This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (EST)
- 10:00 am: Cardiff City vs. West Ham United
- 10:00 am: Huddersfield Town vs. AFC Bournemouth
- 10:00 am: Leicester City vs. Fulham
- 10:00 am: Newcastle United vs. Everton
- 10:00 am: Southampton vs. Tottenham Hotspur
- 12:30 pm: Manchester City vs. Watford
For detailed stats and odds, check out the DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet.
FORWARDS
Sergio Aguero, MCI v. WAT ($10,600): Aguero has arguably the highest upside of anyone on the slate, and Manchester City come in with the highest win odds and implied goal total. Yes, this again. Aguero, Riyad Mahrez ($9,700), Leroy Sane ($9,500) and Raheem Sterling ($8,800) are all perfectly viable plays because of the potential production. However, there is definitely a path to fading Manchester City in cash games, which seems pretty crazy given the situation. However, all of these guys are goal and/or assist dependent, so if they don't dominate (they scored just once in each of their last two games, which came against West Ham at home and away to Bournemouth), there are enough floor players to make up for a Man City let-down. Then again, if your opponents stack Man City and they score five goals, you're toast!
Miguel Almiron, NEW v. EVE ($5,400): Almiron has scored at least 4.75 fantasy points in all three of his starts, and while he was limited to just one shot and zero crosses in last week's match against West Ham, and the matchup against Everton may be a little harder -- even at home -- his low salary offers up a lot because it allows more money to be used in the midfield. If you are more concerned with set pieces, Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon ($5,600) is another option in this price range, though Fulham are legitimate underdogs away to Leicester City. His floor isn't really that high, even with a few set pieces, but like Almiron, he provides potentially much-needed salary relief. In fact, the Fulham forward who actually has a floor is Aleksandar Mitrovic ($5,400), who relies more on shots and fouls drawn for those peripheral points.
MIDFIELDERS
James Maddison, LEI v. FUL ($8,300): Despite being the second-most expensive midfielder on the slate, Maddison is underpriced for the fact he takes all set pieces for a big favorite who is facing a Fulham side that's conceded the most goals, assists, shots, shots on goal, crosses, interceptions and third-most fouls among teams on the slate. He's scored at least 10.00 fantasy points in eight consecutive starts, with zero goals and one assist in that span, which just emphasizes how good his floor is on a consistent basis. While Maddison is solid for GPPs too, teammate Harvey Barnes ($6,000) should garner some attention, as he's taken at least three shots in every start for Leicester, including 15 in his last three games, while Demarai Gray ($5,900) could start as their center forward if Jamie Vardy ($8,400, forward) isn't fit enough to start.
Ryan Fraser, BOU at HUD ($7,900): Fraser continues to take nearly all of Bournemouth's set pieces, and he'll now face a Huddersfield side that conceded multiple goals in three of its last five Premier League games. Huddersfield actually don't have a steady record of conceding lots of fantasy points, but Fraser is nearly as consistently good as Maddison and is underpriced for Bournemouth being in a favored spot. Given the possibilities of paying down at forward, it wouldn't be surprising to see people pair Maddison and Fraser, or even Maddison, Fraser and another high-priced midfielder like Christian Eriksen ($7,800), Matt Ritchie ($7,700) or Robert Snodgrass ($7,400), who all have solid matchups this week but will be tough to get in any kind of Manchester City stack unless you're including Ilkay Gundogan ($6,600) since he could be on a lot of set pieces in place of the injured Kevin De Bruyne.
Kenedy, NEW v. EVE ($3,600): Kenedy hasn't started a Premier League match since Boxing Day, but he might get an opportunity Saturday because of Sean Longstaff's injury. While he's unlikely to have a role on set pieces, Kenedy is a decent open-play crosser, and he's averaging 2.17 shots, 2.17 interceptions, 1.37 tackles won and 1.52 fouls drawn per 90 minutes this season. Getting that kind of production at this price would be really helpful for those who want to pay up for the Manchester City attackers, though the cheap play in this range who is more likely to start is Tom Cairney ($3,900), who has scored at least 5.75 fantasy points in three consecutive starts thanks to his well-rounded fantasy production.
DEFENDERS
Lucas Digne, EVE at NEW ($6,300): Digne is the most expensive defender on the slate, but he's easily a better fantasy option than any midfielder or forward around his price, at least for cash games. He shares set pieces with Gylfi Sigurdsson ($9,000, midfielder/forward) but he's a better open-play crosser who also gets enough defensive stats to help him reach at least 7.25 fantasy points in all but two of his 24 starts this season. It also helps that he's facing a Newcastle side that's conceded the second-most crosses, third-most shots and and second-most fouls drawn among teams on the slate. And while he isn't nearly as good as Digne, Seamus Coleman ($4,500) is expected to start at right-back and could take advantage of the matchup as well.
Calum Chambers, FUL at LEI ($3,700): Chambers continues to line up in the defensive midfield for Fulham, a role that has allowed him to move up more in the attack, resulting in multiple shots in six of his last eight games. He failed to take more than one shot in last weekend's loss to Chelsea, though the single one he took ended up in the back of the net for his second goal in the last six games. His floor comes from mostly shots, tackles won and interceptions, but at $3,700 there isn't much he needs to do to make value and help those looking to stack Man City.
Yan Valery, SOU v. TOT ($4,500): The matchup against Tottenham is obviously not ideal, but Southampton are at home and Valery, who has scored at least 5.00 fantasy points in six straight starts, doesn't necessarily rely on his attacking stats to make value. That's not to say he doesn't get involved, as he had three shots and 12 crosses in his last four games, but he is more well-rounded which makes him favorable even as an underdog. West Ham's Aaron Cresswell ($4,500) is another option in this range if he starts, though he's almost exclusively dependent on crosses for his production.
GOALKEEPER
Neil Etheridge, CAR v. WHU ($4,400): Etheridge has had some pretty horrific games recently, including two matches with negative points in his last three starts, but he's now facing a West Ham side that's scored just one goal in its last five away matches. Or if you prefer a goalkeeper with positive points in his last three games and facing a side that's failed to score multiple goals in its last four games in all competitions, Southampton's Angus Gunn ($4,200) is your cheapest home goalkeeper.
