This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (EST)
- 10:00 am: Burnley vs. Crystal Palace
- 10:00 am: Chelsea vs. West Ham United
- 10:00 am: Liverpool vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
- 10:00 am: Tottenham Hotspur vs. AFC Bournemouth
- 12:30 pm: Southampton vs. Watford
For additional stats and odds, check out the FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet.
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Salah, LIV v. BHA ($19): This slate is all about value and paying for the right players. Salah may have a bum ankle, but if he starts, he shouldn't be four dollars cheaper than Sadio Mane ($23). Mane is great, but Salah takes penalties and manages a combined 3.43 shots on goal and chances created per 90 minutes in league play. Brighton have given up multiple goals in their last three away games and if Liverpool score a couple, it'd be surprising if Salah wasn't involved in at least one. Roberto Firmino ($18) is also in the conversation, but he doesn't have the same upside as the other two and there's little reason to use him over Salah at almost the same price. Of course, you could stack Liverpool's three forwards and hope for the best, though you'll be missing out on a couple other big favorites.
Son Heung-Min, TOT v. BOU ($20): I had Tammy Abraham ($19) here and then less than an hour later he was injured in Wednesday's match against Valencia. Instead, I'll turn to Spurs, who are a similarly big favorite against Bournemouth. Harry Kane ($22) will likely be more popular than Son, but he often has a floor below 10 fantasy points, sometimes as low as five. That was the case against Olympiacos on Tuesday because while Kane scored twice, he had just 3.9 floor points. In cash games, it makes sense to back floor plays like Salah and Son (and Abraham, if healthy) because it's a viable strategy no matter who scores. For GPP, it makes sense to stack one of the three big favorites and hope you hit on the one that goes off for three or four goals. As for Son, he has four goals and three assists in his last five starts in all competitions and I'm not sure Bournemouth can stop him; they've lost three of their last four away from home.
Christian Pulisic, CHE v. WHU ($16): Everyone will be tempted to go with Chelsea's starting forward if Abraham is out, and that's fine. But whether it's Michy Batshuayi ($12) or Olivier Giroud ($12) in the starting XI, a full 90 isn't guaranteed. I'd rather test my luck on Willian ($16), who takes set pieces, or Pulisic, who has 10 shots on goal and seven chances created in his last four league starts, the Man City loss included. He scored Wednesday against Valencia, and while Willian could have a better floor, I like Pulisic's upside a bit more. The GPP move, which no one else is doing, is stacking Watford and Southampton. That match could end scoreless, but it also wouldn't be surprising if it was 3-3 given the struggling back lines. That being the case, I'm not sure Gerard Deulofeu ($17), James Ward-Prowse ($17) or Danny Ings ($16) are worth the extra money, though if Troy Deeney ($12) starts, he's in the sweet spot and a good pivot from the non-Abraham Chelsea forward.
Chris Wood, BRN v. CRY ($17): I wanted to have a value play in here, but with Salah and Son at reasonable rates, I'm not sure a cheap forward is needed. I'd rather go cheap at defender and hope Wood can find the back of the net once or twice. Wood is poaching goals for fun, scoring in five of his last six starts with 12 shots on goal in that period. His floor is somewhat unreliable, but maybe not as much as Crystal Palace's back line, which has allowed two goals in each of the last five matches. And, of course, I can't mention Wood without suggesting a Wood and Ashley Barnes ($16) stack. It's worked once and it'll work again. Dwight McNeil ($13) can also be thrown in there, but you'd be relying on an assist and a few chances created, and he's yet to surpass 30 fantasy points. If you want goals for cheap, the Chelsea forwards and Deeney are the best route, though this kind of feels like a Nathan Redmond ($11) weekend. He plays better in a midfield role when he can dribble the ball up and unleash on net, which he did a couple times against Arsenal last weekend.
DEFENDERS
Dan Burn, BHA at LIV ($9): Burn returned to center-back last match and that led to a floor of 17.3 fantasy points. He's hit double digits in six of his seven starts as a center-back and has at least 14 in five of those. No matter the position he plays, Liverpool have forced the second-most clearances to defenders in the league. None of the other Brighton defenders have had as consistent of a floor, though a stack with Adam Webster ($9) could be popular. On the other side, Dejan Lovren ($10) is still fairly cheap and in play for 10 points with a clean sheet. Brighton oddly force the most interceptions to defenders, which plays into Trent Alexander-Arnold's ($16) floor, though you have to pay for it. He's averaging more than two interceptions per 90 minutes in his last seven starts in all competitions.
Angelo Ogbonna, WHU at CHE ($11): West Ham defenders are a tad more expensive than Brighton's, but they have just as good of a matchup because Chelsea have forced the second-most blocks, fourth-most interceptions and fifth-most clearances to defenders. I prefer to spend the extra dollar on Ogbonna because of how consistent he is, reaching at least 10 fantasy points in all but one start. He was helped by a goal last match, but he is averaging 5.0 clearances and 1.44 tackles per 90 minutes. Fabian Balbuena ($10) doesn't have the same numbers, but he's started just four matches and is expected to get another one after Issa Diop picked up his fifth yellow card against Tottenham. Elsewhere, the starter between Emerson Palmieri ($9) and Reece James ($8) is in play because of clean-sheet odds and attacking upside. The same goes for Cedric Soares ($9), though his production is often a mystery.
GOALKEEPER
Alex McCarthy, SOU v. WAT ($8): McCarthy is a favorite and the cheapest goalkeeper on the slate. It almost makes too much sense, though it's rarely been a good idea to trust Southampton goalkeepers this season. At the least, McCarthy has eight saves in three starts and Watford have a league-low eight goals in 13 matches. Ben Foster ($9) is similarly unpredictable, yet he's made more saves in recent matches and could be a better selling point. I'm not opposed to testing Vicente Guaita ($11), but only if you don't roster Wood and Barnes (because you only roster them for goals). Guaita has allowed one goal or fewer to everyone but Liverpool, Chelsea, Leicester City and Tottenham. If you have money, Alisson Becker ($14) is hard to beat, though Kepa Arrizabalaga ($12) has three straight clean sheets at home in league play.
