This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Welcome to our Championship Sunday Premier League coverage curtailed towards this Sunday's DraftKings contests. Your total available salary is $50,000 to build your best squad of eight players, which includes one goalkeeper, two defenders, two midfielders, two forwards and one FLEX. Points are awarded on DraftKings as follows:Goal = +10 PTs
Assist = +6 PTs
Shot = +1 PTs
Shot on Goal = +1 PTs
Crosses = +1 PTs
Fouls Drawn = +0.75 PTs
Red Card = -1 PTs
Saves (GK) = +2 PTs
Goal Allowed (GK) = -2 PTs
Clean Sheet (GK, D) = +5 PTs
One Goal Allowed (GK, D) = +2 PTs
Win (GK) = +5 PTs
Penalty Kick Save (GK) = +3 PTs
With that out of the way, here are the best available GPP contests for Premier League soccer Sunday:
$100K Fantasy Soccer World Championship ($20,000 first prize), Entry Fee: $300
$10K Equalizer ($2,000 first prize), Entry Fee: $27
$5K Striker Championship ($400 first prize), Entry Fee: $300
and many more…
The following games are included:
West Bromwich Albion at Arsenal
Burnley at Aston Villa
Sunderland at Chelsea
Swansea at Crystal Palace
Tottenham at Everton
Manchester United at Hull City
Queens Park Rangers at Leicester City
Southampton at Manchester City
West Ham United at Newcastle United
Liverpool at Stoke City
Championship Sunday is lacking much of a 'Championship' feel, as Chelsea has long clinched their first place position. Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United have all synched up their respective Champions League spots. Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton will finish fifth, sixth and seventh and receive the two or three respective Europa League qualifiers depending on the result of the Arsenal-Aston Villa FA Cup final next weekend. On the relegation front, Queens Park Rangers and Burnley are already relegated, with Hull City in the last relegation spot two points behind Newcastle United. If Hull pulls out a win against Manchester United and Newcastle draws or loses to West Ham, Hull scathes off relegation and Newcastle will head down; any other result means Hull City will be going down for next year. To give a championship feel, here is a remarkable video from 2012, possibly the best finish to a Premier League season of all time.
In doing some research about past Championship Sundays, there are a few findings: many teams rest star players, youngsters or reserves that wouldn't usually see much time on the pitch do, and results are often far from predictable. There's $100K on the table in the Fantasy Soccer World Championship, so whoever can predict the unpredictable will be rewarded with a handsome sum. I'll do my best to key you on some potential players that both have big upside and should allow you differentiate yourself from the field:
Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan ($4,700)
Guzan looks to return to goal after a failed Shay Given experiment conceded SIX goals last weekend. His side is highly favored against a Burnley team with a league-worst 27 goals. His price is steeply below the top priced keepers, just to add fuel to the fire.
Others to consider:Julian Speroni ($4,500), Simon Mignolet ($4,700), Petr Cech ($5,500)
Defenders
Kieran Trippier ($5,800)
The swan song of the season and likely for his club, the top crosser in the Premier League will look to continue doing just that. He had 11 crosses last weekend against Stoke City.
Aleksandar Kolarov ($5,100)
Kolarov has two goals and an assist in his last four and is averaging over five crosses per game during that span. This could prove to be one of the more exciting offensive games of the day, with Kolarov taking a firm place in the Manchester City attack.
Ryan Taylor ($4,800)
Many will be jumping off Taylor after his mediocre display last weekend, but that zero-cross performance is an anomaly. A draw does Newcastle no good if Hull wins, so in an effort to win or go down, expect Taylor to get his cross number back into the five-plus range he displayed before.
Others to consider:Nathaniel Clyne ($4,200), Danny Rose ($3,900), Aly Cissokho ($3,800), Alberto Moreno ($3,600)
Midfielders
Ahmed Elmohamady ($6,000)
In a must-win scenario, Elmohamady should be serving crosses in high quantities. He's showcased double-digit crosses in the past and this scenario is as good a time as any to get back to those numbers.
Angel Di Maria ($7,800)
It seems Di Maria should be back in the Manchester United starting XI on Sunday, and if that's the case, he really should be readily deployed. His discounted price is simply a bonus. He hasn't started in a long while, but his per minute production is among the best in the Premier League.
Marc Albrighton ($5,300)
Crosses and Albrighton have become synonymous, as he had 10 crosses last week, seven the week before and eight the week before that. The matchup with QPR is mouth watering and Leicester is an excellent position to show off their offensive prowess.
Others to consider:Riyad Mahrez ($7,300), Leroy Fer ($6,100), Leandro Bacuna ($3,500), Philippe Coutinho ($7,700), Aiden McGeady ($3,500), Matt Phillips ($5,400), Fabian Delph ($5,600)
Forwards
Sergio Aguero ($10,200)
It's hard to overlook Aguero but he just scores goals. He's the league top goal scorer, the league's most talented forward, and is very simply worth his price tag and much, much more.
Theo Walcott ($6,000)
Off the short week of rest, Walcott seems a strong contender to move into the starting XI. He is a speedy winger that can pick apart defensive backlines very quickly. He has two goals in his last three starts and will be a strong contender to add to that total Sunday.
Others to consider:Leonardo Ulloa ($6,800), Jamie Vardy ($7,500) Robin Van Persie ($9,000), Bafetimbi Gomis ($7,100), Alexis Sanchez ($9,500), Cristian Benteke ($9,400)
