This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
This isn't the most exciting slate, but if you get things right, it won't be difficult to win some money. On the downside, West Ham and Leicester City could rotate after winning huge European matches Thursday. That makes writing about the slate a tad more difficult than usual, but my initial thoughts are on the under between Newcastle and Leicester (see: betting content).
Throw out the Tottenham loss and Newcastle haven't allowed more than .99 expected goals in their last three matches, including a 1-0 loss at Chelsea. Possibly without Ryan Fraser, I think they'll try to make this an ugly match with hopes of stealing three points late.
As for the other contest, I want no part of Burnley after they surprisingly let go of Sean Dyche on Friday.
MATCHES (ET)
- 9:15 am: Newcastle United vs. Leicester City
- 9:15 am: West Ham United vs. Burnley
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS
Michail Antonio, WHU vs. BRN ($7,200): I think Jarrod Bowen ($9,400) will be too popular and I don't think he's worth it. Maybe because of injury, but he's moved off a bigger role on set pieces, similar to how he ended last season. While he's in great form, Pablo Fornals ($6,300) and Aaron Cresswell seem to be taking more corners. Antonio is much cheaper and has better odds to score, so he'll undoubtedly be popular, as well. He hasn't been in great form the last couple months, but he had three shots and three shots assisted last home match and figures to get similar opportunities against Burnley. Maxwel Cornet ($8,000) is more of a GPP look in this spot because he's expensive and again, the mindset of the team is questionable at best. You can go all the way down to Wout Weghorst ($3,900) which may not be the craziest thing if West Ham rotate at all.
Chris Wood ($5,000) is in the conversation as usual, but the lack of consistent opportunities for Newcastle's front line is alarming, especially if Fraser doesn't start. Allan Saint-Maximin ($8,500) will be hard to roster when you can get Leicester guys for cheaper. That being the case, none of the Leicester forwards stand out in cash games. Kelechi Iheanacho ($6,800) and Patson Daka ($6,200) will always be there, while Ademola Lookman ($7,100) could start again after coming off the bench at halftime for Harvey Barnes ($7,900) on Thursday.
MIDFIELDERS
James Maddison, LEI at NEW ($9,800): It seems like Maddison is back to his old dominant role on set pieces and has the safest floor on the slate. You're paying a lot for him, but he's taken 14 set pieces the last two matches. My lone worry is that he's playing a ton and went 90 minutes Thursday along with some of his teammates.
As I said before, Fornals has taken the majority of West Ham set pieces the last couple matches and he's not overly expensive. While he makes sense from a cash perspective, he's far from a hands-down play, though West Ham took 14 corners when these teams met in December. I'm not sure how many people will play Bruno Guimaraes ($6,700), who is overpriced despite having a consistent floor from drawing fouls and winning tackles. I was on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall ($5,500) last week and will be on him again if he starts as an attacking midfielder. He's cheap, gets forward and may take a random set piece or two, depending on who else is in the XI.
If you want to bank on West Ham dominating a Burnley team who will have Ben Mee as an assistant manager, going with the West Ham defensive-midfield duo of Declan Rice ($4,000) and Tomas Soucek ($3,800) isn't the craziest thing even if it seems like it. Rice isn't afraid to unleash from range and Soucek always has his nose around goal on set pieces.
I'm not talking a ton about Burnley and while they've held their own in this matchup in recent years, they haven't gotten a ton of production away from home. Even if you don't think losing Dyche means anything, this team isn't set up for a ton of peripheral success in this matchup.
DEFENDERS
Matt Targett, NEW vs. LEI ($6,400): I like Targett more than Aaron Cresswell ($6,000) even if neither of them have quite as high of a floor as we'd like. Targett is guaranteed to have a split role of set pieces, while Cresswell is fighting with Bowen and Fornals. If you don't go for Bowen or any of the expensive forwards, it's not difficult to roster both Targett and Cresswell.
If you don't think the set pieces are worth it, Vladimir Coufal ($5,000) is the pivot from Cresswell and James Justin ($4,200) remains at a discount following his return from injury. Justin doesn't have a massive floor, but he's getting better every match and at his peak last season, he was in the Ricardo Pereira ($4,900) range. As usual, you can pair a center-back with your goalkeeper, which shouldn't be difficult because there are a lot of cheap center-backs.
GOALKEEPER
Lukasz Fabianski, WHU vs. BRN ($5,500): Fabianski has the best clean-sheet odds and he's not max price, which means he'll be fairly popular. I probably wouldn't use him if West Ham decide to rotate out guys like Soucek and Rice. If you don't like that route, I'd either go Martin Dubravka ($5,100) or Kasper Schmeichel ($4,500), depending on who else is in your squad. My lean is Schmeichel mainly because I don't think Newcastle should be favored by this much.
