This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
There are some strong favorites on Saturday's Premier League slate at FanDuel and that provides lots of opportunity to be different from the competition. The favorites are ones that it never feels comfortable backing, either, such as Chelsea as the biggest one.
MATCHES (ET)
- 11:00 am: Aston Villa vs. AFC Bournemouth
- 11:00 am: Brentford vs. Leicester City
- 11:00 am: Southampton vs. Tottenham Hotspur
- 11:00 am: Wolverhampton vs. Leeds United
- 1:30 pm: Chelsea vs. Everton
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Harry Kane, TOT at SOU ($23): Kane will be one of the bigger decisions on the slate as he is highly priced, but he could very well show up with a brace in this matchup. He is coming off doing just that against Nottingham Forest. Teammate Son Heung-Min ($21) scored and had a strong floor against Forest, but I still slightly prefer Kane if I have the salary. Ivan Toney ($22) has better goalscoring odds than Kane, but I slightly prefer the matchup against Southampton for Tottenham.
Kai Havertz, CHE vs. EVE ($19): Chelsea are a tough team to figure out at times, but Havertz has scored in six of his last seven appearances and has some of the best goalscoring odds on the slate. If you want to stick with Chelsea for some value, consider Enzo Fernandez ($15), who has been consistent around 10 FanDuel points from a variety of stats. You can also pair the two in GPPs.
Leon Bailey, AVL vs. BOU ($16): Aston Villa are also strong favorites on the slate home against Bournemouth. They can be difficult to peg production, but the second-best goalscoring odds are Leon Bailey and I don't mind him for GPPs. Without sets, he just doesn't have the floor you need in cash games and his minutes have been a little inconsistent. Ollie Watkins ($19) would be preferred if you have the salary, but it may be tough to get there with the other top-priced guys to play.
I think there are goals on both sides of the Leicester and Brentford matchup and that brings Harvey Barnes ($15) into play at a somewhat value price. You can also look to Kelechi Iheanacho ($16) or James Maddison ($20) if you have the salary.
The price tags on Wolves players are pretty enticing on this slate without much else value. Raul Jimenez ($15) is their most likely goalscorer and continues to look better after returning from injury. If we knew Pedro Neto ($12) was going to play closer to 90 minutes, I think we could fire him up in any format, but with the uncertainty we will reserve him for GPPs only. Another cheap option is Joao Moutinho ($10), who has shown a solid floor lately without being involved in any goals. He will likely to split sets with Neto now that he is back.
DEFENDERS
Ben Chilwell, CHE vs. EVE ($12): I like this spot for Chelsea against Everton. Chilwell has had a massive floor recently and he fits solidly into lineups at this price. He has taken over almost all set pieces over the last few games and will likely have a majority here.
Pedro Porro, TOT at SOU ($11): If I can, I want to play both of these guys in my defender slots. Porro has also shown a strong floor over the last couple of games and gets another good matchup against Southampton. When he gets involved with a goal, he can flirt with 30 fantasy points.
Regular readers of this article will know where I'm going next. If you need savings or just need pivots at defender, I like the idea of playing ones with strong defensive floors on FanDuel. James Tarkowski ($14) would be one of mine favorite players at the position if it wasn't for his price. He gets the combo of going up against Chelsea, where Everton should have a lot of defensive work, and Tarkowski is always live for a set-piece goal. If salary saving is your goal, look at teammate Ben Godfrey ($8). Marcos Senesi ($12) also fits this bill along with Harry Souttar ($10).
GOALKEEPER
Emiliano Martinez, AVL vs. BOU ($12): I still don't fully trust the Chelsea defense so that has me dropping to the second level of clean sheet odds to Martinez and Aston Villa. At home I really like the matchup for them. Jose Sa ($11) would be my next favorite keeper and he showed his upside against Tottenham a couple of games ago. Lastly, David Raya ($10) has been pretty consistent of late and comes in at a value price.
