This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 10:00 am: Aston Villa vs. Southampton
- 10:00 am: Brentford vs. Newcastle United
- 10:00 am: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS
Erling Haaland (MCI at CRY, $8,700): I know Haaland hasn't had the best goalscoring form with only one goal in his last five Premier League starts. But this is still far too cheap a price for Haaland when he has -150 anytime goalscoring odds on the road against a struggling Crystal Palace side. Haaland has a few poor floor performances this season, but even as a goal-dependent striker, the DFS Trends tool demonstrates that he regularly scores floors of seven or more points. Now that Kevin De Bruyne is back on the team, he should be seeing higher quality chances than he has received the past month.
Anthony Gordon (NEW at BRE, $8,100): Gordon doesn't have a perfect fantasy profile for Newcastle's road matchup against Brentford. He's been getting subbed early lately, and that feels likely to happen again after playing more than 85 minutes in midweek when he was apparently dealing with fatigue. Sandro Tonali has been taking away some of Gordon's corners, as well. Even with these minor issues, Gordon is still too cheap, and he's the only forward-eligible player with a projectable set-piece role. Brentford have conceded 257 shots this season, second most in the Premier League.
I'm expecting Haaland and Gordon to be very popular, and rightfully so. The forward position isn't that strong, but it's worth taking some risks in GPPs on a smaller three-match slate. Savinho ($8,500) likely only plays 75 minutes, but he's an affordable route into Manchester City's attack. Ollie Watkins ($8,900) gets to face one of the worst defensive teams in the Premier League in Southampton. Aston Villa haven't been the most fantasy-friendly team, but Southampton are giving up more than two expected goals per game this season.
I'm intrigued by a couple cheaper options for tournaments. Jaden Philogene ($5,300) might start for Aston Villa and he's had modest production in his three league starts this season. A quick scan of his player page shows Philogene put up strong floor numbers in the EFL Championship last season. I'm willing to take some chances on his sort of profile, especially against a terrible Southampton defense. Igor Thiago ($4,500) might make a debut start at center forward for Brentford. Thiago scored 16 goals in 26 appearances in the Belgian first division last season, and he's definitely worth a flier at his price in GPPs.
MIDFIELDERS
Kevin De Bruyne (MCI at CRY, $10,400): De Bruyne returned to the starting XI midweek and he put in an incredibly productive 74-minute shift. He finished with five shots and a goal along with four shots assisted and an assist. Unsurprisingly, he returned to his set-piece role, taking corners from both sides. Even if De Bruyne is only fit enough to go 70-to-75 minutes after starting midweek, he should still be able to pay off his lofty price tag in cash-game formats.
Tyler Dibling (SOU vs. AVL, $3,200): I don't want to go out of my way to play Southampton attackers on the road against Aston Villa, but Dibling is too cheap. He'll be well rested after missing the midweek fixture with a suspension, and he played 90 minutes in his two most recent starts. He has solid shot (1.44 per game) and shots assisted (1.32 per game) numbers, and he's drawing more than three fouls per 90 minutes played this season. He's plenty capable of paying of his near-minimum salary with that sort of underlying production.
Youri Tielemans (AVL vs. SOU, $7,600): It's a bit difficult to find the salary for Tielemans, but I want to target Southampton as much as possible. Tielemans doesn't have a terrific open-play floor, but he's crossed just under five times and assisted more than two shots per game this season. He should take at least half of Aston Villa's set pieces, as well.
John McGinn ($4,400) is a good salary-relief option. He's played nearly 90 minutes in his past three starts in an attacking role, and he has nine shots in his last four starts. Bruno Guimaraes ($5,600) is coming off of a two-assist performance midweek. Whether it's assisting shots, winning tackles or drawing fouls, Guimaraes is able to collect floor points in a variety of stat categories.
I don't like recommending Bernardo Silva ($6,300), but he's much cheaper than the rest of Manchester City's attackers and shouldn't see too much rostership in GPPs. He scored a goal midweek, and he might take a set piece or two should De Bruyne get subbed early.
DEFENDERS
Ian Maatsen (AVL vs. SOU, $4,300): If Maatsen is in the starting XI without Leon Bailey, he'll likely take a few set pieces. Maatsen has a solid open-play floor, as well, though he's a liability to be subbed at the 70-minute mark. This means Maatsen isn't a must-play, but I'm willing to take that risk given his strong matchup against Southampton, especially if he has a shot at a set-piece role.
Ryan Manning (SOU at AVL, $3,900): Manning has played 90 minutes in his past two starts, and he scored more than 11 floor points in each of those appearances. He put up those scores against good teams in Brighton and Chelsea, so I'm not too nervous about the matchup against Aston Villa. Manning should at least split set pieces, so while I don't think it's likely he scores more than 11 floor points again, I still think he's a good value at his price.
Lewis Hall ($5,800) is also a strong defender option and he's scored more than six floor points in seven of his last eight starts. His shooting numbers are significantly lower than they were last season, so I think he might be due for some positive regression towards his career averages. He should continue to have a solid floor with a share of set pieces against Brentford.
GOALKEEPER
Mark Flekken (BRE vs. NEW, $4,500): Flekken has a much more realistic shot of hitting the win bonus than Dean Henderson ($3,800) and Joe Lumley ($3,700), and he's also saving just under five shots per game this season. In tournaments, I'd like to spend up for Emiliano Martinez ($6,000) if possible. Southampton have been poor this season, and getting the win and clean sheet bonus is more important in three-game slates.
It's worth pointing out that Stefan Ortega ($5,700) has started the last two matches ahead of Ederson ($5,600). Ederson has been gaffe-prone this season, so maybe Manchester City will actually start keeping clean sheets with Ortega between the sticks.
