DraftKings DFS EPL Picks & Projections for Wednesday, April 2

Erling Haaland is out for more than a month and that opens up for some creativity in Wednesday's five-game slate at DraftKings. With Omar Marmoush expected to step into somewhat of a false-nine role, he becomes the top play on the slate.

MATCHES (ET)

• 2:45 pm: AFC Bournemouth vs. Ipswich Town
• 2:45 pm: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Aston Villa
• 2:45 pm: Manchester City vs. Leicester City
• 2:45 pm: Newcastle United vs. Brentford
• 2:45 pm: Southampton vs. Crystal Palace

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday EPL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Omar Marmoush (MCI vs. LEI, $11,000)

Manchester City are in one of the best spots of the season. Leicester City have moved to a more defensive three center-back formation of late, but it hasn't helped and they're still allowing goals. City haven't really had a peak this season, but everyone has scored against Leicester. Unless Kevin De Bruyne ($11,800) starts again, Marmoush should have set pieces with maybe the best odds on the team to score.

Jeremy Doku ($10,200) and Savinho ($9,900) are also in the conversation with the former being my preferred option since he's been going 90 in recent starts. 

Evanilson (BOU vs. IPS, $6,100)

Antoine Semenyo ($7,600) would've been the play earlier in the season, but his shooting volume hasn't been the same in recent months and Evanilson is much cheaper. For barely over $6,000, you're getting +115 odds to score with Evanilson. There will be discussions on who to spend on, but Evanilson should have a decent shot floor, so I think it's hard to pass that up for the price.

The Rest

As with any five gamer, there are a lot of ways to go, especially when there are big favorites. Jean-Philippe Mateta ($9,600) could brace in 60 minutes against Southampton, and he probably won't be that popular given the other options nearby. Per Stats on Football projections, Ismaila Sarr ($7,200) is one of the better values on the slate. However, I still think playing at home and for cheaper, Evanilson is the better play, though they aren't too different.

Marcus Rashford ($7,400) has had a bit of a revival at Aston Villa, but he's more of a tournament play in this spot. Even with set pieces, playing at Brighton isn't going to result in a massive floor. Joao Pedro ($6,700) is intriguing on the other end since he has penalties and is even cheaper, while teammate Danny Welbeck ($5,300) is getting into value range, especially without Georginio Rutter available.

The projections often show love to cheaper forwards because they're always in play for a goal. Jaden Philogene ($4,300) has had some moments for Ipswich Town and Bournemouth aren't a prohibitive side to target. Liam Delap ($3,900) is more likely to score and even cheaper.

MIDFIELDERS

Adam Wharton (CRY at SOU, $4,200)

Deciding on a top midfielder is probably the most difficult part of this slate, but Wharton is the best play on a value basis. With a split of set pieces against Southampton, it's hard to ignore him when fellow defensive midfielder Will Hughes is still suspended. Wharton hit near 10 floor points in both prior starts, mostly from nine chances created.

David Brooks (BOU vs. IPS, $4,900)

This one is more about who is available for Bournemouth because there's a chance neither Marcus Tavernier ($9,000) nor Justin Kluivert ($11,400) is in the squad. If that's the case, Brooks is in the conversation because of set pieces against Ipswich. If something weird happens in the XI, Alex Scott ($5,800) and Ryan Christie ($4,100) are both ones to monitor depending on the formation.

The Rest

I don't think you need to get to Kevin De Bruyne ($11,800) or Phil Foden ($10,800). Maybe that doesn't make sense against Leicester, but De Bruyne went 90 Sunday and Foden doesn't seem like a 90-minute player anymore in addition to not having sets.

I'd rather play Eberechi Eze ($9,700) for cheaper, though his split of sets with Wharton on the pitch takes away a bigger floor. Still, if you have the money, I'd rather take 90 minutes of Eze against Southampton than De Bruyne or Foden.

Jacob Murphy ($8,600) should be a nice tournament option since he's been going full 90s, while teammates Harvey Barnes ($8,400) and Bruno Guimaraes ($8,100) are also in that range.

Mateus Fernandes ($4,300) would be a favorite of mine on this slate, but Southampton are a mess and he went off after 45 last match. I wouldn't risk cash games with that recent history. Teammate Tyler Dibling ($3,600) went 90 minutes in that game and is a prospect for the future.

There's a chance Nico O'Reilly ($3,700) starts after his FA Cup output, and I wouldn't want to completely ignore him for that price in this matchup.

DEFENDERS

Daniel Munoz is my guy, but I'm not paying $6,900 for him in cash games without set pieces. Milos Kerkez ($5,400) fills a similar role for cheaper and he didn't play over the weekend because of suspension.

Tyrick Mitchell (CRY at SOU, $4,800)

I've said a few times this season that Mitchell is more likely than Munoz to cross the ball for an assist. Munoz has upside because of his goalscoring, but with Mateta back in the squad, Mitchell should launch a few crosses into the box, especially in this matchup.

Pervis Estupinan ($5,800) might be the most popular defender in cash games and he's a solid play. Even though he went 120 minutes over the weekend, his floor has been awesome with almost every Brighton set piece the last two matches. I bolded Mitchell, but Estupinan is the easier click.

Any defender on the big favorites is in play, assuming they don't go down in the first half to injury similar to Gabriel on Tuesday. If Southampton revert to wing-backs again, I think Ryan Manning ($3,700) can be considered in all formats.

GOALKEEPER

Mads Hermansen (LEI at MCI, $3,600)

Without Haaland, you could argue that City are less likely to score. Whether that's true or not, I think Hermansen will have plenty of save opportunities in this spot. If you can get more than three saves and only allow two goals, that'd be worth it. Given how bad Leicester City have been, a clean sheet seems likely for Ederson at $6,000. Is that 10 extra points worth $2,400, though? I'll let you decide.