This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
For detailed odds and stats, check out the Fantasy Premier League: Saturday Cheat Sheet.
MATCHES (EDT)
10:00 a.m: Crystal Palace v. Leicester City
10:00 a.m: Sunderland v. West Ham
10:00 a.m: Everton v. Burnley
10:00 a.m: Stoke City v. Hull City
10:00 a.m: Watford v. Swansea City
12:30 p.m: Southampton v. Manchester City
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPER
Tom Heaton, BRN at EVE ($7,200): Likely the second-most popular goalkeeper on the slate, Heaton is away to in-form Everton. Although Everton don't force an inordinate number of saves, Burnley will likely be parked in their half. Forcing saves is a big part of any goalkeeper decision, but another input is saves made by the goalkeeper, and both data points are easily above average this week.
Fraser Forster, SOU at MCI ($6,500): This is pretty simple: Forster is away to a top team that has forced the most saves in the league over the past six matches. Add in that Forster is one of the cheaper options and you have what looks to be a safe option.
DEFENDER
Ben Mee, BRN at EVE ($6,400): Stacking a Burnley defender(s) and goalkeeper against Everton could be an interesting way to play the biggest underdogs in the slate. Burnley will likely be pinned back all match, with their midfield likely to be outmatched at almost every position, and despite being mid-table this season, Burnley have been the worst team in the league away from home. Being pinned back should lead to higher defensive points, while spending up at goalkeeper and defender will probably lead to a much different lineup construction, which could be useful in GPPs.
Marc Muniesa, STK at HUL ($5,200): One of the cheaper options who could start after recovering from his slight injury, Muniesa is an active defender who can rack up points at a low salary. As mentioned later, there will be a desire to spend up at forward, so going lower at defender can help.
MIDFIELDER
David Silva, MCI at SOU ($8,900): Although he underperformed his salary against Hull last weekend, Silva was very influential at the start and City lost some interest in the second half. Southampton should provide a bit more resistance, but Silva should have no problem running through their midfield. Silva was decently owned last week and that could lead to lower ownership this time around. Gylfi Sigurdsson is closely priced at $8,600, and while he has disappointed in recent weeks, he was still on several high scoring GPP teams last week despite a poor performance by his standards. Up against a make-shift Watford defense, coupled with likely lower ownership and lower price, it could be worth any downside risk for the Swansea midfielder. Ross Barkely is also an option in a very plus matchup.
Wilfried Zaha, CRY v. LEI ($7,100): With Leicester on short rest and Zaha on fire lately, it might be worth the chance. Although his game doesn't match up amazingly well for FanDuel, Zaha provides significant upside with the constant playmaking and recent goal-scoring ability. Crystal Palace are near the top of the form table and see every match as a must win.
West Ham Midfield, WHU at SUN: Sunderland are going down and they don't care who knows it. Void of any fight, Sunderland present a plus matchup for West Ham. The main playmaking role has been split between Manuel Lanzini ($7,300) and Robert Snodgrass ($6,800) of late, and while both are in play for GPPs if they start together, one will move into cash consideration if the other is on the bench.
FORWARD
Sergio Aguero, MCI at SOU ($12,200) or Romelu Lukaku, EVE v. BRN ($12,100): The goal-scoring and team odds slightly favor Lukaku, and while both are in plus matchups, the edge goes to Lukaku because he is at home. However, Lukaku will likely be higher owned, which gives Aguero some added value. Both could score a hat trick, so fade them at your risk (or benefit!)
Andy Carroll, WHU at SUN ($8,800): Sunderland have given up the most shots on goal, second-most chances created, and an above average number of goals and assists over the last six weeks. Carroll, who has the fifth-best anytime goal-scoring odds, will need to find the back of the net to be valuable, but there won't be a better matchup to do it.
Troy Deeney, WAT v. SWA ($8,100) or and M'Baye Niang, WAT v. SWA ($7,800): Swansea continue to be susceptible at the back and have been to forwards all season. Without a goal, Niang is the safer option, but Deeney has much higher goal-scoring odds. Their prices also offer the ability to pair them with a more expensive forward, so when considering cheaper options think of a 2 v. 2 rather than just the individual player.
