This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
For detailed odds, expected scores and stats for Saturday's slate, check out our full cheat sheet here.MATCHES (EST)
10:00 a.m: Swansea City v. Sunderland
10:00 a.m: Burnley v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Arsenal v. Stoke City
10:00 a.m: Hull City v. Crystal Palace
12:30 p.m: Leicester City v. Manchester City
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPER
Petr Cech, ARS v. STK ($5,700): Stoke come in seemingly in good form, winning four of their last six, but the wins all came against teams in the bottom half of the table. In fact, Stoke have scored just twice and allowed 11 against teams in the top half of the table. On the other side of the coin, Cech and the Gunners have not lost an league match since their first game of the season. Considering the slim price increase over the like of Claudio Bravo and Artur Boruc, the increased win and clean sheet opportunity sways in Cech's favor.
Ron-Robert Zieler, LEI v. MCI ($4,000): Rather than liking Zieler, who's been subpar in Kasper Schmeichel's absence, this is playing on a recent rough patch of form from City that raised it's head last weekend with red cards and suspensions to both Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho. It's a matter of time before City returns to their best, but while they show signs of struggle its worth attempting to exploit it.
DEFENDER
Patrick van Aanholt, SUN v. SWA ($5,500): The lack of attacking talent for Sunderland pushes van Aanholt up the field. Last week against Leicester he took three shots, delivered five crosses and won a couple of tackles. Swansea's defensive struggles continue after giving up nine goals in two weeks, bolstering the case for the Dutch fullback.
Simon Francis, BOU at BUR ($4,300): Moving to fullback the last three games, Francis has racked up 17 crosses and 27 fantasy points. Since playing fullback for Bournemouth during their promotion campaign in 2014/2015, Francis has seen most of his Premier League time in central defense, but he is still capable of providing adequate counting statistics from a wide position.
Marc Muniesa, STK v. ARS ($2,900): He's cheap and he'll at least have the opportunity to pick up some defensive statistics against an Arsenal attack that figures to be a constant threat in the Stoke half. Muniesa had three tackles and two interceptions last week against Burnley.
MIDFIELDER
Mesut Ozil, ARS v. STK ($9,600): With Santi Cazorla out, corners are Ozil's alone, which gives a bump to his floor. He picked up a goal and an assist last weekend against West Ham and will look to continue that form at home as Arsenal stand as the biggest favorites on the slate.
Robert Snodgrass, HUL v. CRY ($7,900): Palace finally got off their streak of six consecutive losses with a nice win against Southampton last time out, but they were outshot 17 to 9 and ceded nine corners. Snodgrass leads Hull in both categories and has now reached double-digit fantasy points in three consecutive matches. His duty over corners, free kicks and penalties filters most of the meaningful production from Hull to the Scottish international.
Ryan Fraser, BOU at BUR ($4,100): After a 35-minute cameo last weekend against Liverpool that resulted in a goal and an assist, we may get to see Fraser's first start since late August. He takes corners, has been impactful from open play and is woefully cheap.
FORWARD
Kevin De Bruyne, MCI at LEI ($9,800): I want De Bruyne because he's not reliant on goals for his fantasy scoring, but he also figures to see an increased role during Aguero's absence. Last week against Chelsea the Belgian racked up 15 crosses, though he ended a streak of three consecutive league matches with an assist. The decision to cap out on De Bruyne rather than Alexis Sanchez largely hails from my perception that this will not be a particularly goal-heavy slate, hence a good idea to work harder to load up on peripheral statistics.
Kelechi Iheanacho, MCI at LEI ($7,200): With the suspension of Aguero, the young 20-year-old Nigerian international will get a stint as City's starting striker. In UCL and EPL play, Iheanacho has five goals and three assists in just 396 minutes.
Islam Slimani, LEI vs. MCI ($6,800): Being without Fernandinho and Nicolas Otamendi due to suspension, one must question whether City's defense will be able to hold together on the road. Slimani has been up-and-down struggling to stay healthy, but while on the field has actually been quite productive. In just 539 Premier League minutes, the Algerian striker leads Leicester with four goals.
