This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 2:30 pm: Southampton vs. Leicester City
- 2:30 pm: Watford vs. Chelsea
- 2:30 pm: West Ham United vs. Brighton & Hove Albio
- 2:30 pm: Wolverhampton vs. Burnley
- 3:15 pm: Aston Villa vs. Manchester City
- 3:15 pm: Everton vs. Liverpool
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS / MIDFIELDERS
Sadio Mane, LIV at EVE ($19): In true holiday spirit, I'm here to tell you about a slamming good deal. That deal is Sadio Mane facing Everton. Mohamed Salah ($22) rightfully headlines the price chart (I really wanted to say pie chart to stay in the holiday mood), while he's followed up by an in-form Diogo Jota ($20), who has scored three goals over the last two matches. Any of these three would be a good choice, but Mane is likely to be lesser owned than Jota and Salah, which could be a better play for tournaments. Thiago Alcantara ($12) has scored in consecutive matches for Liverpool and his price has slightly risen from $10 in the previous match. Dominic Calvert-Lewin remains sidelined due to injury and Richarlison ($18) is back from a one-match ban. The safest Everton player to go with may be Abdoulaye Doucoure ($16), as he contributes in both attack and defense, while Andros Townsend ($17) is worthy of a shout.
Raul Jimenez, WOL v. BRN ($19): Burnley concede the most shots on goal of the 12 teams on this slate and Jimenez is the likely beneficiary of this matchup. He has the third-best goal-scoring odds behind Mohamed Salah ($22) and Romelu Lukaku ($21) and has two goals over his past four outings. He should line up with Hwang Hee-Chan up top, while it'll be worth keeping an eye on the starting XI to see if Adama Traore ($10) or Francisco Trincao ($14) start with Daniel Podence sidelined. Maxwel Cornet ($19) has been a revelation for Burnley in attack and it's shown with his stat lines as he's hit 21 fantasy points in four of his past six matches.
James Ward-Prowse, SOU v. LEI ($18): Leicester concede the second-most chances created per 90 minutes and Ward-Prowse is a steady creator for Southampton. Despite being suspended for two matches out of the 13 played, he still ranks in the top 20 for chances created. He has a floor around 14 points, so he's likely a safer play in cash games, though Leicester have conceded the fourth-most goals in the league (23). Adam Armstrong ($16) is slighty cheaper and has over 13 points in his past four appearances. Jamie Vardy ($20) is a menace to all teams and blew up for two goals and four shots on goal last weekend. Harvey Barnes ($12) is playing much better and is worth a flyer should he start based on his price.
Pascal Gross, BHA at WHU ($14): Gross benefits from taking the majority of set pieces for Brighton and that's helped him become a consistent provider of chances created. In nine starts this season, he's created 23 chances and has never finished with less than 8.6 points, while he's had 15 or more points in five of those outings. He's on the cheap end and is a solid roster fill in one of the better matchups of the slate. Leandro Trossard ($18) is a better goal-scoring threat and his price reflects that along with Neal Maupay's ($17), who is expected to lead the attack for Brighton. Michail Antonio ($19) is the marquee player in this matchup, though he's been quiet his last few outings, failing to score in four-straight matches.
DEFENDERS
Michael Keane, EVE v. LIV ($14): Two of the highest-performing fantasy defenders this season come from the same match as Trent Alexander-Arnold ($15) and Michael Keane face off in the Merseyside derby. More remarkably, they do it in different fashions, as Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the best attacking full-backs and has seven assists to show for it (one behind Mohamed Salah for the league lead), while Michael Keane ranks third in interceptions, seventh in clearances and sixth in blocks. The thought process here is that Liverpool force the most clearances per 90 minutes (25) and Michael Keane is a defensive stat stuffer. Alexander-Arnold has the higher ceiling as he's scored 25-plus points in six of 11 matches, but Keane is slightly cheaper and should have a huge defensive day trying to stop the Liverpool attack.
Timothy Castagne, LEI at SOU ($7): Leicester City are by no means a strong defensive side, but they'll face Southampton on Wednesday, a team who have scored 11 goals through 13 matches, which is tied for second to last in the Premier League. Although a clean sheet is always tough to rely on, Castagne is one of the cheapest-expected starters on Wednesday's slate and has been consistent with 9.5 or more points in three of four matches. He's won two tackles in all four matches to go along with eight clearances. He adds enough from the flank to be dangerous in attack and will have an opportunity to get forward against a goal-challenged Southampton side. If you're looking for another cheap option at defense, William Troost-Ekong ($8) should anchor Watford's backline against Chelsea due to a lengthy injury list for the Hornets. He had been left out of the starting XI for two matches prior to Saturday's loss to Leicester, but prior to that he put together four-straight matches of nine or more points. He should be able to rack up a large volume of clearances against Chelsea on Wednesday.
GOALKEEPERS
Jose Sa, WOL v. BRN ($12): Edouard Mendy ($14) has the top clean-sheet odds against a solid attacking side in Watford, which is just ahead of Ederson ($13) against a resurgent Aston Villa and Alisson Becker ($13) in the Merseyside derby. Jose Sa follows up these three in a match against Burnley that has the lowest-implied goal total of the six matches. He has seven saves over the past two matches, which led to point totals of 20-plus. Wolverhampton have been especially sound defensively, conceding just 12 goals this season, good four fourth in goals conceded behind the three teams I just mentioned. Robert Sanchez ($9) is a cheap option against West Ham and Jordan Pickford ($7) should see the most amount of action when Everton host Liverpool.
