This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. Brentford
- 10:00 am: Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea
- 10:00 am: Fulham vs. Newcastle United
- 10:00 am: Liverpool vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
- 10:00 am: Southampton vs. Everton
- 12:30 pm: West Ham United vs. Wolverhampton
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
The Premier League returns after the international break and there's a strong slate of matches Saturday. The biggest favorite are Liverpool against Brighton, who are fourth in the table, but this will be their first match under new manager Roberto De Zerbi. Since it's not a complete smash spot for the Reds, there should be a decent spread of rostership, which is always fun for DFS.
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Salah, LIV vs. BHA ($22): Salah is expensive but Liverpool are the biggest favorite on the slate and I'm intrigued by this matchup as a game stack. If you're going with that route you have to have interest in Salah, who has the best anytime goalscorer odds on the slate. You can certainly add another piece for Liverpool in Darwin Nunez ($21) or Luis Diaz ($20), but you will quickly run low on salary. I think there is plenty of value on this slate, so stacking two of the Liverpool forwards makes a lot of sense.
Pascal Gross, BHA at LIV ($16): On the other side, I'd like to run back with at least one of Brighton's pieces for a game stack in GPPs. Gross has the most upside on this team because of set pieces and in the script that they score multiple times, he can be involved in any of those even if he isn't the one scoring. For a full stack of this game you can add in Leandro Trossard ($14), Danny Welbeck ($15) or even Alexis Mac Allister ($15). Liverpool are struggling a bit in the midfield defensively due to some injuries and I think a less popular Brighton side could be a difference maker on Saturday.
Raheem Sterling, CHE at CRY ($19): Sterling has been the bright spot for Chelsea this season and he gets a strong matchup against Palace, who have conceded nine goals this season. He should come in less popular than the Liverpool pieces mentioned above and he has similar upside. Chelsea seem to be a team that isn't made for full stacks at this point with their struggles, but that could change at some point under Graham Potter. Picking a piece or two could pay off on this slate with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ($19) and Kai Havertz ($17) maybe even more likely to score if Sterling starts on the wing again.
Tomas Soucek, WHU vs. WOL ($14): To fit in these higher-priced stacks, you'll need some salary relief and that comes in the form of late-game hammer, West Ham. Soucek seems to always get his nose in front of net when his team needs him and as a strong favorite he could make the score-sheet again. West Ham are the third biggest and could go overlooked in the later match. To go even cheaper, Tom Cairney ($7) is in line to start because of the suspension to Joao Palhinha and he'll be set for a decent defensive floor, while Enock Mwepu ($8) has seen a bit more time and will be hoping to win over the new manager.
DEFENDERS
Kostas Tsimikas, LIV vs. BHA ($11): Tsimikas comes in at a discount to his teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold ($14) and has lots of upside on the biggest favorite. He will be involved in a lot of the Liverpool attack, as he plunges forward just as much as Alexander-Arnold. He would be a second or third piece of Liverpool in full stacks and isn't cost prohibitive.
Aaron Hickey, BRE at BOU ($7): Hickey and Brentford are away to Bournemouth but are decent favorites. At this price, Hickey provides a lot of salary relief on a slate where you want to target higher priced midfielders and forwards. This is a bit more of a foreplay, but don't rule out the possibility that Hickey is involved in a goal on Saturday. If you really want to go off the wall in GPPs you could pair him up with red hot teammate Ivan Toney ($20) for some added correlation. In case Hickey doesn't start, there's a slew of $8 defenders to plug in, as well.
GOALKEEPER
David Raya, BRE at BOU ($11): The mid-range for goalkeeper is where I'll be looking for my lineup. Raya is at the top of the list in a game I think Brentford can keep it clean against Bournemouth. I also love the correlation of Raya/Hickey stack with their win and clean sheet upside. The other goalie I have in my pool is Lukasz Fabianski ($12). This is a solid spot for West Ham at home against Wolves and wouldn't be surprised if they held the struggling attack scoreless.
