FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Saturday Premier League Targets

FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Saturday Premier League Targets

This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.

For detailed odds and stats, check out the Fantasy Premier League: Saturday Cheat Sheet.

MATCHES (EST)

10:00 a.m: Brighton v. Watford
10:00 a.m: Manchester City v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Southampton v. Huddersfield
10:00 a.m: Stoke City v. West Brom
10:00 a.m: Swansea City v. Crystal Palace
10:00 a.m: West Ham v. Newcastle
12:30 p.m: Burnley v. Tottenham

FORWARDS

Sergio Aguero, MCI v. BOU ($12,500): Aguero comes in with the second-best anytime goal scorer odds (teammate Gabriel Jesus is slightly ahead but isn't expected to start) while Man City are by far the biggest favorites with the highest implied goal total. Aguero hasn't been putting a ton of shots on target of late (four in his last two games), but he continues to be a volume shooter and has a great chance of finding the back of the net Saturday.

Harry Kane, TOT at BUR ($12,000): Whether you think paying this much for two forwards is crazy or not, you're definitely going to at least think about pairing Kane with Aguero. Kane is the league-leader in shots and shots on goal, and he leads all players on the slate in goals scored. The Burnley defense has been very good this season even while giving up more shots than any team, though it's worth noting that they've only allowed the eighth-fewest shots on goal. Complicating matters for the Clarets is that starting centerback James Tarkowski is suspended, and with Stephen Ward out with an injury, they'll be missing at least half of their regular back line. With potential confusion among defenders who haven't played together much this season, Kane could easily take advantage.

Charlie Austin, SOU v. HUD ($9,500): For those looking to spend down at one of the forward spots, Austin comes in having put two shots on goal in four consecutive starts plus another two against Chelsea last weekend after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute. Huddersfield haven't allowed a ton of shots this season, but Austin won't hesitate to let a few go, giving him close to a double-digit floor before adding in any other peripheral stats. It also doesn't hurt that he has the best goal-scoring odds for any player not from Man City (Jesus, Aguero, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling) or Spurs (Kane).

MIDFIELDERS

Kevin De Bruyne, MCI v. BOU ($12,500): De Bruyne leads the Premier League in chances created (56), with the next highest player, Spurs' Christian Eriksen, a full 16 behind. Additionally, he's either scored a goal or assisted on one in four of his last five matches, creating 22 chances over that span. With David Silva ($10,500) expected to miss out again, De Bruyne will continue to be the lone engine of the Man City attack, one that's expected to score plenty of goals Saturday. Speaking of those goals, they could be scored by either Raheem Sterling ($10,500) or Leroy Sane ($9,000), with the latter's price looking quite attractive to provide access to City's high-powered attack.

Yohan Cabaye, CPL at SWA ($8,000): Cabaye continues to pack the stat sheet, allowing him to score at least 18.0 fantasy points in six of his last eight games, an impressive total with only one assist and no goals. He leads all players on the slate in interceptions, and his 28 chances created put him in the top 10. Paying down a little for Ruben Loftus-Cheek ($7,000) isn't a bad idea either, as he's created at least two chances in three of his last four starts, though his ability to draw fouls isn't greatly rewarded at only 0.5 fantasy points per foul won. If upside is more of your liking, paying up for Wilfried Zaha ($9,500) should be considered, as he has the third-most touches in the box over the past four gameweeks.

Tom Ince, HUD at SOU ($6,500): Ince was third in the Premier League in shots through the first five games of the season, and while he slowed down a bit after that, he's starting to turn it on, taking 11, including five on goal, in his last three matches. The Huddersfield attack has looked better of late -- playing 10-man Watford will help -- but Southampton have also been quite poor defensively, posting their last clean sheet on Oct. 21 at home against West Brom. Ince has the dubious distinction of having taken the most shots this season (43) without a goal, and while I am far from guaranteeing we'll see that goal Saturday, at least we know Ince will keep trying.

DEFENDERS

Ben Davies, TOT at BUR ($6,500): No defender has created more chances than Davies this season, as he's registered three in four of his last six starts. A spot in the starting XI isn't guaranteed, and pivoting to Danny Rose ($6,000) isn't a bad idea. On the other side will be either Kieran Trippier ($6,500), who has created multiple chances in 10 of his 15 starts this season, or Serge Aurier ($6,500), who hasn't been setting up chances nearly as much as his teammates and would probably be last on my list of Spurs fullbacks. The reason they're attractive is that Burnley have allowed the most chances to be created against them this season, and even though they are away, Spurs should be on the front-foot in terms of their attack. In the first matchup between these two sides, which came back in August, Spurs created 19 chances, including five by Davies.

Kevin Long, BUR v. TOT ($5,000): Long is expected to get the start in place of the suspended James Tarkowski, who would have been in play even with a $6,500 salary thanks to his 148 clearances this season, the second-most in the league. Spurs come in with the second-most shots taken this season among teams on the slate, while no one has allowed more shots than Burnley, giving Long plenty of opportunities for clearances and interceptions. A cheap Burnley defensive stack could be in play, with Charlie Taylor ($5,000) or Matthew Lowton ($5,000) both cheap for their defensive upsides.

Connor Goldson, BHA v. WAT ($4,000): The yellow-card accumulation suspension for Shane Duffy ($6,500) opens up a starting spot for either Goldson or Uwe Hunemeier ($4,500), neither of whom have much of a Premier League history to build a fantasy case on. Instead, we'll rely on Duffy's league-leading 155 clearances and 24 blocked shots, which are the third-most in the league, to help guide us toward a decent fantasy floor. Sure there's some risk, but their reduced prices help alleviate that concern greatly.

GOALKEEPER

Adrian, WHU v. NEW ($4,500): West Ham's improvement has coincided with Adrian's replacement of Joe Hart in the starting XI, as the former has posted three consecutive clean sheets while making five saves (he also had six saves in a 2-0 loss to Man City). Meanwhile, Newcastle come in having forced more saves than every team other than Man City and Spurs, and with both of those sides capable of scoring loads of goals, it might be worth paying down for the Hammers' keeper and hopefully getting the clean sheet bonus in addition to his saves.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Andrew M. Laird plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: kingmorland, DraftKings: andrewmlaird, Yahoo: Lairdinho.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew M. Laird
Andrew is a former RotoWire contributor. He was the 2017 and 2018 FSWA Soccer Writer of the Year. He is a nine-time FSWA award finalist, including twice for Football Writer of the Year.
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