This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.
MATCHES (EDT)
10:00 a.m: Tottenham v. Stoke City
10:00 a.m: Huddersfield v. Brighton
10:00 a.m: Crystal Palace v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Swansea v. West Brom
10:00 a.m: Burnley v. Watford
12:30 p.m: Newcastle v. Leicester City
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
FORWARDS
Harry Kane, TOT v. STK (£29): Let's get this out of the way first: everyone is going to have Kane. Being the most expensive player on the slate by £4 and the most expensive forward by £7 will do nothing to limit his ownership. Kane has taken 29 more shots than the next highest shooter, he's scored three more goals than the next highest scorer and his team is by far the biggest favorite with the highest implied goal total. Teammate Son Heung-Min (£21), who has a goal in four of his last five starts (including one in each of his last two), is an available pivot, but he's probably better off being used with Kane rather than in his place.
Richarlison, WAT at BUR (£22):Richarlison is the second-most expensive forward on the slate, but he had just 5.30 fantasy points in his last two games combined. Luckily, he has a great bounce-back opportunity, as playing against Burnley is a heck of a lot better than playing against Manchester United and Tottenham. His goal odds are admittedly not that great, but no team has allowed more shots this season and four of Richarlison's five goals, plus all three of his assists, have come on the road.
Hal Robson-Kanu, WBA at SWA (£13): It feels a little nutty recommending a forward on a team that hasn't won a match since August, especially one that will be playing away, but here we are. The matchup against Swansea is intriguing in its own right, even if they've been better defensively than on the attacking end this season, but Robson-Kanu has found a nice role starting up front with Salomon Rondon (£14) and Jay Rodriguez (£20). He fired off four shots in each of the past two matches, and had a stellar game against Newcastle when he found the back of the net on one of his three shots on goal. Pretty much every forward on the slate is goal dependent, so why not pay down for a player who is averaging more shots per 90 minutes over the past four gameweeks than any player on Saturday's slate not named Harry Kane, and is facing the side that has allowed the most shots on goal this season?
MIDFIELDER
Christian Eriksen, TOT v. STK (£25): I'd be more excited about Dele Alli (£24) if he hadn't played 88 minutes against APOEL in the Champions League on Wednesday, but at least he picked up an assist on one of his three chances created. Meanwhile, Eriksen was rested for the match after looking pretty drained over the past few games. He still managed an assist in last weekend's draw with Watford, but he had only scored 7.75 fantasy points in the two previous matches combined, which came at home against West Brom and at Leicester City. Saturday's match against Stoke seems like a great time for Eriksen to break out, as they've allowed the most goals, most assists and third-most accurate crosses among teams on the slate. For those looking to save a little money, we could get a first start for Erik Lamela (£17), though he seems highly unlikely to play the full 90 minutes.
Yohan Cabaye, CRY v. BOU (£17): Cabaye missed last weekend's match with a knock, but he's expected to return for a solid matchup against Bournemouth, who have struggled to get much going of late despite a favorable schedule. He has scored more than six fantasy points in five consecutive starts, all without a goal or assist. Cabaye isn't known for goal scoring, so we can't be too surprised at his zero goals this season, but his 24 chances created (16th in the league) are the most for a player with no assists. The lack of finishing is clearly a Crystal Palace problem, as teammate Andros Townsend (£15) is ninth in the Premier League with 28 chances created but he has just one assist, which came three matches ago on a Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£16) goal. Cabaye's contributions across the stat sheet give him his solid fantasy floor, and regression seems to be pointing in the direction of an assist sooner rather than later.
Johan Berg Gudmundsson, BUR v. WAT (£14): The absence of Robbie Brady (£17) is a massive one for Burnley, as he led the team in shots, chances created, crosses and accurate crosses. However, it will open up a bigger attacking role for Berg Gudmunsson, who actually leads the team in assists (four) while sitting second in shots, chances created and accurate crosses. He's been particularly good of late, as three of his assists have come in the last six matches, while he flashed his strong floor last week at Leicester when Brady went off after 31 minutes, finishing with 9.10 fantasy points thanks to two shots (both on goal), four accurate crosses, two corners won and one tackle. Burnley may need a little time to adjust without Brady, but Berg Gudmundsson should be a big part of anything that develops.
DEFENDER
Kieran Trippier, TOT v. STK (£17): Trippier and teammate Ben Davies (£17) are the two most expensive defenders on the slate, but their excellent clean sheet odds and strong attacking upside make them well worth it. Davies has actually been not nearly as productive on the attacking end lately, but Trippier has picked up the slack. They split corners the last time they started together, which pushed Eriksen completely off them, and a similar situation against Stoke, who have allowed the second-most corners among teams on the slate, will keep their prospects high for accurate crosses. Like Kane, Trippier figures to be highly owned because his salary isn't so much higher than other options, but it may be better to differentiate elsewhere.
Christopher Schindler, HUD v. BHA (£14): The Huddersfield-Brighton game is expected to be the lowest-scoring one on the slate, and no one would be shocked if it ended as a scoreless draw. Even if a goal does trickle in, Schindler has been a solid fantasy scorer of late, finishing with 8.50 points at Arsenal on Nov. 29 and then 5.05 at Everton last weekend, decent outputs despite Huddersfield losing by a combined 7-0. Schindler leads all players on Saturday's slate in interceptions and tackles won, stats that could be aplenty with the two recently promoted sides facing each other.
Mohamed Sakho, CRY v. BOU (£14): The Palace back line is a little banged up, but Sakho has been playing very well, something that has resulted in back-to-back clean sheets. His attacking upside as a center-back isn't that high, and if that's something you're more interested in then you could move toward Patrick van Aanholt (£12) if he can find himself in the starting XI. This is much more of a clean-sheet play than anything else, as Bournemouth have just four goals in seven away matches this season, including two at Stoke on Oct. 21.
GOALKEEPER
Hugo Lloris, TOT v. STK (£16): After starting the forwards with Kane, the midfielders with Eriksen and the defenders with Trippier, it's no surprise that Lloris gets the call here. Burnley's Nick Pope is the same price with a tougher matchup, though he will probably get more save opportunities. Spurs are the only dominant team on the slate, and it's possible we could see a number of clean sheets, but the win bonus is all but guaranteed for Lloris, something you can't really say about any other side. Sure, Lloris has allowed at least one goal in nine straight starts, but Stoke's prospects of scoring are slimmer than any other team on the slate.
