This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
Midweek Premier League action returns Wednesday and all six games are on the FanDuel slate, which is usually reserved for Saturdays. Liverpool are the largest favorite away to Sheffield United even with Manchester City on the slate. Those two spots are where optimal building will likely start with the rest of the games being somewhat closely lined.
MATCHES (ET)
- 2:30 pm: Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Brentford
- 2:30 pm: Crystal Palace vs. AFC Bournemouth
- 2:30 pm: Fulham vs. Nottingham Forest
- 2:30 pm: Sheffield United vs. Liverpool
- 3:15 pm: Aston Villa vs. Manchester City
- 3:15 pm: Manchester United vs. Chelsea
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Salah, LIV at SHU ($24): At the top of pricing Salah has the best goalscoring odds on the slate and Liverpool are in a great spot as -600 favorites. He doesn't have set pieces but still produces a solid floor with shots, fouls drawn and chances created. I prefer him over Erling Haaland ($25) who has worse odds to score in a fairly tough road matchup against Aston Villa. Bruno Fernandes ($22) has lost a portion of his set pieces with the return of Luke Shaw ($13) and is actually an underdog, home against Chelsea.
Liverpool have some other interesting pieces if you're looking to stack them. Dominik Szoboszlai ($19) has a share of sets, Darwin Nunez ($21) is a likely goal scorer but nothing more than a tournament option at his price and goal dependency, and Luis Diaz ($18) gives you a somewhat discount off the top of pricing.
Michael Olise ($20) makes some appeal with a strong offensive floor, but he may be hard to get to if you play one of the aforementioned players in a stronger matchup. I do think it is somewhat possible if you punt a spot with some of the bigger value options. Julian Alvarez ($20) makes a lot of appeal for Man City and actually split sets with Bernardo Silva ($18) instead of Phil Foden ($20) in the last league match.
Cole Palmer, CHE at MU ($17): The set situation is always murky for Chelsea, but with Conor Gallagher suspended, it opens more opportunities for someone else to take. I expect it to be pretty spread out, but I expect Palmer to have a role and am intrigued by what he's done in general for Chelsea of late. I'm not scared of this matchup, either, given Man United's issues. The rest of the midrange is fairly tough, which leads me towards a stars-and-scrubs build.
Mateo Kovacic, MCI at AVL ($11): Kovacic and teammate Rico Lewis ($11) are extra cheap on Wednesday and can sometimes fall into value even though they don't have as prominent of a role as some, assuming they start given suspension and injury issues for City. Raul Jimenez ($15) is a viable value option as Fulham are very close with Brighton as the third-biggest favorite on the slate. Chris Wood ($14) is pretty goal dependent, but he is a reasonable play for Forest. I prefer the Man City options, as Kovacic in particular can rack up stats in multiple areas, giving him a decent floor.
DEFENDERS
Trent Alexander-Arnold, LIV at SHU ($15): Alexander-Arnold has one of the best floors in the league and gets a great matchup with Sheffield United. I expect him to split sets with Szoboszlai unless Jurgen Klopp opts to rotate some of his squad. At left-back, Joe Gomez ($9) could start and would be cheaper than Kostas Tsimikas ($14). Antonee Robinson ($13) has assisted in three straight games but is too close in price to Alexander-Arnold for me to consider in optimal building. Reece James ($12) has a solid role for Chelsea and gives you a relevant enough discount from the top of the position.
Auston Trusty, SHU vs. LIV ($10): The Sheffield United center-backs make the most appeal from a defensive floor perspective and are all affordable. You can look at Anel Ahmedhodzic ($10) and Jack Robinson ($9), but all three are pretty much the same play. The Aston Villa options are also affordable in Diego Carlos ($8), Pau Torres ($10), and Ezri Konsa ($10).
GOALKEEPER
Bernd Leno, FUL vs. NFO ($12): I don't trust Man City or Liverpool to keep a clean sheet, so while Caoimhin Kelleher ($13) is the most likely winner on this slate, I worry about him from a DFS perspective. I don't think he sees that many save opportunities, which means you need everything to go perfect and for him to get a win and a clean sheet. Fulham have the second-best clean sheet odds and are favored at home to beat Nottingham Forest. Bart Verbruggen ($10) is a little underpriced for his win odds, but I worry that Brighton have such a long streak in the Premier League with no clean sheets.
