DraftKings DFS Soccer: EPL Picks for Saturday, April 8

MATCHES (ET)

• 10:00 am: Aston Villa vs. Nottingham Forest
• 10:00 am: Brentford vs. Newcastle United
• 10:00 am: Fulham vs. West Ham United
• 10:00 am: Leicester City vs. AFC Bournemouth
• 10:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
• 10:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Chelsea

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

From a cash-game perspective, I am finding it difficult to fit the more expensive options at the forward position. I think it's reasonable to consider Jarrod Bowen ($8,100), Pascal Gross ($8,000) and Heung-Min Son ($7,700), but I'm not sure the tradeoff to other spots in your lineup is worth it. Bowen is probably the best option of this group since he plays in a forward position, whereas Gross will most likely play as a defensive midfielder. Bowen's hold on half of West Ham's set pieces is more secure than Son's, especially if Ivan Perisic ($6,500) starts.

Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO at AVL, $6,300): Aston Villa are the biggest favorites, but I don't expect them to dominate possession. I think Gibbs-White profiles as a solid point-per-dollar play in this matchup as a majority set-piece taker and I think you'll need his salary savings compared to the expensive options above to afford the strongest midfield options.  Leon Bailey ($6,500) is also a solid option in this range. There is a chance he takes a couple set pieces, but his real value comes from open play against Nottingham Forest. I'm always worried about an early substitution for Bailey, but Villa don't have many forward options on their bench. He could play 85 minutes again like he did on Tuesday, but he could also be subbed off at the 60th minute. Leicester City have a great home matchup against Bournemouth and I expect Patson Daka ($6,200), or whoever starts at forward for them, to be a popular tournament option in this price range. With goalscoring odds at +160, I wouldn't be surprised to see him on a few cash teams, as well.

Emiliano Buendia (AVL vs. NFO, $5,400): Buendia is surprisingly forward eligible this week and against Forest, I think he's probably the best point-per-dollar forward on the slate. He enables you to spend up at important spots at midfield and defense, as well. Otherwise, I am completely fine punting my second forward position in cash games and Carlos Vinicius happens to be the cheapest forward-eligible player available. Vinicius played 90 minutes last weekend at Bournemouth and is expected to continue to deputize for the suspended Aleksandar Mitrovic. His anytime goalscoring odds are acceptable at +240. The main reason you'd roster him is to improve the other spots of your lineup and any floor points he can accrue based on shots will be a nice bonus.

It should be a fun weekend for constructing tournament lineups and there will be plenty of spots to hunt for a low-rostered brace. I expect Alexander Isak ($8,800), Harry Kane ($8,700) and Ollie Watkins ($8,900) to be popular options due to their strong goalscoring odds. Evan Ferguson ($6,800) is my favorite option if he starts and looks like a solid option at his price. I don't think Brighton will be too popular in a toss-up matchup away at Tottenham (they are rarely popular even when they are favorites) and I think they can generate plenty of chances in this matchup.

The Chelsea-Wolves matchup has the lowest-implied total of these six matchups, but none of them have an implied total of over three goals. Kai Havertz ($7,400) has taken four or more shots in his last five starts and I think he could get to 20 fantasy points with just one goal. I was surprised to see how low-rostered he was on the Tuesday slate against Liverpool. There is some uncertainty with Frank Lampard serving as interim manager for Chelsea, but I'd still like to take some shots again at him in tournaments.

MIDFIELDERS

James Maddison (LEI vs. BOU, $9,000): Maddison is a monopoly set-piece taker playing at home against Bournemouth and I'd happily pay $10,000 for him in this spot. Don't overthink this one in cash games. I was surprised to see his anytime goalscoring odds of +140, as well and I'm fine rostering him in tournaments even if he is chalky. He simply projects too well in this matchup and I think I can find enough relative value in my other lineup spots. 

Andreas Pereira (FUL vs. WHU, $7,000): Pereira will take most of Fulham's set pieces in a toss-up matchup at home against West Ham. It's worth noting that he took a penalty against Manchester City back in November when Mitrovic didn't start, so I think it's reasonable to expect him to be Fulham's penalty taker, as well. Douglas Luiz ($6,200) is your classic DraftKings boring-but-solid-set-piece-taking central midfielder this week. I think he is a solid option in cash games and I'd like to get up to him if possible. Mason Mount ($6,100) is available to start and he was Chelsea's primary set-piece taker when Lampard previously managed the team. There is too much uncertainty to play him in cash games, but I think he is a great tournament option depending on Chelsea's formation.

There are almost too many tournament options at midfield to name. Whoever you end up choosing needs to have a high ceiling because the opportunity cost of the position is very high. Every time I write this column, I can't help but mention Solomon March ($8,400). He had a disappointing performance on the recent midweek slate, but he has one of the best floor/ceiling combos this weekend.  The Tottenham-Brighton match has the highest-implied total,and Kaoru Mitoma ($6,800) and Alexis Mac Allister ($5,900) are both affordable for their goal upside. Pedro Neto ($3,700) is the best salary relief option at midfield, but he could easily be subbed off at halftime.

DEFENDERS

Kieran Trippier (BRE vs. NEW, $8,400): Trippier has received a price bump, but even in an away match I think he has one of the highest and most consistently achieved floors. At his price, he probably needs a goal or assist in GPPs to be a necessary player in a winning lineup. With other strong and cheaper defender options, I think it is viable to fade him in tournaments.

Ben Chilwell and Reece James (CHE at WOL, $6,700/$6,000): My decision to play Chilwell and/or James is going to depend a lot on Chelsea's lineup. While it's possible they line up as wing-backs, Lampard primarily utilized a back four towards the end of his tenure at Chelsea. If Mount starts, I would not count on Chilwell taking most of Chelsea's corners. While they aren't necessarily cash-game options in this case, both are strong tournament routes away to Wolves. James was unfortunate to not have scored Tuesday,and he remains capable of breaking any slate at the defender position.

Emerson (WHU at FUL, $4,700): West Ham's corner taker opposite of Bowen seems to be a revolving door lately, but Emerson has taken corners the past three matches. He's a strong option as an attacking oriented left-back. Victor Kristiansen ($4,500) and Ashley Young ($4,700) are both great options that should get forward in strong home matchups. Kristiansen played 90 minutes last weekend and should see plenty of opportunities moving forward against Bournemouth.  Young has been starting in place of the injured Matty Cash, so I think his minutes are safe and that he can provide a solid floor and even an assist in this spot.

GOALKEEPER

Kepa Arrizabalaga (CHE at WOL, $5,300): Chelsea might be playing away from home, but Wolves have struggled offensively all season. Kepa has the second-best clean sheet odds despite only being the third most expensive goalkeeper, so if I had to suggest a preferred spend-up option, I think he is worth targeting. With six teams and no overwhelming favorites, any goalkeeper that isn't negatively correlated with your lineup is a viable choice. Goalkeeper on slates with this many games is high variance at DraftKings, so as usual, play whoever you want.