is a decent crosser and will now face off against a Leicester side that's allowed the most crosses to left-backs this season (Ward had six against them in their earlier matchup this season, a 3-0 win for Leicester at the King Power Stadium back in September). This game should be quite different than the first meeting, as Burnley come in with the fourth-best home record in the Premier League for the season (no, really!) while Leicester come in with the second-worst away record, giving reason to believe Ward will have more opportunities on the ball to send in crosses.
MIDFIELDER
Christian Eriksen, TOT at SUN ($9,600): Eriksen has been overshadowed by teammate Dele Alli ($8,200) of late thanks to the latter's eight goals in his last six Premier League matches, but the former continues to be the better floor player given the unreliability of goals and his consistency from crosses because he takes all set pieces. Dele has taken a solid 17 shots during his scoring run (nine on target), but Eriksen has managed 21 over that span (three on target) while also sending in 35 crosses, with four assists on 21 chances created (Dele has no assists on four chances created). So, while Sunderland are quite poor defensively, goals are never guaranteed, while Eriksen's involvement in the attack certainly appears to be.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, SWA v. SOU ($7,800): If you think Eriksen is heavily involved in the Spurs attack, Sigurdsson's role with Swansea is even greater. Despite some pretty poor results this season, he continues to be a remarkably consistent and productive fantasy scorer, finishing with double-digit fantasy points in all but four games. His peripheral stats have been down a bit of late, though he has a goal and an assist over his last three games.
Steven Defour, BUR v. LEI ($5,400): It's not often that a Burnley attacker gets much fantasy consideration, but Defour has been a pretty consistent crosser of late and the Clarets should be able to perform well against Leicester. He has sent in six crosses in four of the last five games, and as long he has corner duty, he should be able to keep those numbers up. The potential return of Johann Berg Gudmundsson ($5,400) would throw a wrench into the plan, but fantasy players shouldn't be scared of this matchup.
FORWARDS
Alexis Sanchez, ARS v. WAT ($11,000): Alexis is the easiest pick on the slate, as he's scored at least 21 fantasy points in four consecutive matches and now faces a Watford outfit that's allowed multiple goals in five of their last six away games. His price is the highest of any player, but with Liverpool and Chelsea facing off against each other, he provides significantly more upside than any player from that game.
Wilfried Zaha, CRY at BOU ($7,000): The Palace attack has lacked bite since Zaha left for Africa Cup of Nations, but he returned earlier this week after Ivory Coast surprisingly crashed out from the group stage. Zaha is a peripheral-stat star even without high crosses (usually), as he draws fouls and wins tackles at a fairly high rate (his 3.18 fouls drawn per 90 minutes are the most in the league for any player with more than 750 minutes). He isn't a big shooter, though he did find the back of the net in his last league appearance, which came against Swansea on Jan. 3. He's goal dependent for a big score, as most players are, but he has a decent floor to reduce the risk.
Demarai Gray, LEI at BUR ($5,200): Gray has shown some solid consistency over the past few games, as he's taken eight shots and sent in nine crosses over his last two league games. The return of Riyad Mahrez could cut into Gray's playing time, though the latter was played well enough of late to warrant continued minutes.
