This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Welcome to Matchday 10 of the 2015-2016 Premier League season. This article is to guide you to an optimal squad for your $50,000 DraftKings salary and will cover the contests starting at 10:00 a.m. EDT, as it accompanies the big GPPs.Home (win odds) | (draw odds) | Away (win odds) Aston Villa (9/5) | 12/5 | Swansea City (6/4) | |
Leicester City (13/10) | 12/5 | Crystal Palace (21/10) | |||
Norwich City (even) | 23/10 | West Brom (3/1) | |||
Stoke City (23/20) | 23/10 | Watford (13/5) | |||
West Ham (3/1) | 13/5 | Chelsea (10/11) | |||
Arsenal (4/9) | 7/2 | Everton (13/2) |
Odds from PaddyPower.com as of 12:00pm EST, 10-22-15
Step 1 in building a good lineup: make sure your players ares tarting. There is a bit of guesswork in projecting lineups until they are actually announced, and all recommendations and projections are subject to change based on this. All said, be sure to check out the lineups page approximately one hour prior to kickoff.
Petr Cech ($5,400): Arsenal is by far the heaviest favorites on the card, yet somehow Cech is barely priced over Chelsea's Asmir Begovic. Plus, Cech's dominating eight-save clean sheet against Bayern Munich on Tuesday will do nothing but bolster confidence in the Arsenal defense. I can't justify recommending anyone else; no one's cheap enough to make me fade Cech.
Martin Olsson ($3,000): The left back, seemingly whoever it is, for Norwich is a productive position. It used to be Robbie Brady, but with is move up to the midfield, the position belongs to Olsson. In two starts he has two assists and twelve crosses.
Hector Bellerin ($5,200) / Nacho Monreal ($4,900): If you can only afford one Arsenal defender, go with Bellerin. Both are good, fairly safe options when accompanied with Cech in goal. If you punt away from Cech, there's no reason to use either one. There are higher ceiling plays at cheaper prices.
Other defenders to consider:Jordan Amavi ($4,300); Pape Souare ($4,100); Alan Hutton ($3,800); Glen Johnson ($4,800); Erik Pieters ($3,400)
Robbie Brady ($5,300): Crosses the ball? Check. Takes set pieces? Check. Plus matchup at home? Check. Cheap price? Check. There is no weakness in the deployment of Brady, do so broadly.
Jefferson Montero ($6,600): A fixture in the midfield for cash games, Montero is among the best in the league in collecting peripheral stats. His upside is limited, as he's not a goal scorer, but in games where he's played at least 45 minutes he's reached double-digit fantasy points all but once.
Willian ($6,300): No shortage of moderately price midfielders this weekend, Willian has been the man for Chelsea. He's hit double-digits in fantasy scoring in six consecutive matches and has become lethal on free kicks.
Nathan Dyer ($4,400): I don't usually write up this many players at one position, but I'd be cheating the readers if I didn't. Dyer has the best per-90 fantasy point production of anyone on the slate, with 28 points in his last 90 minutes played. He's not a shoe-in to start, but I'd be shocked if he didn't see the field at all.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ($5,500): Cheap exposure to the highest-octane offense on the slate. Aaron Ramsey is out with a hamstring injury and Oxlade-Chamberlain is the intuitive selection to slot in his absence. He's quite poor defensively and turnover prone, but he can contribute to offensive stats.
Other midfielders to consider:Charlie Adam ($4,900); Mesut Ozil ($8,700); Dimitri Payet ($9,300); Yohan Cabaye ($6,600); Riyad Mahrez ($10,000); Bakary Sako ($6,200); Xherdan Shaqiri ($6,200)
Alexis Sanchez ($11,700): Does this guy ever wear out? Arsenal comes off their biggest win in quite a while over the Germany juggernaut Bayern Munich and have now won four consecutive matches, while winning five of their last six in the Premier League. Alexis has been the engine that has kept the Gunner train running, and running strong.
Enner Valencia ($5,800): As someone that has yet to see the field in Premier League action, Valencia (if he does get slotted into Victor Moses's spot) presents a great opportunity to grab some low ownership. Valencia's last appearance in competition was all the way back in June at the international level, he scored and led his native Ecuador to a win over Mexico that day.
Other forwards to consider:Jamie Vardy ($9,800); Theo Walcott ($8,400); Odion Ighalo ($7,100); Andre Ayew ($7,900); Dieumerci Mbokani ($4,700); Saido Berahino ($6,900); Joselu ($4,400)