This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
For detailed stats and odds, check out the Fantasy Premier League: Wednesday Cheat Sheet.
MATCHES (EST)
2:45 p.m: Wolverhampton v. Crystal Palace
2:45 p.m: Chelsea v. Southampton
2:45 p.m: Bournemouth v. Watford
2:45 p.m: West Ham v. Brighton
2:45 p.m: Huddersfield v. Burnley
3:00 p.m: Newcastle v. Manchester United
FORWARDS
Eden Hazard, CHE v. SOU ($10,500): The most expensive player on the slate, Hazard comes in with the highest anytime goal scoring odds and is the best attacker for the team with the highest win odds and implied goal total. While he's expensive, it's not outrageous given some relatively soft pricing at every position, which is why Hazard is likely to be the highest-owned player in cash games and GPPs. His floor is solid because he shoots, crosses and draws fouls, and while he will take some set pieces (including penalties), more of those responsibilities will fall to Willian ($8,200), who presents as an interesting option for the slate. Chelsea are significant favorites and there will certainly be people who play both Hazard and Willian, but it's worth realizing that big-favorite Chelsea are not the same as big-favorite Manchester City or big-favorite Liverpool. Willian's role on set pieces makes him a fairly easy cash play, but Hazard's upside and popularity will make it tough to use Willian as a pivot because you're probably dead if Hazard has a big game given his ownership. There are definitely places to pay up at midfield, but Willian may have a safer floor, at least Wednesday, than all of them.
Pascal Gross, BHA at WHU ($4,700): The matchup isn't ideal, but Gross is definitely underpriced for his potential big role on set pieces (he took seven of Brighton's eight corners in their last match) against a West Ham side that has conceded the sixth-most crosses among teams on the slate. He's sent in eight crosses in two of his last three games, but the problem is that he really isn't doing much else, taking two shots, winning four tackles, intercepting zero passes and drawing zero fouls in that span. Then again, he's cheap, he fills a forward spot and he could have a role on set pieces, so there's that. If you are in this range but want more upside, Burnley's Dwight McNeil ($4,800) showed that in their last match, scoring one goal on five shots (one on target) while adding five crosses and three tackles won, though Huddersfield don't concede a ton of peripheral stats despite generally being terrible.
Wilfried Zaha, CRY at WOL ($5,600): Crystal Palace have been absolutely horrible since beating Manchester City 3-2 at the Etihad, losing consecutive matches to Cardiff City and Chelsea while scoring a combined zero goals. The matchup against Chelsea is understandable, but a scoreless draw against Cardiff despite taking 31 shots is frustrating. Looking to Wednesday, they now face a Wolves side coming off a huge 3-1 win over Tottenham and is ripe for a let-down with only days to prepare for Palace. Meanwhile, Zaha was very good against Cardiff, taking four shots, creating five chances, sending in three crosses and drawing two fouls, with that last stat of particular note because Wolves have committed the fourth-most fouls among teams on the slate. He's purely a GPP play, and he hasn't even been a great one since his last goal came back on Sept. 15, but a correlation play of Zaha and defender Patrick van Aanholt ($3,800) could pay off handsomely in tournaments.
MIDFIELDERS
Robert Snodgrass, WHU v. BHA ($7,400): The case for Snodgrass is pretty simple: he takes nearly all set pieces for the third-biggest favorite on the slate while facing a side that's allowed the second-most shots, fifth-most crosses and most fouls drawn on the slate. Given their roles and recent returns, it's a bit surprising Felipe Anderson is $1,000 more than Snodgrass, and while he's be a fine cash play if Snodgrass sits, the price is a bit much if both players start.
Paul Pogba, MUN at NEW ($8,600): There is no hotter player in the Premier League than Pogba, who had two assists in his first match without Jose Mourinho and followed that up with back-to-back braces. What's even more encouraging is that he had floor scores (fantasy points minus goals and assists) of 7.00, 15.50 and 9.50, respectively, over that span, and while his price is quite high, he could still be a solid consideration for cash games while definitely being one for GPPs. Manchester United's set-piece situation is very fluid, though we basically know Pogba won't have a role on them, which makes it easier to know what to expect versus players like Marcus Rashford ($9,000, forward) or people who may try to convince you that Juan Mata ($6,100) is a cash-game play (I am not one of them).
Alex Pritchard, HUD v. BUR ($6,000): If you find yourself staring at Mata and considering him for your cash lineup, just scroll one spot down to Pritchard, who is actually a productive fantasy player. His role on set pieces is fully dependent on which other players are in the starting lineup, but he definitely has a path to them, as we saw two matches ago against Manchester United when he finished with a solid 9.25 fantasy points thanks to one shot, five crosses, two fouls drawn, two tackles won and an interception. It's Pritchard's well-rounded production that makes him a significantly better play than Mata, as he's averaging 2.31 shots, including 0.70 on goal, 2.80 crosses, 0.98 tackles won and 2.03 fouls drawn per 90 minutes, which equates to 8.12 fantasy points, whereas Mata is averaging 1.50 shots, including 0.50 on goal, 5.37 crosses, 0.25 tackles won and 0.37 fouls drawn for 6.65 fantasy points. And if you want to argue that Mata has the better matchup then simply see that Burnley, Pritchard's opponent, have allowed the most goals, most assists, most shots, most shots on goal, most corners, most chances and third-most crosses among teams on the slate. This is also the time when I add in that Juninho Bacuna ($3,100) could be a great salary-saving option if he starts, especially since he too could take set pieces, and there's very little that needs to be done for a midfielder to pay off a near minimum price.
DEFENDERS
Jose Holebas, WAT at BOU ($5,800): The most prolific crosser on the slate, Holebas' crossing numbers actually haven't been that great recently, but he's made up for it by winning more tackles. It's been five straight starts without double-digit crosses, but he's won 19 tackles over that span to pair with his 25 crosses. He has a near monopoly of set pieces when he starts for Watford, and while they are playing away, Bournemouth come in having allowed 15 goals in their past five games. Then again, 13 were from Liverpool (four), Tottenham (five) and Manchester United (four). If Holebas does not start, Adam Masina ($4,500) could take his place, both at left-back and on some set pieces.
Ashley Young, MUN at NEW ($5,500): Young's role on set pieces gives him a solid floor, and he's now facing a Newcastle side that's conceded the most crosses and second-most corners among teams on the slate. However, Young's spot in the starting XI isn't guaranteed after he played a full 90 minutes against Bournemouth on Sunday, but like Holebas, I wouldn't hesitate to pivot to a teammate, with Luke Shaw ($4,100) significantly cheaper, though he hasn't been crossing at all lately.
Chris Lowe, HUD v. BUR ($4,800): Lowe usually has a decent role of set pieces when he starts, and while he's had trouble playing even 60 minutes (in fact, he's played fewer than 60 in three of his last five starts), he's a solid producer when he's on the pitch. Ironically, he played 90 minutes in this past Saturday's match against Fulham, which could actually be enough to keep him out of the starting XI on Wednesday. If that's the case, we could get the wing-back combination of Erik Durm ($4,900) and Florent Hadergjonaj ($4,400), two decent fullbacks against a Burnley team that concedes a ton of fantasy points.
GOALKEEPER
Tom Heaton, BUR at HUD ($4,300): While Burnley concede a ton of goals and fantasy points, they're now facing a Huddersfield side that scores a ton of fantasy points but not many goals; in fact, they're the lowest-scoring team in the Premier League. I have no problem blaming Burnley's conceded goals on the play of Joe Hart ($4,200), who was benched for last weekend's match against West Ham and got to watch Heaton post a four-save clean sheet in a 2-0 win. With their match having the lowest implied goal total on the slate, Heaton's save upside is decent and a scoreless result against Huddersfield would surprise no one.
