FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Targets

For detailed stats and odds, check out the Fantasy Premier League: Saturday Cheat Sheet.

MATCHES (EST)

10:00 a.m: Bournemouth v. West Ham
10:00 a.m: Liverpool v. Crystal Palace
10:00 a.m: Manchester United v. Brighton
10:00 a.m: Newcastle v. Cardiff
10:00 a.m: Southampton v. Everton
10:00 a.m: Watford v. Burnley
12:30 p.m: Arsenal v. Chelsea

FORWARDS

Marcus Rashford, MUN v. BHA ($12,500): I don't want to spend this much on Rashford, but he's worth it compared to the other forwards in this range. Roberto Firmino ($13,000) is more of a GPP play because his floor is often below 10.00 fantasy points, and the same goes for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ($11,500), who faces Chelsea and hasn't surpassed six fantasy points in two of his last three. As for Rashford, he's scored at least 19 fantasy points in the last five matches and, more importantly, had a floor between 15.00 and 20.00 points against weaker competition. Given that he has a goal in four of the last five, it's hard to believe the odds have Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard, among others, more likely to score than Rashford. Man United have the second-highest expected goal total and Brighton can't be trusted on the road.

Troy Deeney, WAT v. BRN ($9,000): Deeney may not be someone you want to put all of your trust in, but there's no doubt he'll get opportunities against Burnley. He's hit 30.0 fantasy points in two of his last five starts, but in the other three he failed to surpass 8.20. Still, despite recent wins, I'm not sold on Burnley's back line, which allowed 10 goals from 22 shots on target in the last five matches. On the road, where they've given up two goals per match, this could be one of Deeney's better outings, especially after a goal and assist in the first meeting. It's hard to see him not reaching 10.00 fantasy points in this match with a decent amount of upside for cheap. Marko Arnautovic ($10,500) is kind of the same player, fantasy-wise, except he costs more.

Ashley Barnes, BRN at WAT ($8,500): While the Bournemouth v. West Ham match has a higher expected goal total, I'd rather back Watford-Burnley because you know who's going to be involved. Joshua King is the same price as Barnes, but Bournemouth are not the same team without Callum Wilson, and if he misses out again, I can't trust that attack. As for Burnley, they've showed a little more lately, led by Barnes, who has at least 16.00 fantasy points in four of the last five matches. Watford are at home but I'm not sure that matters for an inconsistent back line that's allowed four more goals at home than on the road. You could look at Gerard Deulofeu ($8,500) for GPP, but his floor is too low for cash games, and the same goes for Salomon Rondon at the same price. If you need someone cheaper, Shane Long ($7,500) is at home and scored last match.

MIDFIELDERS

Paul Pogba, MUN v. BHA ($10,500):Mohamed Salah ($12,500) will be a popular play, but I see no reason to use him over Pogba. You could grab both and punt at forward, but finding two reasonable, cheap forwards is harder to do than at midfield. Salah has been excellent, scoring at least 33.00 fantasy points in four of his last five starts, but Pogba has at least 28.00 in four of his last five and has shown more upside and a better floor. The odds favor Salah to make the score sheet, but Pogba is averaging three shots on goal and 2.6 chances created over the last five matches. Going against Brighton, it'll be hard to pass up on Pogba and the Red Devils.

Felipe Anderson, WHU at BOU ($9,000): Bournemouth are giving up goals for fun (17 in their last five in all competitions), so I'd kick myself if West Ham scored three and I didn't recommend any of them. I prefer Anderson over Arnautovic because of a better floor and lower price. Sure, his floor is only around 10.00 points, but over the last month, he's averaging more than two shots, two chances created and two tackles per start. Throw in an appearance on the score sheet and he easily surpasses value. Sure, Sadio Mane ($9,500), Eden Hazard ($9,500) and Jesse Lingard ($9,000) all seem like safer options, but none of them have the same floor. That said, Hazard dropping $2,000 because he plays Arsenal is a bit extreme.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, SOU v. EVE ($7,500): Assuming Hojbjerg returns to the starting XI following suspension, this isn't a difficult decision since he'll likely replace James Ward-Prowse, who is now $8,500. He's made the score sheet in his last two starts and, more importantly, has hit double digits in six of his last eight. The upside plays in this range would be Matt Ritchie, Xherdan Shaqiri and David Brooks, and all of them cost more for a reason. At the same price, Roberto Pereyra has had some nice performances, but his floor is also around five points. If you want to stretch, Christian Atsu ($6,500) is in a decent position to make the score sheet for the first time this season.

DEFENDERS

Mamadou Sakho, CRY at LIV ($5,000): Sakho's floor has taken a dip in recent matches, but when on the road against top competition, that usually goes up to 15.00 fantasy points, which is what he hit at Man City a few weeks ago. There's a chance this doesn't work since Sakho's numbers are down, averaging 4.45 clearances and 1.45 interceptions per 90 minutesm so if you prefer more safety, teammates James Tomkins ($5,500) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka ($5,500) are a little easier to trust. If you want to spend, I'm not confident in anyone given the matchups, but Sean Morrison ($6,000) and Fabian Schar ($6,000) feel best for the price.

Jannik Vestergaard, SOU v. EVE ($5,000): If I had to pick, I'd probably go with Vestergaard over Sakho because he's more consistent, scoring at least 14.00 fantasy points in his last nine starts. Opposition doesn't seem to matter, as he's averaging 7.54 clearances, 1.69 tackles and 1.54 interceptions per 90 minutes. Even better is that Everton have forced the fourth-most clearances (91) and second-most tackles (42) to defenders in the last five gameweeks.

DeAndre Yedlin, NEW v. CAR ($4,500): It's another slate in which none of the $4,000 options are worth the time, though Gaeten Bong is still there for any takers. Against Liverpool last week, most of Bong's fantasy points came from three chances created, something you can't rely on. Instead, I'll turn to Yedlin, who has done a little bit of everything the last four matches, and that's resulted in at least 13.00 fantasy points in each. In that period, he has six chances created, 15 clearances, six interceptions and nine tackles. While Cardiff don't force many clearances, Yedlin can still accrue points from chances and tackles on the wing, which is in addition to a possible clean sheet. Adrian Mariappa (22 clearances in his last three matches) and Florian Lejeune, who had 16.7 fantasy points in his first start last week, are in the same category, though both rely a little more on clearances.

GOALKEEPER

Ben Foster, WAT v. BRN ($4,500): Foster has the third-best odds to win and third-best odds to get a clean sheet, so he makes the most sense. I'm not entirely convinced on that, but the odds are the odds and Foster is cheap given those numbers. If you have some money, I'd probably spend it on David de Gea ($6,000) and then Martin Dubravka ($5,500). As for Foster, he's made 15 saves in the last two matches, and even if he allows a goal, there's hope that he could make five saves from Barnes (if you use him).