This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Norwich City
- 10:00 am: Burnley vs. Manchester City
- 10:00 am: Chelsea vs. Brentford
- 10:00 am: Leeds United vs. Southampton
- 10:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Aston Villa
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS
Phil Foden, MCI at BUR ($8,000): Saturday's slate is one of the tougher ones we've seen in awhile, as Manchester City, Chelsea and Brighton are in good spots while the Leeds-Southampton match has the highest total. All of those teams have appealing targets but most of them are expensive, so it will be difficult to decide where to spend salary, at least for tournaments. If there was no salary cap, Riyad Mahrez ($11,000) would be the first forward in my lineup. He scored eight goals over his last 10 league games and continues to split set pieces and take penalty kicks. His +100 goalscoring odds are tops on the slate, but the price tag is steep considering we have plenty of other options. The $3,000 gap between him and Foden seems a bit wide. Foden has taken roughly the same amount of corners as Mahrez in recent weeks and it's been encouraging to see him last the full 90 minutes in each of his last four starts. Looking elsewhere, Raphinha ($9,300) should definitely be in consideration. It's worth noting that his set piece floor is somewhat dependent on whether or not Jack Harrison starts, as Harrison has been taking corners since the appointment of Jesse Marsch. Nevertheless, Raphinha was in fine form last time out as he put up 16 floor points and picked up an assist. He was also twice denied by the crossbar and played 90 minutes for the fifth straight match. I'd prefer him to Foden if Harrison doesn't start. Chelsea will be a relatively popular target for tournaments considering their favorable home matchup against Brentford. Kai Havertz ($8,200) has scored four goals in his last three. Christian Pulisic ($7,300) and Romelu Lukaku ($7,100) are favorably priced for their goalscoring odds and although he's struggled this season, Timo Werner ($6,100) is too cheap for his upside when Chelsea are big favorites.
Neal Maupay, BHA vs. NOR ($5,800): Brighton have a relatively high 1.8 implied total for their home match against Norwich. I'm not normally on Pascal Gross ($7,000), but if ever there was a time to roster him, it's here. He's still taking the majority of set pieces but he rarely spends more than 75 minutes on the pitch. His lack of upside makes him better suited for cash games. Maupay, on the other hand, has the second highest goalscoring odds on the slate at +110. He seems $1,000 too cheap in this spot, despite Brighton's poor recent form. He should be a popular option in tournaments. Leandro Trossard ($5,800) could offer some leverage for the same price. Elsewhere in this range, Milot Rashica ($5,900) will take corners for Norwich if Billy Gilmour isn't in the lineup. Daniel James ($5,700) has decent goal/assist upside and actually a solid floor considering he almost always plays 90 minutes and should again on Saturday with Patrick Bamford out. Raul Jimenez is also out, which could see Fabio Silva ($4,900) start up top for Wolves home match against Aston Villa. Hwang Hee-Chan ($5,200) is cheap as well and neither will be overly popular.
MIDFIELDERS
Kevin De Bruyne, MCI at BUR ($10,000): De Bruyne has been in great form and he's been showing consistent upside, topping 23 DK points in six of his last 10 league games. Sometimes the decision between him or Mahrez is tough, but the $1,000 difference in salary makes De Bruyne the priority for me. He's scored double-digit floor points in seven consecutive starts and has four goals and two assists in that span. It's possible that James Ward-Prowse ($9,500) has the higher floor, but when the salaries are that close and with Manchester City up against struggling Burnley, I'll always side with De Bruyne. Rostering both of them might be the way to go for cash games. Southampton's matchup away to Leeds has the highest implied total and it should be back and forth with chances at both ends. Ward-Prowse sent in a whopping 19 crosses last time out and he's recorded at least 14 in three of his last four games. He has a massive ceiling whenever he gets on the scoresheet and he's scored six times this season from either a free kick or the penalty spot.
Hakim Ziyech, CHE vs. BRE ($8,400): Chelsea have an implied total north of two for a quite favorable matchup at home against Brentford. The $1,100 salary difference is why I highlighted Ziyech over Ward-Prowse. If Mason Mount ($8,800) starts instead of Ziyech, I'd feel the same way. They split set pieces two weeks ago when they both started against Newcastle. If they both start against Brentford, Ward-Prowse would be the much safer option for cash games. For tournaments, Ziyech and Mount have multiple goal/assist upside and can be rostered for much cheaper than Mahrez, De Bruyne, Ward-Prose and Raphinha. Getting some exposure to Chelsea makes a lot of sense, especially as they won't be quite as popular as usual with other teams in good spots as well. Looking cheaper, John McGinn ($6,100) has been taking corners in the absence of Lucas Digne. He's dependent on them for most of his value which means he isn't viable if Digne is back starting. Alexis Mac Allister ($6,600) and Solomon March ($5,900) would get bumps if Pascal Gross doesn't start. They're viable nonetheless based on open play value with Brighton in such a good spot. All the way at the bottom, Francisco Trincao ($3,300) came off the bench to score and assist as he put up 28 fantasy points against Leeds last time out. He could be rewarded with a start in place of the suspended Raul Jimenez and the near-minimum salary makes him appealing.
DEFENDERS
Joao Cancelo, MCI at BUR ($6,600): Despite no role on set pieces, Cancelo still has the highest floor of all the defenders. He's scored at least nine floor points in eight consecutive matches and he's topped 14 three times in that span. He also has the most upside, as he averages more than two shots per game and has already chipped in with three goals and five assists across all competitions. There are a few defenders on this slate who take set pieces but none of them are really that appealing. Lucas Digne ($5,500) would be the best of those options, but he missed the past couple games due to an injury and an away matchup with Wolves isn't the greatest spot to target. Rayan Ait-Nouri ($5,300) continues to split corners but hasn't scored more than 7.8 DK points in seven consecutive games. Stuart Dallas ($5,100) has been splitting corners as well, but he rarely scores much more than five floor points and he reached double digits just once in his last 11. Tariq Lamptey ($5,700) is probably a better option than all of them based on his open play upside and Brighton's favorable matchup against Norwich.
Malang Sarr, CHE vs. BRE ($3,900): Marcos Alonso ($5,900) hasn't started a league game since January, but if he starts on the left wing against Brentford, he'd arguably be the top option at the position. If Hakim Ziyech isn't in that lineup, Alonso would probably share corners with Mason Mount. Sarr started the last couple games at left back, and while he hasn't done much and is likely to get subbed early, the price tag is cheap for his clean sheet equity and goal contribution upside. Elsewhere in this range, Antonio Rudiger ($3,600) probably has more goal upside than any other center back. Dimitris Giannoulis ($3,400) is a decent option if you're looking for a cheap fullback. Usually I favor spending up at both defender spots but this might be a slate where it makes more sense to punt one of them, as there are expensive forwards and midfielders worth paying for.
GOALKEEPERS
Edouard Mendy, CHE vs. BRE ($5,800): Both Mendy and Ederson ($5,900) have clean sheet odds hovering around 52 percent. Either is worthy of rostering if you can afford it, although I might lean towards Mendy because he's playing at home. Correlation with defenders is probably the best deciding factor for tournaments.
Jose Sa, WOL vs. AVL ($4,600): Sa is conceding less than a goal per game this season and kept a clean sheet in two of his last three. Wolves have better clean sheet odds than Leeds and Southampton, but Sa is cheaper than both keepers in that game. If you'd rather target save upside, Nick Pope ($3,600) at home against Manchester City or David Raya ($3,700) away to Chelsea would make sense.
