Yahoo DFS Soccer: Tuesday EPL Picks

For detailed stats and odds, check out the Yahoo DFS Soccer: Tuesday EPL Cheat Sheet.

MATCHES (EST)

2:45 pm: Cardiff City vs. Everton
2:45 pm: Huddersfield Town vs. Wolverhampton
2:45 pm: Leicester City vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
3:00 pm: Newcastle United vs. Burnley

FORWARDS

Raul Jimenez, WOL v. HUD (£19): The second-most expensive forward on the slate is Jimenez, though as you look further into players and roster construction, you'll find that you can pretty much play whever you want. Jimenez, who has scored four goals and added an assist in his past five matches, has a low point total in that span of 8.05, while he scored at least 10.00 four times, including 24.35 against West Ham. There's no clear-cut way for me to say how bad Huddersfield are, but they can't seem to find a way to stop losing. Wolverhampton, on the other hand, have a firm lock on seventh place and have dropped just one match in their past six. Aside from maybe a couple Wolverhampton midfielders, Jimenez is the most viable play against a historically bad Huddersfield team.

Salomon Rondon, NEW v. BUR (£18): Rondon has been quietly putting together a quality season, as he now has seven goals and four assists after his one-goal, one-assist outing Saturday against Huddersfield. This might sound weird, but I'm slightly more inclined to trust Rondon over Jamie Vardy (£18), who has one goal in his last six starts. Both are somewhat of a gamble, though this slate is chalk full of gambles. Vardy has the highest anytime goal-scoring odds, while Rondon is tied for third with Jimenez. Rondon has hit at least six points in four of his past five outings, which includes two appearances with 11-plus. He's given a small boost by the number of shots Burnley concede, but it's worth keeping in mind the Clarets have done a good job keeping those to low percentage efforts that end up in the hands of Tom Heaton, especially during their eight-match unbeaten run in the Premier League. I will say, Miguel Almiron not being in the player pool is a bummer after his promising first start for Newcastle on Saturday.

Ashley Barnes, BUR at NEW (£16): Speaking of the Clarets, I'm not sure there is another striker enjoying the form that Barnes is in right now. He's scored in four straight matches and hasn't recorded fewer than five fantasy points in his past 10 matches, not to mention he has had at least 10 in five of those appearances. His price has risen from the £14 he's been for pretty much the whole season, but as mentioned earlier, the pricing structure will likely leave you with leftover cash. Dwight McNeil (£17) has provided an assist in the past two matches and continues to see a share of set pieces for Burnley, while Chris Wood (£15) has four goals in his past four matches. I feel ugly saying this, but Newcastle vs. Burnley is probably the most exciting match on the slate.

MIDFIELDERS

James Maddison, LEI v. BRI (£19): The easiest decision of the slate is putting Maddison on my squad. Has Leicester been playing terribly? You bet. That's why Claude Puel caught the axe. Has Maddison been a viable fantasy option every time he steps on the pitch? For the most part, yes. When you couple his set-piece monopoly with his high volume of shots, Maddison is able to consistently hit seven points, something he's done in six of his past nine matches. It's worth noting his ceiling hasn't been all that high, as he topped out at 13.35 points in his most recent outing, the first time he's broken the 10-point threshold since Dec. 5. Youri Tielemans (£20) is the most expensive midfielder on the slate but hasn't produced more than 8.95 points during his three starts. Leicester do have the highest implied goal total of the eight teams, but it's tough predicting where that will come from, especially with Vardy's poor form.

Pascal Gross, BRI at LEI (£16): Gross has been a crossing machine in his past two matches, providing 13 accurate crosses. A portion of that comes from his partial role on set pieces, though many of those came from open play, which alludes to the quality of service he provides. Brighton are hardly a goal-scoring juggernaut, but they will face a Leicester side that sent their manager packing Sunday morning and haven't won a match since New Year's Day. Gross has had a couple of duds this season, but his accurate crosses lift his floor against the Foxes.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson, BUR at NEW (£14): This is a speculative pick because Gudmundsson isn't a sure thing to make the starting XI after being a substitute in his previous appearances. He did link up with Barnes for the winning goal during last Saturday's upset over Tottenham, which could be enough to bring him into the lineup against Newcastle. When he has started, he's been one of the main set-piece takers for the Clarets and may reprise that role during Tuesday's clash. On the other side of the ball, Matt Ritchie (£14) is serviceable and has had a floor of around five points despite consecutive matches with a yellow card.

DEFENDERS

Lucas Digne, EVE at CAR (£16): Everton's left-back is the highest-priced defender along with Florian Lejeune (£16) but has a much more favorable matchup against a Cardiff side that has connected on only nine goals in 13 away matches. A clean sheet might be tough to depend on given Everton's current form, though Digne has been able to produce accurate crosses along with his defensive duties.

Matt Doherty, WOL v. HUD (£15): For pretty much any slate I can, I've been looking at who Huddersfield are playing and going to the opposing team's defenders and playing at least one player from their backline in order to target the clean sheet bonus. That won't change this slate, especially because Huddersfield have been shut out in seven of their past nine matches across all competitions, and Wolverhampton have been one of the stingiest backlines throughout the season, sitting in the top five in goals conceded (34). Doherty is the most attack-minded of the Wolverhampton defenders, while Willy Boly has better defensive numbers (more blocks, interceptions and tackles) and connects more passes. The same could be said for Jonny (£13), who is also an option if you're set on targeting the clean sheet bonus with Wolves defenders.

Fabian Schar, NEW v. BUR (£13): Schar has been getting it done at a cut-rate price of £13 for much of the season, as he scored at least 7.5 points in four of his past five appearances. The one flop he did have was in a 2-1 loss to Manchester City that the majority of Premier League defenders would've failed to produce in. The most interesting part of his production is the variety of ways he's done it. One match he took four shots, while in another outing he made six interceptions and provided an assist. Against Tottenham, he had five blocks and two tackles. He not a consistent attacking threat, but he does enough to warrant consideration despite a matchup with a surging Burnley.

GOALKEEPER

Tom Heaton, BUR at NEW (£14): The lack of attacking prowess on this slate gave me slightly more joy selecting defenders and goalkeepers than it typically would. Ultimately, I ended up on Heaton for my starter. Since Heaton took over the starting job in gameweek 20, only Ben Foster has more saves (35 to 32). Coincidentally, that is when the Clarets' unbeaten run began, as Heaton has picked up five wins during that time. As mentioned earlier, pairing defenders against Huddersfield can be fruitful, which is also the case with goalkeepers. Rui Patricio (£15) is the costliest goalkeeping option and has the best clean sheet odds, which could turn into a quiet but solid afternoon against the struggling Huddersfield attack. Jordan Pickford (£14) faces a Cardiff City side that struggle to score away from home and would be my third choice after Heaton and Patricio.