FantasyLabs now has soccer projections for the Premier League!
This week’s Saturday soccer slate on DraftKings includes four Premier League matches kicking off at 10:00 a.m. ET. While the Liverpool-Chelsea matchup is definitely the marquee fixture of Matchday 21, the four games on the main slate should also have plenty of drama and potential for good fantasy production. The kickoffs all being at the same time also sets up a fast-paced style, much like a “Turbo” slate in other sports. Lots will be happening all at once, which will make it lots of fun to track and follow in real-time.
Bournemouth is just one spot clear of the relegation zone as it hosts Nottingham Forest in one of the games this weekend, while Nottingham is looking to win its third straight Premier League match for the first time since 1999. Leicester City hosts Brighton, and while Brighton has been in better form lately, they have only won one of their last 10 league games at Leicester.
Aston Villa visits Southampton, who sits at the bottom of the table with only four wins on the season, but they actually bring some very good fantasy options. West Ham and Everton face off in the other matchup in this window, and those two teams sit at No. 18 and No. 19 in the table while trying to climb out of the relegation zone.
While most of these eight teams aren’t high in the table, there are some good fantasy plays to consider.
Inside our soccer Player Models, you’ll find median and value projections, along with our Lineup Builder and Lineup Optimizer. The Lineup Builder is great for those of you that like to hand-build your teams — or you can utilize the Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups.
Now, let’s get into the slate!
Premier League Forward DFS Picks
Top Play: Pascall Gross at Leicester, $9,100
Gross has the highest projection of all players on this slate as he leads Brighton & Hove Albion into Leicester. Last week, he didn’t find the back of the net but was a key part of the Seagulls attack, hitting 10 crosses and accumulating 11.8 DraftKings points in a 3-0 win over Liverpool.
Throughout the season, the 31-year-old German has showcased a very solid floor along with an impressive goal-scoring upside, with six goals and three assists in his 18 matches. Those goals have helped him reach over 15 DraftKings points in his past seven games.
This should be a good matchup for Gross, who plays a key role in the offense and regularly contributes on set pieces and in the flow of play.
Top Value: Che Adams vs. Aston Villa, $6,200
The top two value options at forward based on the Points per $1,000 are both from Southampton. Adams and Samuel Edozie are both strong options to consider. Southampton has only scored 17 goals in their 19 games and has lost four straight, but this is actually a matchup where they should be able to get some opportunities. Villa has struggled defensively, allowing 14 big chances in their last four games, the second-most of any team in the Premier League.
Coming into this contest, Adams is second on the team in goals, tied for the team lead in assists and tops on the team with 35 shots and 13 on target. He has posted over seven DraftKings points in three of his last five games.
Adams has surged into a more involved role since the Saints made the move to Nathan Jones as manager. Adams has scored once and supplied three assists in five outings under the new manager while taking eight shots in the box in those games, also a team-high.
Premier League Midfielder DFS Picks
Top Play: James Ward-Prowse vs. Aston Villa, $10,300
Ward-Prowse has the second-highest projection on the slate behind only Gross, thanks in large part to his favorable matchup against Aston Villa. He and Adams make a very nice mini-stack to build around that could offer great correlation if they connect on any goals.
The move to Jones as manager appears to have also unlocked Ward-Prowse, who has found the back of the net four times in his past four games. He leads the Saints in crosses and chances created and is tied with Jones for the team lead in assists. He is the team’s first-choice penalty taker and has taken every corner for the team since Adams’ took the helm.
The 28-year-old is coming off a monster 35.6 DraftKings points last week and has over 19 DraftKings points in three of his past four matchups. With his central role and great matchup, he’s a key building block to consider for Saturday.
Top Value: Adam Lallana at Leicester, $3,600
Lallana is projected to have the highest Points per $1,000 of any midfielder on the slate and the most production of any player under $4K at any position. He can be a strong play in your utility spot if forced to go with a value option there as well as making sense in a forward slot.
Lallana has played over 60 minutes in three of Brighton’s four games Premier League matches since the World Cup break and scored a goal in their Boxing Day match in Southampton, where he began his Premier League career. He also scored for Brighton in its FA Cup match two weeks ago, helping them advance through the Third Round Proper.
The veteran has been a key piece of Brighton’s recent success and comes at this bargain rate in what should be a good spot for him Saturday.
Premier League Defender DFS Picks
Top Play: Aaron Cresswell vs. Everton, $5,400
As we move to the defensive end of the pitch, it’s important to note that Everton is +130 for under 0.5 goals, implying that West Ham United has the best chance for a clean sheet on this slate. That’s one reason Cresswell has the highest projection and the highest Points per $1,000 of any defender on the slate.
The Hammers were able to keep a clean sheet in their FA Cup match two weekends ago and gave up just one goal to the Wolves last week. Cresswell has one shot and eight crosses in that game last weekend, earning 8.9 DraftKings points. Cresswell’s additional value is that he gets very involved in the offense with multiple crosses in almost every match. While he hasn’t scored yet this season, he does have seven shots and has averaged 5.2 crosses and 7.1 DraftKings points over his five most recent Premier League matches.
Top Value: Pervis Estupiñán, $4,700 at Leicester
Estupiñán has the second-highest Points per $1,000 of salary among the defenders on this slate, trailing only Cresswell. The Ecuadorian defender is having a great debut season with Brighton at only 24 years old. He has started and played every minute of the team’s four games since returning from the World Cup, where his team was eliminated in the Group Stage.
In each of his past three games, Estupiñán has over seven DraftKings points and brings good upside coming off a clean sheet against Liverpool and with the upside to get involved in the attack, as he has with five shots in his 15 Premier League games and an assist earlier this month in the FA Cup.
Premier League Goalie DFS Picks
Top Play: Lukasz Fabianski, $5,400
Given that Everton is the likeliest team to be shut out, as discussed above, it isn’t surprising that Fabianski is the goalie with the highest projection. He only allowed one goal last week to the Wolves to produce 4.2 DraftKings points with three saves.
He has 57 saves and three clean sheets on the season for an average of 6.0 DraftKings points per game.
Top Value: Jordan Pickford, $4,100
The only goalkeeper with a higher projected $1,000 per Salary than Fabianski on this slate is on the other side of the same matchup. Pickford played well for England in the World Cup but hasn’t been able to translate that success into much production in the Premier League. At this price, though, he could end up being a steal if he can shut out a West Ham squad that has only managed four goals in their past six matches across all competitions.
Pickford has given up nine goals in four games and has given up 26 goals in 18 Premier League starts this season. He does have 71 saves, though, showing that much of the struggle has actually been to the defense struggling in front of him. There has been a lot of transfer buzz around Pickford, and some good results would only increase the return to Everton if the top-tier teams remain interested.
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