This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
Welcome back! After a couple of months off the Premier League returns this weekend for the 2023-24 season. We of course have some new teams to get used to along with some new faces around the league. To those of you who are new to DFS Soccer on FanDuel, it is slightly different from other sites in that format rewards goal scoring a bit more compared to things like floor points from crossing and set pieces. This is something I take into account on every slate and goal-scoring odds become even more important. FanDuel has also updated scoring a bit for this season as they added in attempted crosses which will only help the set piece takers and volume crossers.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. West Ham United
- 10:00 am: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Luton Town
- 10:00 am: Everton vs. Fulham
- 10:00 am: Sheffield United vs. Crystal Palace
- 12:30 pm: Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Evan Ferguson, BHA vs LUT ($21): We have to start with Brighton here at home hosting PL newcomers Luton Town. The odds heavily favor Luton to be relegated this season and while I usually like to back these newcomers early in the season at home, I won't be doing that here on the road. Ferguson had a solid campaign last season for Brighton scoring six goals in league play. You can look at pairing him up here for a stack with Julio Enciso ($18), Pascal Gross ($18), Kaoru Mitoma ($19), or Facundo Buonanotte ($16). They aren't very cheap as a team but have the highest implied goal total on the slate by 0.37 over Newcastle.
This slate is somewhat unique because of the lack of massive favorites which is nice as it means in GPPs we will have lower ownership across a lot of teams. Brighton is the biggest and even then they aren't one of the traditional large favorites like Manchester City, Liverpool, etc. Newcastle is the next biggest favorite on the slate, but they do go up against Aston Villa who had a late charge last season and will look to carry that over with some new faces.
Alexander Isak, NEW vs AVL ($20): Isak has the best goal-scoring odds on the slate at -110. I like his prospects for this season as I see him as a player with a lot of talent. Newcastle as a whole should be in for a good year with them again challenging for the top four, in my opinion. They added Sandro Tonali ($15) to the midfield who will only improve those prospects. I like the price, but it remains to be seen if he will have any role on sets like he did at Milan. He would have to compete with Kieran Trippier ($16) who was over most all sets for them last season. Anthony Gordon ($15) is also a guy who gives you some salary relief with solid goal upside for this side.
Alex Iwobi, EVE vs FUL ($15): As we move into the value range I am looking at a pair of Everton pieces that I expect to split set pieces. Iwobi has more goal upside than James Garner ($11), but both are very fair price tags. We will need some salary relief if we are going to get to the high-priced upside plays for Brighton and Newcastle. Dwight McNeil will be out this weekend which opens up sets for these two. It is a decent matchup at home with Fulham here as well.
DEFENDERS
Kieran Trippier, NEW vs AVL ($16): It will be interesting to see what Newcastle does with set pieces with Tonali now in the fold, but I still expect Trippier to be a strong DFS option for us, especially with FanDuel adding in points for crossing. He is highly priced but is clearly the best DFS option on this slate at the position. Vladimir Coufal ($10) is another player who will benefit from crossing stats and should be able to create some chances against Bournemouth. Kenny Tete ($12) ended the season strong for Fulham and is another defender who has a solid upside.
Tom Lockyer, LUT vs BHA ($12): If you have read these previews before you will know how much I like underdog center backs. We will likely play these guys for Luton Town a lot this year in Lockyer, Mads Juel Andersen ($9), and Amari'i Bell ($8). All are fair prices for Saturday and they will get peppered with defensive work most of the game. This is a FanDuel-specific thing with them giving points for clearances and blocks.
GOALKEEPER
Jason Steele, BHA vs LUT ($13): If you have the salary, I don't mind getting to Steele with the best win and clean sheet odds on the slate against Luton. Nick Pope ($11) would be my next favorite at a $2 discount at home against Villa. He would also make a nice clean sheet stack with Trippier at the defender spot. If you need even more salary relief, I don't hate going to Jordan Pickford ($9) in a home game for Everton. Goalkeepers can be very variable, so I usually don't prioritize it on my teams, I let my salary towards the end of building determine where I go if I'm not stacking a goalie with a defender for the clean sheet equity.
