DraftKings DFS EPL Picks for Sunday, May 25

Championship Sunday is here and with it the most exciting DraftKings DFS contest of the season. King of the Pitch entrants are fighting for a $150,000 prize, while the rest have to fight for a $10,000 (come on) payout in the Season Finale Special.

The 10-game contest is a bit different than anything else this season unless you're in the MLS streets (shouts to the 13-game contest for $100). I dove into the differences and some historical numbers earlier in the week.

This article will be more cash based with a few tournament mentions here and there. A 10-game slate is endless in terms of possibilities and the video preview/podcast will go more in depth, which is live Friday at 2 p.m. ET with Ryan Belongia and Mo Al-Hendy.

As usual, projections can help you find the best plays. A link for the The Pasty Guy Projections can be found in the RW Discord.

MATCHES (ET)

• 11:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. Leicester City
• 11:00 am: Fulham vs. Manchester City
• 11:00 am: Ipswich Town vs. West Ham United
• 11:00 am: Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace
• 11:00 am: Manchester United vs. Aston Villa
• 11:00 am: Newcastle United vs. Everton
• 11:00 am: Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea
• 11:00 am: Southampton vs. Arsenal
• 11:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
• 11:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Brentford

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Championship Sunday EPL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Bukayo Saka (ARS at SOU, $9,500)

There isn't an absolute lock on this slate, but Saka comes close if he was guaranteed for 90 minutes. Of course, he's not guaranteed since Arsenal don't have anything to play for with second place all but secured. Still, I don't think Mikel Arteta wants to drop points to Southampton on the final day. 

I'd be even more inclined to play Saka if Southampton roll out a similar XI to recent contests that doesn't feature Kyle Walker-Peters or some of their regular center-backs. If one of the worst Premier League teams ever puts out a B squad, it's hard to think Arsenal won't score a few.

Pedro Neto (CHE at NFO, $7,700)

Prior to last week's match against Man United, I was set to lock Neto in for less than $8,000. However, this Chelsea attack hasn't been clicking, especially without Nicolas Jackson, and playing at Nottingham Forest won't be easy in a must-win spot for both. I think a 10-point floor is a good projection, and that's fine, but I'd rather Forest score in the first 10 minutes and then Chelsea push the rest of the way for goals. 

In a must-win game, Chelsea are going to have more of the ball in the attacking third and while Forest don't allow good opportunities, they still allow shots. This has the potential to be a 20-point floor game if things go the right way.

Gabriel Martinelli ($7,700), Antoine Semenyo ($7,100), Evanilson ($6,900) and Anthony Gordon ($6,500) are a few more who stand out. All of them have great matchups with 90 minutes in play. Gordon would be the first player in my lineup, but it appears Sandro Tonali ($6,400) has corners over him.

Marco Asensio ($7,700) is intriguing with sets, but his matchup is arguably worse than any of the above players. Even with a rotated Man United squad likely following Wednesday's loss, this probably won't be as easy as Villa's recent home win against Tottenham.

Omari Hutchinson ($5,600) is worth a look if you want a cheaper option. In Ipswich Town's home goodbye to the Premier League, I'm not sure what West Ham will prohibit.

Mohamed Salah ($8,700) will be a major talking point. He's struggled to close the season and is now below $9,000. Crystal Palace are playing well, but they've also done a ton of celebrating this week, which includes the coaching staff taking a one-night vacation Thursday. The Palace XI will be important for how much Salah you should roster.

MIDFIELDERS

Bryan Mbeumo (BRE at WOL, $10,100)

I think you can get to Mbeumo if you want. It's a tad expensive given he's away from home, but if Wolves rotate to their B squad again, there will be goals for Brentford. Mbeumo is a 90-minute player even though he seems likely to move elsewhere this summer. He's had an awesome campaign with Yoane Wissa ($8,600), and the two will hope to go out with a bang in possibly their final match together. Mikkel Damsgaard ($5,300) is the other half of Brentford sets and he's cheaper, albeit with much less upside.

Kevin De Bruyne ($10,400) may be more popular because of who he is, but at Fulham is a little more difficult, and he's been playing a ton of minutes lately.

Marcus Tavernier (BOU vs. LEI, $6,700)

The recent numbers on Tavernier don't look amazing, but he's gone 90 in three straight and this matchup is about 10 times better than those prior three. Given a small bench and that Justin Kluivert ($6,300) doesn't seem 100 percent, Tavernier should be in range for close to 90 minutes with set pieces against a team that just celebrated Jamie Vardy's tenure for the past week.

Tonali is a tad expensive, but with corners at home against Everton, he's plenty viable.

I have interest in almost every Brighton player because of matchup. Tottenham have looked bad with their secondary squad, and they had a celebration parade Friday. They don't care about this game.

Brighton are seemingly a team who can exploit that, as they did Monday against Liverpool. The problem is that no one is guaranteed for 70-plus minutes in the attack outside of maybe Danny Welbeck ($7,200). With sets, Brajan Gruda ($4,900) is a little too cheap even with a minutes concern. He hit 13 floor points against Liverpool and could do similar damage in this spot.

DEFENDERS

Rayan Ait-Nouri (WOL vs. BRE, $5,900)

There are a lot of good tournament defenders, but Ait-Nouri seems to be the best combination of floor and upside. He's gone 90 in three straight and even with some rotation Monday, he eventually got to an 11-point floor at Crystal Palace. Wolves manager Vitor Pereira has been adamant that he wants to win games to close the season and I think they'll player a stronger group in the finale.

Harry Amass (MUN vs. AVL, $2,500)

I think you can go just about anywhere at defender, and Amass allows you to do a few extra things with your lineup. Two years ago, Matt Targett was a surprise starter at $2,900 with set pieces and he became a chalk play. He finished with 1.8 points and it didn't matter. Amass is a minimum-priced wing-back, and with a projection in the five-point range, that allows you to get someone like Mbeumo or De Bruyne.

Valentino Livramento ($4,500) is in a better spot, but he's $2,000 more and probably has the same floor. While I like Livramento in this matchup, I don't think paying up for someone like him is worth it in cash games. 

GOALKEEPER

Matz Sels (NFO vs. CHE $4,300)

I mentioned on Tuesday's show (linked above) that you don't need to spend up at goalkeeper to win 10-game slates. David Raya ($6,000), Nick Pope ($5,900) and Kepa Arrizabalaga ($5,800) are all enticing, but is their potential 10 to 16 points going to win you tournaments? Probably not.

Sels has had a great season for Forest and while the clean sheets haven't been there lately, a win and clean sheet is as possible as five-plus saves against Chelsea. That game has the lowest implied total on the slate, so he could be the most popular goalkeeper.

Altay Bayindir ($4,000) could have the most upside since Aston Villa need three points and should have opportunities to get them. I also like Bernd Leno ($4,000), Jakub Stolarczyk ($3,800) and Aaron Ramsdale ($3,600).