This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.
MATCHES (EST)
10:00 a.m: Leicester City v. Burnley
10:00 a.m: Stoke City v. Swansea City
10:00 a.m: Everton v. Huddersfield
10:00 a.m: Brighton v. Liverpool
10:00 a.m: West Brom v. Crystal Palace
10:00 a.m: Watford v. Tottenham
12:30 p.m: Arsenal v. Manchester United
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
FORWARDS
Mohamed Salah, LIV at BHA (£27): Despite playing away, Liverpol are the biggest favorites on the slate with the highest implied goal total. Meanwhile, Salah leads the Premier League with 12 goals this season, including seven in his last four appearances (one of which was a 23-minute stint Wednesday at Stoke when he scored twice on two shots). Salah's obsession with shooting is fantasy gold, as he's taken multiple shots in all but two games this term, and he's put nine of his last 17 shots during league play on goal. He is likely to be highly owned, but there is no other forward with a better matchup who is playing better.
Son Heung-Min, TOT at WAT (£17): Plenty of fantasy players will be interested in Harry Kane, who has scored a goal in three consecutive matches in all competitions, and I certainly don't think he's a bad play despite costing £10 more than Son. The Spurs attack has looked tired of late, but they are still favored away to Watford with the second-highest implied goal total. Watford have been a surprising team this season, but they've also allowed more goals at home than any other team, highlighted by their 4-2 loss to Manchester United on Tuesday. With tired legs in defense, Son has a nice opportunity at double-digit fantasy points, something he's done in four of his past five starts.
MIDFIELDERS
Philippe Coutinho, LIV at BHA (£25): Using Salah in a forward spot shouldn't deter at all from slotting Coutinho into the midfield given his propensity to shoot. The two actually average the same 4.39 shots per 90 minutes, though Salah has been much more accurate with his attempts (2.58 shots on goal per 90 v. 1.10). Coutinho's role on corners, even if it's shared, also provides him with opportunities for accurate crosses, and he's shown plenty of times that he can win multiple fouls in a match. Sadio Mane (£22) is also a possibility after scoring a goal in both of his last two matches, though he's much more goal dependent to make value.
Robbie Brady, BUR at LEI (£18): Brady has been packing the stat sheet of late, and he's coming off his best game of the season Wednesday at Bournemouth when he scored a goal on his only shot while adding four interceptions, three tackles won, two fouls drawn, one corner won and two accurate crosses. He's now finished with multiple accurate crosses in six of his last seven games, while also adding multiple tackles won in four straight. His floor has been very solid, and while Leicester have been better of late, Brady shouldn't be concerned.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, EVE v. HUD (£16): Sigurdsson was pretty disappointing in Everton's 4-0 win over West Ham, as he finished with just 5.30 despite getting an assist. However, he has a great opportunity to make an impact in new manager Sam Allardyce's first game in charge, especially against a Huddersfield side that's allowed 11 goals in their last three matches. Looking beyond their victory earlier this week, Everton have been pretty horrible this season and yet they are the second-biggest favorites on Saturday's slate. That's more of an indictment of the slate than Everton, but they have an ideal situation Saturday to continue their attacking successes, a lot of which will stem from what Sigurdsson can do with the ball at his feet.
DEFENDERS
Erik Pieters, STK v. SWA (£13): Clean sheets may be hard to come by Saturday, as the two biggest favorites are playing on the road while the two most favored home teams have allowed the third-most and eighth-most goals this season. Looking at the other side of the coin, Stoke will face off against a Swansea team that has just three goals scored in seven away matches this season, two of which came against Crystal Palace on Aug. 26. Kurt Zouma (£15) could get some attention because he has five shots on goal in his last four matches (by the way, Swansea City had four over that time), but Pieters comes in a little cheaper and has provided at least three corners won, tackles or interceptions in each of the last four games.
Jonjoe Kenny, EVE v. HUD (£13): Kenny had an excellent game Wednesday against West Ham, picking up an assist and a clean sheet en route to 11.35 fantasy points. Everton have been incredibly poor defensively this season, including allowing the second-most goals over the last six gameweeks, but Allardyce has a history of transforming teams into stronger defensive units and that should pay off for Kenny in the short term. While Everton have been poor defensively, Huddersfield have been equally poor in the attack, scoring fewer goals than all but one side (Swansea) over the last six, while finding the back of the net just three times in seven away matches this season.
Kieran Trippier, TOT at WAT (£16): Trippier's attacking upside from the defender position cannot be denied. He's twice scored over 10.00 fantasy points without a clean sheet, as he's constantly involved thanks to his crosses from the wing. He doesn't ignore his defensive responsibilities, as we saw against West Brom last weekend when he won five tackles and drew three fouls while still sending in five accurate crosses. The clean sheet is a possibility, though Trippier offers much more.
GOALKEEPER
Jordan Pickford, EVE v. HUD (£14): If you're a glass-half-full person, you'll see that Everton are coming off a clean sheet, they are the biggest home favorites and they're facing a side that's only scored three away goals in seven opportunities this season, all of which came at Crystal Palace in the opening week of the season. If you're a glass-half-empty one, you'll point out that Everton allowed multiple goals in five consecutive matches before Wednesday's 4-0 win over West Ham. Allardyce's defensive schemes may take some time to implement, but home against Huddersfield is a nice opportunity to try them out without much risk.
