DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday EPL Picks

For detailed stats and odds, check out the DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday EPL Cheat Sheet.

MATCHES (EST)

2:45 pm: Arsenal vs. AFC Bournemouth
2:45 pm: Southampton vs. Fulham
3:00 pm: Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur
3:00 pm: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United
3:00 pm: Liverpool vs. Watford
3:00 pm: Manchester City vs. West Ham United

FORWARDS

Harry Kane, TOT at CHE ($9,200): What if I told you that you could have a sub-10% owned Kane, who is lining up against a team that conceded 12 goals in their last four Premier League games, played 120 minutes Sunday against Manchester City and could be starting their backup goalkeeper? Is that something you'd be interested in? Kane's matchup against Chelsea isn't ideal for cash games, and he is just recently back from a multi-week injury absence, but he has found the back of the net in five of his last six Premier League games, and he's made the scoresheet in nine of his past 10 league starts. For cash games, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah ($10,600) could be the highest-owned expensive forward because the Reds are overwhelming favorites against Watford at Anfield and Salah is by far their best attacker who has a floor. Liverpool exposure for GPPs certainly makes sense, with Sadio Mane ($8,600) a good possibility after scoring in four of his last five Premier League starts. You could also try to trust Daniel Sturridge ($6,500), who has the fourth-highest anytime goal scorer odds, but he hasn't looked good in a while, even in limited minutes.

Leroy Sane, MCI v. WHU ($9,700): Manchester City are the biggest favorite on the slate, but we could see some decent squad rotation after they won the Carabao Cup on Sunday after going to penalties against Chelsea, a match in which Sergio Aguero ($10,200), Raheem Sterling ($8,800) and Bernardo Silva ($8,100) all played the full 120 minutes while Sane came off the bench to play 34 and Riyad Mahrez ($9,800) didn't play at all. None of these guys have floors high enough to justify paying up for the non-score points, but their viability increases significantly because Man City have the highest implied goal total on the slate. Aguero has the highest upside, as we saw with two hat tricks in his last three Premier League starts, but that doesn't mean you can't get multiple appearances on the scoresheet from the other front-line players, who are all cheaper. If it feels like roulette it's because it is, but fading Manchester City completely in cash games seems sub-optimal, with Aguero likely to have the highest ownership of the group if he starts. And with people focusing on Man City and Liverpool, it's possible the Arsenal attackers are a bit under-owned relative to their excellent matchup at home against Bournemouth, with Alexandre Lacazette ($8,700) coming in with a goal in five of his last seven starts, including four of his last five, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ($9,900) is surprising more expensive after finding the back of the net once in his last five appearances (four starts).

Alexis Sanchez, MUN at CRY ($6,200): Alexis has been a shell of his former self this season, starting just six matches in the Premier League, including none since Nov. 7. Injuries partially attributed to that, but he simply hasn't been able to get meaningful minutes ahead of players like Marcus Rashford ($8,900), Anthony Martial ($7,900), Jesse Lingard ($5,500, midfielder) and Juan Mata ($5,000). However, that will change Wednesday, as Rashford is doubtful to play while Martial, Lingard and Mata have already been ruled out. He isn't expected to have a role on set pieces, and Manchester United aren't heavily favored away to Crystal Palace, but Alexis has plenty of fantasy points in his career and getting him at this price in this match could be huge. He's unlikely to have a role on set pieces, but with enough shots, crosses and fouls drawn, he should be able to provide a decent floor with potential for plenty of upside.

MIDFIELDERS

Kevin De Bruyne, MCI v. WHU ($8,200): De Bruyne's solid fantasy returns are back, as he scored 10.25 and 14.25 in each of his past two games, respectively, all while failing to get on the scoresheet while Man City scored nine goals. That's kind of the problem with De Bruyne: he plays such an important role for City but they can score in bunches and he doesn't benefit with goals or assists. Nevertheless, with Man City such big favorites there will certainly be some attention given to him, though anyone who pays up for two forwards will struggle to fit De Bruyne in as well.

Ryan Fraser, BOU at ARS ($7,300): Fraser's matchup away to Arsenal and somewhat high price will likely make people pass over him, but you shouldn't ignore that he's scored at least 11.75 fantasy points in six of his last seven games, with only one of those games including an appearance on the scoresheet. The schedule has certainly helped him, as his low point of 5.75 came against Chelsea, but he still managed 12.00 against Liverpool at Anfield, and he had the same total against Arsenal earlier this season without a goal or assist. Fraser's price range is chock full of solid cash-game players like Luka Milivojevic ($7,300), Andros Townsend ($7,200), James Milner ($7,000) and even Ilkay Gundogan ($6,800), but it's tough to roster multiple pieces at this salary level if you're paying up for two forwards, which many people are likely to do in cash games.

Mesut Ozil, ARS v. BOU ($3,800): My EPL DFS podcast co-host Jordan Cooper said it best on our Wednesday slate preview that DraftKings is just begging you to roster Ozil at this price. Arsenal are heavily favored and Ozil could have a role on set pieces, so why wouldn't everyone just jump at the opportunity to have him in cash games and GPPs? The short answer is that he's been absolutely horrible for most of the past two seasons and his low salary is completely warranted. Even if he had a monopoly of set pieces, Ozil doesn't cross that much, he doesn't take a lot of shots and he plays absolutely no defense. BUT...he's $3,800! The real hope is that Arsenal manager Unai Emery saves us from ourselves and doesn't start Ozil (he's only started three Premier League matches in the past three months) and we can instead focus on Granit Xhaka ($6,300), who is simiarly priced to the guys mentioned with Fraser but he's actually a productive fantasy player thanks to his crosses, fouls drawn, shots and defensive work. Then again, he's also a yellow card waiting to happen, so don't get angry when he eventually gets one, or be thankful it's not a red.

DEFENDERS

Trent Alexander-Arnold, LIV v. WAT ($5,900): Alexander-Arnold's 6.47 crosses per 90 minutes is the third-highest average among likely starting defenders Wednesday, and he's playing for the second-biggest favorite on the slate. His role on set pieces is a big part of why he's crossing so much, though Alexander-Arnold is still a solid open-play chance creator, and he still wins tackles and intercepts passes. Manchester United's Ashley Young ($5,400) is one of the defenders who averages more crosses than Alexander-Arnold -- Kieran Tripper ($5,100) is the other -- and you could see plenty of fantasy players rostering both (or two of the three) because they are more reliable than the midfielders in their price range.

Luke Shaw, MUN at CRY ($4,000): While Young is the more prolific crosser of the Manchester United fullbacks, Shaw has had a role on set pieces recently but his price surely doesn't reflect it. The scattered corners haven't produced a myriad of crosses, but Shaw is still a solid attacking fullback playing on a favored side that's likely to start a big target center-forward in Romelu Lukaku ($6,800). The floor isn't that high, but neither is the price, which could have a some people deciding to pay up for Alexander-Arnold and pairing him with Shaw instead of Young.

Calum Chambers, FUL at SOU ($3,600): Chambers continues to line up as a central midfielder despite his classification on DraftKings as a defender, and while the clean sheet is unlikely Wednesday, even against a Southampton side with three goals in their last four Premier League games, Chambers' combination of defensive work and ability to take shots gives him a reasonable floor, one that's eclipsed 5.00 fantasy points in four of his last five games. Paying up at the attacking positions will definitely be a common theme, so getting some cheap points out of Chambers will be quite handy.

GOALKEEPER

Vicente Guaita, CRY v. MUN ($4,200): The cheapest home goalkeeper, Guaita will be tasked with keeping out a Manchester United attack missing two of their top forwards, as well as two other regular(ish) midfielders. The Palace defense has been strong lately too, as Guaita hasn't allowed multiple goals in any of his last eight Premier League starts, making 18 saves while conceding just four times in that span. Meanwhile, Manchester United have forced more saves than any other team in the Premier League this season, a combination that could make Guaita popular, especially if fantasy players aren't rostering guys from Manchester United in cash games.