DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Gameweek 27

This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.

Goal = +10 PTs
Assist = +6 PTs
Shot = +1 PTs
Shot on Goal = +1 PTs
Crosses = +1 PTs
Fouls Drawn = +0.75 PTs
Red Card = -1 PTs
Saves (GK) = +2 PTs
Goal Allowed (GK) = -2 PTs
Clean Sheet (GK, D) = +5 PTs
One Goal Allowed (GK, D) = +2 PTs
Win (GK) = +5 PTs
Penalty Kick Save (GK) = +3 PTs

With that out of the way, here are the available GPP contests on Saturday:



$10K Gooooaaallllll ($1,000 first prize), Entry Fee: $10
$5K Golden Boot ($2,000 first prize), Entry Fee: $200
$3K Big Dollar ($150 first prize), Entry Fee: $1
$2.5K Upper 90 ($875 first prize), Entry Fee: $100
$1K Nutmeg ($200 first prize), Entry Fee: $2
$1K Equalizer ($200 first prize), Entry Fee: $20
$1K Slide Tackle ($500 first prize), Entry Fee: $50
$750 Corner Kick ($150 first prize), Entry Fee: $5
$250 Quarter Arcade ($36.25 first prize), Entry Fee: $0.25
and many more…



The following games are included:
Manchester United at Sunderland
Aston Villa at Newcastle United
Hull City at Stoke City
Southampton at West Bromwich Albion
Swansea City at Burnley

The Premier League contests kicksoff with five 10 a.m. ET games. With a litany of fitness questions, being sure to land on players in the starting XI is essential. There is a bit of guesswork in projecting until the lineups are actually announced. Having all included games kicking off at the same time gives no real excuse not to have a lineup that utilizes all starters and the majority of the salary, so be sure to check the starting lineups upon their announcement approximately one hour prior to kickoff.

And before we jump into the recommendations, here's another check of the crosses leaders (the table is sortable):

Goalkeepers:

David De Gea ($5,600)

Manchester United are heavy favorites hosting Sunderland at Old Trafford, and while they have had their struggles this season, United's home record has been great. De Gea has been one of the best revelations of the Premier League season, and he stands as a frontrunner for the Golden Glove with an incredible 72 saves and has really bailed out the Manchester United defense a number of times. He only has two clean sheets in the last 10 games, but he allowed just one goal in all but one of those non-clean sheets. De Gea is the most expensive goalkeeper, but against a fairly impotent Sunderland offense traveling to Old Trafford, is worthy of his price.

As far as goalkeepers go this Saturday, "pickens" are fairly slim. The second-most expensive keeper is Stoke City's Asmir Begovic ($5,000) followed by Tim Krul ($4,900) of Newcastle United. The two of them are the next best options. If you're hell bent on saving money on your goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski ($3,800) of Swansea City stands as the best option as his club travels to face the fairly one-dimensional Burnley offense led by right back Kieran Tripper and striker Danny Ings.

Defenders:

Kieran Tripper ($5,300)

Trippier, once again, is recommended. He's done nothing to change his place among the top fullbacks in the Premier League, and with Branislav Ivanovic not an option, he's most expensive and worthy of such.

Erik Pieters ($3,200)

Substantially discounted from Trippier, and deservingly so, Pieters stands a better (albeit slight) chance for a clean sheet against Hull City. There is nothing flashy to speak of, but he averages roughly three crosses and does have an assist on his last ten-game record. Teammate Phil Bardsley ($3,300) is more prominent in his foul drawing and shot-taking ability, but doesn't have the same crossing ability nor the assists potential.

Daryl Janmaat ($4,000)

A slight fitness concern, Janmaat (groin) clearly stands as the second-best offensive threat from the fullback position behind Trippier. Teammate Massadio Haidara ($3,500) is lesser in offensive intensity in comparison with Janmaat (draws a few more fouls), but is close in value and makes very good sense if considering taking Tim Krul in goal.

Other Options:

Unfortunately, I cannot highly recommend a Manchester United defender. They often use a three-man defensive line, all centerbacks, with their left and right mids serving as fullbacks along with their midfield duties. If you want a defenseman from the Reds, Luke Shaw ($4,400) does manage to get up field for some crosses, but honestly, not enough to justify that price tag.

Midfielders:

Dusan Tadic ($7,700)

His status in the starting lineup has not been consistent lately, so the recommendation comes with a warning that he must start to be used. With that in tow, Tadic is among the premier crossers in the league. He has shown ability to score goals and put up assists too, all of which add up to him being the best high-end midfield option. If Tadic doesn't get the start, teammates Eljero Elia ($6,000) and James Ward-Prowse ($5,200) are both suitable replacements.

Adam Johnson ($4,900)

Johnson will look to spark his dull Sunderland offense. Though David De Gea is listed as the best goalkeeper, there is little doubt that his Manchester United defense has been riddled with holes this season. Their three-man back line is most susceptible to exactly what Johnson does best from his wing position: cross the ball in. He's yet to get an assist this season, but its only a matter of time before he adds one to his tally of four goals.

Jonjo Shelvey ($5,600)

Shelvey's return to the Swansea City lineup after missing all of January has been mightily productive. In four games, he has just one sub-double-digit performance, with three others being FPT tallies of 16, 17 and 17 thanks to one goal, two assists, twelve shots (three on target) and sixteen crosses over that span.

Other Options:

If you have the surplus salary, Angel Di Maria ($9,200) of Manchester United is certainly is a fine option. Over the past two performances he has FPT totals of 17 and 20 with an assist and at least eight crosses in both performances. Burnley's Michael Kightly ($4,900) is a player flying under the radar, often getting his minutes off the bench, but he currently poses a good chance to start and is a threat for crosses, fouls drawn, shots and assists while playing along the wing.

Forwards:

Dame N'Doye ($6,000) / Nikica Jelavic ($5,800)

Hull City has seen an offensive revival upon the arrival of N'Doye, who has two goals and an assist in his last two starts, complemented by eight shots (five on goal) and eight fouls drawn. All of the attention now drawn by N'Doye could benefit Hull's other striker, Jelavic. I can't constitute him being only $200 cheaper than N'Doye, but that's simply because N'Doye still appears to be underpriced.

Sadio Mane ($5,700)

Without Dusan Tadic in the lineup, Mane's value elevates as he then spearheads the offense, racking up points in every stat category. With Tadic in the lineup, as long as he does indeed start, Mane still is a fine value with good goal-scoring and foul-drawing ability.

Papiss Cisse ($8,000)

Cisse is among the Premier League's top scorers of goals with 10, and does so at a very efficient rate. Over his last 10 games, he has about 500 minutes of playing time (approximately 5.5 full games) and has six goals – a more than one goal per 90 minutes strike rate.

Other options:

The top priced striker is Wayne Rooney ($10,200) of Manchester United, and at last it may be deservedly so. With Robin van Persie out with an ankle injury, Rooney may finally see himself return to the striker position. If he doesn't, he's unusable, but in the event he gets slotted up front, he's fine to target. Rooney is without a goal in his past eight Premier League matches, but in his first 14 he tallied eight goals. Also, as a bonus, Rooney will be on free kicks and penalty kicks with van Persie out.