This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
For detailed odds and stats, check out our Boxing Day Cheat Sheet
MATCHES (EST)
10:00 a.m: Arsenal v. West Brom
10:00 a.m: Burnley v. Middlesbrough
10:00 a.m: Swansea City v. West Ham
10:00 a.m: Manchester United v. Sunderland
10:00 a.m: Chelsea v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Leicester City v. Everton
12:15 p.m: Hull City v. Manchester City
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPER
Jordan Pickford, SUN at MUN ($6,900): Pickford is being hailed as the next man between the posts for England. Sunderland will travel to Old Trafford on Boxing Day to face Man United, who have the highest odds of winning for this slate. Pickford has the most saves in the Premier League since Gameweek 10 and will likely be under fire from the in-form Red Devils, who take an above-average number of shots and shots on goal.
Victor Valdes, MID at BUR ($6,500): This week Valdes travels to Burnley, a side which plays much better at home, in a matchup between two teams near the bottom of the table. Burnley will look to grab something from this game, which should help increase shots directed at Valdes. It wouldn't be a surprise for Valdes to keep a clean sheet as Burnley's goal totals are near the bottom of the league (and one of the lower team totals in this slate) and Middlesbrough averages less than one goal allowed per game.
DEFENDER
Papy Djilobodji, SUN at MUN ($5,500): Reaching over 5x value in his past three matches, Djilobodji is at the heart of a Sunderland defense which comes up against a Man United side who send in the third-most crosses, take the fourth-most shots and get the fifth-most on target. This should keep Papy busy all match.
Bacary Sagna, MCI v. HUL ($4,600): With Pablo Zabaleta injured during the Arsenal match and likely ruled out, Sagna should fill his position. Zabaleta had freedom to roam forward, into midfield and on the flank, and against a weak Hull City team it's likely Sagna could to be in advanced position all match.
Harry Maguire, HUL at MCI ($4,600): In a match in which Hull dominated for large stretches against West Ham, Maguire ended up with four shots on goal and reached over 9x value. To repeat that stat against Man City, a miracle may need to happen. However, with Hull likely pinned back, he will have the chance for more defensive stats. At $4.6K, 5x value (which is usually the overall multiple needed for a winning GPP team) should be achievable and saves a few dollars to spend elsewhere.
MIDFIELDER
Dimitri Payet, WHU at SWA ($10,000): Over the past two slates, Payet has scored 38.5 and 35.0 fantasy points, respectively, without a goal or assist. This speaks to the fantasy monster that he can be. In a matchup against Swansea, who have allowed 15 goals (!) in their last five matches, Payet has legitimate 50-point upside.
Cesc Fabregas, CHE v. BOU ($6,800): With N'Golo Kante suspended, it's likely that we see Fabregas the more forward of the midfield pair in Chelsea's 3-4-3. He can be loosely defined as the trequartista in this system, but also called on to start the attack from deeper. This, and a share of set pieces, should give plenty of opportunities to create chances or score himself. It shouldn't matter who starts up front for the Blues.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, SWA v. WHU ($8,800): He does it all for Swansea and they might already be relegated without him. The Swans welcome a West Ham team that allows the fourth-most goals, second-most assists and a slightly above-average number of chances created. West Ham looked terrible against Hull, and with a home matchup, Sigurdsson and Swansea will look to attack, as they need points now.
Alex Iwobi, ARS v. WBA ($6,400): If you are willing to roll the dice a bit, Iwobi could see significant playing time with both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey out injured. West Brom just gave up two goals to Man United and will likely have old man Gareth McAuley and Jonas Olsson in central defense; neither are very inspiring. Arsenal will push for the three points in order to stay within shouting distance of Chelsea. While West Brom can be compact, Arsenal have the second-best odds to score over three goals. Lucas Perez may start in this spot (he is a forward on FanDuel), and he has a similar price.
FORWARD
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, MUN v. SUN ($13,400): The big man had himself a big match and also saw a big increase in his price. Certainly deserving of the third-most expensive player in this slate, Ibrahimovic has a slightly better matchup against the Black Cats at home than last week away to West Brom. He has scored seven goals in his past six matches (with two braces) and is an elite finisher (seven goals on seven shots on goal). He must score to meet value, but he has the highest goal-scoring odds in the slate.
Andy Carroll, WHU at SWA ($8,500): Carroll looked more like a sub-$5K center-back on FanDuel last week rather than the center forward in a good matchup as most expected. Likely due to Hull dominating the game for large stretches and a lack of full fitness, he spent a lot of time clearing and defending. With a week of training and recovery it's likely he will have increased ability to stay up top against a Swansea team that has allowed the most goals this season center forwards, including two Alvaro Negredo, three to Salomon Rondon and one each to Harry Kane and Christian Benteke in their past five matches.
Leroy Sane, MCI at HUL ($6,500): Manchester City plays in the late game, so we will look to injury/suspension news for a guess at lineups as FanDuel doesn't have late swap. Manager Pep Guardiola continues to try different players (five in three games is my estimate) at the center forward/false nine to replace Sergio Aguero, who is still suspended. He may have found a solution in the second half of the Arsenal match with Sane. He made intelligent runs and allowed others, including Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva to run the game and Raheem Sterling to flank. Sane has good goal-scoring odds and is one of the cheaper options at forward.
Note: Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente are largely goal dependent but each has a plus matchup this week against weak defenses. Meanwhile, Diego Costa and Jamie Vardy are suspended, so check lineups to see who will lead the line for each team.
