This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
For detailed stats and odds, please check out the Saturday Cheat Sheet.MATCHES (EST)
10:00 a.m: Burnley v. Sunderland
10:00 a.m: Manchester United v. Middlesbrough
10:00 a.m: Swansea City v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Chelsea v. Stoke City
10:00 a.m: Southampton v. West Brom
10:00 a.m: Leicester City v. West Ham
12:30 p.m: Liverpool v. Manchester City
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPER
Thibaut Courtois, CHE v. STK ($5,900): Bringing in streaks of nine consecutive wins and four clean sheets, Chelsea and Courtois should be able to extend both as they host a Stoke side in the bottom six in goals scored and have gone winless in their last four.
Victor Valdes, MID at MU ($3,600): After 26 shots on Boxing Day, expect the possession domination and heavy dosage of shots to continue as Manchester United host Middlesbrough. Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford allowed three goals but picked up six saves to show the save upside for Valdes.
DEFENDER
Cedric Soares, SOU v. WBA ($5,300): Cedric has struggled with an illness in recent weeks, but after getting starts in each of the Saints' last two games, he appears to be back. When healthy, he is among the more prolific crossers in the league. Southampton is the third-heaviest favorite on the slate, and Cedric presents a good way to get access. Of note, if he ends up not starting, Cuco Martina ($5,000) can be rotated in and has shown good crossing upside when given the opportunity.
Simon Francis, BOU at SWA ($4,700): The return of Nathan Ake could push Francis back out wide. He's usually good for a corner or two, and in addition to his work in open play, he has sent in at least five crosses in each of his last six games.
Nyom, WBA at SOU ($4,400): Nyom hit a season-high six crosses last time out against Arsenal, but what is possibly even more enticing is his continued solid tallies of tackles and interceptions. In five games in December, Nyom picked up 17 tackles and 18 interceptions.
MIDFIELDER
Gylfi Sigurdsson, SWA v. BOU ($9,200): Racking up 15, 11 and 12 crosses in each of his last three games, respectively, Sigurdsson's high floor rolls right along. He's also managed four shots on target in those three games, showing that even as his team struggles he continues to be a great fantasy option.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, MUN v. MID ($7,500): Following his wonderful scorpion kick goal off the bench on Boxing Day, Mkhitaryan has scored in three consecutive appearances across all competitions. Assuming he starts, he'll take some corners in addition to his open-play exploits, making him a dynamic overall fantasy option. In the Bundesliga last season, Mkhitaryan scored 11 goals and assisted on 15, though he's still yet to pick up an assist for United.
Marc Albrighton, LEI v. WHU ($6,100): Albrighton has totaled 25 crosses in his last two games. He won't give you much more than that, but the three chances created last game is a bit encouraging if he can convert some of these crosses into assists.
FORWARD
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, MUN v. MID ($9,100): Ibrahimovic has scored nine goals in his last nine games across all competitions, and last time out may have been his best performance of the season, finishing with a goal, two assists and five chances created. As we head toward the end of 2016, Ibrahimovic trails only Luis Suarez in total goals scored in the calendar year in Europe.
Dimitri Payet, WHU at LEI ($9,000): The last three matches have been against worse opponents than what Payet will see against Leicester, but his production cannot be ignored. Over that span he's crossed the ball 32 times, while adding 10 shots (five on goal) and nine fouls drawn.
Islam Slimani, LEI v. WHU ($6,200): Poor form of late has driven the price down, but home against West Ham is the best matchup Leicester has had in quite some time. Riyad Mahrez is the penalty taker, but in open play Slimani is the team's top goal scorer, and at this price he is certainly worth a punt.
