This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.
MATCHES (EST)
10:00 a.m: Crystal Palace v. Stoke City
10:00 a.m: Manchester United v. Brighton
10:00 a.m: Newcastle v. Watford
10:00 a.m: Tottenham v. West Brom
10:00 a.m: Swansea City v. Bournemouth
12:30 p.m: Liverpool v. Chelsea
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
FORWARD
The Liverpool v. Chelsea match provides a bit of a dilemma: both teams are ones we usually want pieces of because of their plethora of fantasy producers, but playing each other may cause all of them to lose their fantasy upsides. Saturday's slate includes two overwhelming favorites in Manchester United (v. Brighton) and Tottenham (v. West Brom), so paying up Mohamed Salah (£26) and/or Alvaro Morata (£24) seems unnecessary. Not only do they cost us valuable salary space, they also take positional spots away from other potential options.
Harry Kane, TOT v. WBA (£27): No player is priced more than Kane, who leads the Premier League in shots while standing second in shots on target and goals. He ended a three-match scoreless drought by finding the back of the net Tuesday against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and he has the best anytime goal scorer odds among players on the slate. Kane is likely to be very popular, but it may be too hard to make up an explosive game.
Romelu Lukaku, MUN v. BHA (£27): Tied with Kane as the most expensive players on the slate, Lukaku makes for a solid pivot, though possibly a more valuable complement to Kane. With every other game expected to be fairly close, their lopsided ones work well for pairing them together in fantasy lineups. Lukaku has been struggling to find the back of the net lately, doing so just once in his last eight matches in all competitions, but he's still taken 19 shots (eight on goal) and even created nine chances. The return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£19) hasn't hurt Lukaku's playing time yet, as Ibrahimovic has made two substitute appearances since coming back from his long-term knee injury but neither time was for Lukaku, who has actually yet to be substituted this season. Other United options like Anthony Martial (£19) and Marcus Rashford (£17) can be considered, though neither of them have strong floors and have lower chances of playing 90 minutes.
Joshua King, BOU at SWA (£15):Callum Wilson (£19) was the star last Saturday, bagging a hat trick on four shots (three on goal) in Bournemouth's dominant 4-0 win over Huddersfield, and he certainly makes for a good play this weekend. However, fantasy players shouldn't look beyond King, who picked up an assist in that match and has scored more than seven fantasy points in four of his last five matches, with the one coming up short happening against Spurs at Wembley Stadium. King is a consistent producer across more categories, so while his upside isn't as high as Wilson's, he provides a much safer floor. Meanwhile, Swansea have allowed the second-most shots and shots on goal among teams on the slate, and this game is basically a pick 'em despite being played in Wales.
MIDFIELDER
Just like above, Manchester United and Tottenham are such overwhelming favorites that it's tough to pay up for Philippe Coutinho (£24), Eden Hazard (£23) and Sadio Mane (£21) in what should be a tightly contested match. That doesn't mean there aren't midfielders to pay up for, but we have many more value plays.
Christian Eriksen, TOT v. WBA (£23): Eriksen has the second-most shots and most shots on goal among midfielders on the slate, and he now faces a West Brom side that has allowed eight goals in their last three matches. 11 of Eriksen's 40 shots in all competitions this season have come in his last four games, providing a decent floor when he doesn't score or assist.
Paul Pogba, MUN v. BHA (£22): Pogba's return from injury couldn't have gone better last weekend against Newcastle, as he scored 18.20 fantasy points thanks, in part, to a goal and an assist. He followed that up with 6.65 over 66 minutes against Basel in the Champions League. Pogba's goal upside isn't overly high despite finding the back of the net last weekend, but he's taken two shots, gotten one on goal and drawn two fouls in each of his first two games, production we can likely rely on to continue against the overmatched Brighton.
Yohan Cabaye, CRY v. STK (£15): Cabaye has been doing it all for Palace lately, and it's thankfully translating into plenty of fantasy points. He's scored at least 8.55, including twice with more than 10.50, in each of his last three matches, impressive totals given that he doesn't have a single goal or assist in that span. He's not a huge shot taker, but he has racked up points thanks to 15 accurate crosses, six fouls won, nine tackles won and seven interceptions in those three games. Palace may sit last in the table, but they still have a number of fantasy options who can contribute in a number of different ways. In addition to Cabaye, Andros Townsend (£15) has a bit of a lower floor, but the potential return of Christian Benteke (£13) gives him a big body in the box to connect with on crosses. And if you want a player who relies more on winning fouls while taking a few shots himself, it's absolutely worth looking toward Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£13). Were you expecting me to say Wilfried Zaha (£20)? He's certainly a possibility too, but you're really playing him for his goal upside and not much else.
Renato Sanches, SWA v. BOU (£12): Fantasy owners who rostered Sanches in his past two games were short-changed a bit, as two stat corrections have given him an extra shot in each of those matches. As a result, he's taken six shots in his last two games while also winning five fouls, completing 67 passes and sending in two accurate crosses. Despite Swansea's struggles overall, a matchup against Bournemouth is attractive for fantasy purposes, as they've allowed the most shots, third-most shots on goal, most accurate crosses (tied with Stoke) and most corners among teams on the slate.
DEFENDER
Kieran Trippier, TOT v. WBA (£15): Trippier seems to be in line for a start after Serge Aurier (£13) was in the first XI for Tuesday's Champions League match, though either one is worth taking in their matchup against West Brom, who have five goals in their last six games, including one in their last three away matches. Trippier is a bit assist dependent for a strong fantasy score, though the likely clean sheet bonus helps alleviate that if he doesn't connect with Kane on a goal. That being said, Trippier comes in with four assists in his last four starts.
Eric Bailly, MUN v. BHA (£14): Bailly has been battling back from injury, so he's not guaranteed to start, but thankfully the United-Brighton match in among the main wave so we won't be locked into his salary with no good alternatives. Targeting any of the United defenders is good for those looking for clean sheets, as they are overwhelming favorites with the best clean sheet odds. Bailly has shown an ability rack up points across different categories, as we saw when he won five fouls and intercepted five passes en route to 6.55 fantasy points in a loss to Chelsea in his last start.
Kyle Naughton, SWA v. BOU (£13): Despite Swansea's defensive difficulties this season, Naughton has been a solid fantasy option. He's scored more than five fantasy points in five of his last six games, registering a clean sheet in just one of those, a 2-0 win over Huddersfield on Oct. 14 when he scored 7.55. He's a defender who contributes in a number of ways, and since Bournemouth don't have an overwhelming attack, Naughton should be able to move up at spots too.
GOALKEEPER
Hugo Lloris, TOT v. WBA (£16): Because goalkeeper pricing isn't as drastic from top to bottom in terms of salary, it makes sense to pay up for Lloris or even David de Gea (£16), the two biggest favorites on the slate by a sizable margin. Every other match is basically a pick 'em, making it hard to rely on the four-point win bonus or even the two for a draw. Neither are expected to make a lot of saves, but the "safety" of the win and probably clean sheet make up for it.
