This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (EDT)
- 10:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. Burnley
- 10:00 am: Huddersfield Town vs. Leicester City
- 10:00 am: Newcastle United vs. Crystal Palace
For detailed stats and odds, check out the FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Cheat Sheet.
FORWARDS
Salomon Rondon, NEW v. CRY ($10,500): I think Jamie Vardy ($12,000) will be over owned against Huddersfield, so I'm taking a different route with forwards at home. Rondon has had a decent floor and has been much more productive at home, with three goals and three assists in his last five starts. The odds don't like him as much, but Crystal Palace just played at Tottenham on Wednesday and lost at Watford in the FA Cup before that. Even if he doesn't make the scoresheet, Rondon has gotten at least one shot on goal in his last four starts, and that will keep his floor near 10 fantasy points, which is usually better than what Wilfried Zaha ($12,000) provides.
Callum Wilson, BOU v. BRN ($11,000): The only reason I prefer Rondon more than Wilson is that he's a little more in form. Wilson looked like a viable play in recent starts, but he managed just 15.2 fantasy points against Leicester and Newcastle. Back at home, I'm giving him one more chance against a Burnley back line that's allowed 31 goals in 16 away matches. Wilson's home numbers are also hard to overlook, with four goals on nine shots on target and one assist on 10 chances created in his last seven. If Joshua King ($9,500) scores all the goals again, you can blame me, but I don't think that's going to happen.
Karlan Grant, HUD v. LEI ($8,000): It's not a pretty slate if you want a value forward. You could take a chance on a Burnley player, but it's more of a guessing game between Ashley Barnes ($9,500), Chris Wood ($8,000) and Dwight McNeil ($8,000), and expecting them to score more than one away from home is a stretch. At least with Grant, he's been the lone striker and that's produced 10 shots in his last four starts. Huddersfield maybe don't have anything to play for, but Leicester have had their own issues away, taking four points from their last five trips. With Grant, you're hoping to get at least 10 points from a chance created and a couple shots on target, but a goal would be nice.
MIDFIELDERS
James Maddison, LEI at HUD ($9,500): Maddison may have the best floor on the slate, and yet he's not even the most expensive midfielder. He has at least 18 fantasy points in six of his last seven starts and had a floor of 21.3 points last match. While Huddersfield don't allow a ton of corners, he should still get up the field plenty and continue his eight-match streak of at least three chances created. His floor has been slightly better than Luka Milivojevic ($10,000), who is only priced more because he's also on penalties, and that's not enough to spend the extra $500 on.
Matt Ritchie, NEW v. CRY ($7,000): Ritchie is surprisingly cheap for someone who has hit double-digit fantasy points in his last 11 starts. Even though he's sharing corners again, he's still had a solid floor because of defensive stats, averaging 1.91 tackles, 1.80 clearances and 1.54 interceptions per 90 minutes. That doesn't seem like a lot, but when you combine that with a chance created or a shot on goal and that's enough to hit value. Miguel Almiron ($7,500) is now more expensive than Ritchie even though he doesn't get the same defensive numbers. Wilfred Ndidi ($8,000) is a slight level above Ritchie in terms of floor, while Aaron Mooy ($8,000) and Juninho Bacuna ($7,500) could be viable if you want to stack together a Huddersfield lineup for GPP.
Dan Gosling, BOU v. BRN ($6,000): There's a trend with Gosling in which he racks up more defensive stats when Bournemouth play a 4-4-2 (not 4-4-1-1), and that usually coincides with Callum Wilson in the lineup. In his last four starts in a 4-4-2, Gosling has 15 tackles, 10 clearances and five interceptions. The outlier is tackles because he's averaging just 1.06 per 90 minutes. Bump that number to three and his floor looks a lot more desirable, and that's part of why he has at least 13 fantasy points in his last three starts. You won't break the slate with Gosling, but he could be a nice cash play if you want two high-end midfielders.
DEFENDERS
James Tomkins, CRY at NEW ($5,500): Tomkins is the new Aaron Wan-Bissaka ($6,000) in that he's cheaper than his teammates but averages the same number of fantasy points. In fact, Tomkins is so consistent that he's reached double digits in his last 20 starts, averaging 6.44 clearances and 1.23 tackles per 90 minutes. Sure, if Martin Kelly ($4,500) starts again I'd rather save the money, but Tomkins is easier to play in cash games than the more expensive Wan-Bissaka or Patrick van Aanholt ($6,500).
Terence Kongolo, HUD v. LEI ($4,500): Kongolo should be in everyone's lineup with at least 13.4 fantasy points in his last five starts. Like most of my favorite defenders, he does a little bit of everything, with 21 clearances, 12 interceptions and 16 tackles in that period, which gets boosted by a few chances created and a shot on goal. Leicester may not force the most defensive stats, but they are the biggest favorite on the slate for a reason. Kongolo's dealing with a knock, so that's something to monitor, and it could move Jon Stankovic ($4,000) back into the starting XI.
Chris Mepham, BOU v. BRN ($5,000): Mepham has slowly figured things out with 28 clearances in his last four starts, which is more than teammate Nathan Ake ($7,000). He's not consistent as some of the other guys, but the potential for a 20-point floor is there. That's mostly because Burnley have surprisingly forced the fourth-most clearances in the last 10 gameweeks. If that holds true, Mepham and Ake should be plenty busy. On a small slate, there are a lot of trap plays who may not provide much fantasy value, and Tommy Smith ($4,000) is at the top of that list, failing to surpass 8.2 fantasy points in his last four starts.
GOALKEEPER
Asmir Begovic, BOU v. BRN ($5,000): This is a terrible slate for goalkeepers, at least in terms of price. There's little reason to spend $6,000 on Vicente Guaita or $5,500 on Martin Dubravka and Kasper Schmeichel. Leicester may have the best odds, but expecting an away clean sheet is a stretch, even against Huddersfield. I'm leaning Begovic mostly because he's somewhat cheap and Bournemouth have at least had respectable results at home, even if they just gave up two goals to Newcastle. If you don't like any of those guys, you could always take the Huddersfield route and hope Ben Hamer ($4,000) makes another five saves.
