FanDuel Soccer Picks: 10/29 EPL Top Plays

Fanduel Soccer Picks: 10/29 Top Plays

Fanduel Soccer Picks: 10/29 Top Plays is a column that finds the players who are in the best situation to do well that week based primarily off opportunity and match up. You’ll get an insight into the mind of a consistently profitable DFS player and give yourself the best chance at hitting it big on the week’s slate!

FanDuel has finally brought soccer overseas to us Americans! They’ve offered the product in the UK for this EPL season, and this is the first week Americans will have a chance to lose money on Saturday mornings. Never fear, though: with this article, I’ll try to make sure you aren’t that American! I’ve been a profitable soccer player on DraftKings, and I’m excited to help out anyone who might be trying soccer for the first time this week on FanDuel! Let’s dig in!

Fanduel Soccer Picks: Scoring

As an active daily fantasy soccer player on DraftKings, the first thing I did when I saw the FanDuel contests go up this week was check out the scoring. There are quite a few major differences between the two sites, so if you are coming from DraftKings, this is an extremely important section for you.

Goals are worth more on FanDuel, counting for 15 compared to 10 on DraftKings. Assists are about the same, counting for 6 and 7 points for the two sites. The biggest differences comes in peripheral scoring though. Shots on goal are worth 5 points on FD and 1 on DK, but DraftKings also counts plain shots as 1 point while FanDuel doesn’t award points for that stat. While DK counts crosses as .75 points, FanDuel counts chances created (crosses plus key passes) as 3 points as well as .25 for every 5 successful passes, which makes playmaking mids and fullbacks even more valuable.

The way we play defense will change between the sites too. There are minimal scoring differences between tackles and interceptions, but FD includes a clearances stat worth 1 point. They also did away with fouls committed, which favors defense since they tend to get the most common fouls. Goalies have big changes, with FD excluding a Win stat and instead valuing a clean sheet as 10 points vs. 5 on DK. Saves are worth slightly more, and goals allowed cost you 1 point vs. 2 on DraftKings, so taking cheap goalies in bad matchups that will have a lot of opportunities for saves could be smart for tournaments.

With that in mind, let’s dig into Saturday’s slate!

Fanduel Soccer Picks: Goalkeepers

David de Gea ($6,100): De Gea is the third most expensive on the slate, but I believe he’s the safest option and best bet to get the clean sheet bonus in his matchup with Burnley. Burnley did pull off a surprise 2-1 win against Everton, but they’ve struggled this season, especially on the road. Man U is coming off a big 1-0 win against Man City, and I think they continue their form into this game. This could be a 2-0 or 3-0 win for Manchester United, and on a slate where there are a lot of games that could seemingly go either way, this is as safe as you’ll get.

Claudio Bravo ($5,100): With the scoring for goalies on FD, it looks like it’ll be best to target goalies that will see a large quantity of shots against them, even if they give up one or two. Manchester City lost a tough matchup to Man U on Wednesday, but they’re 10-1 in their last 11 EPL matches and have beaten West Brom the last 9 times they’ve faced off. I think West Brom will still create a lot of chances in this game, giving Bravo the opportunity to rack up saves. However, with how well Manchester City has played this year, the clean sheet bonus is very much in play. Bravo is my top play between the sticks this week.

FanDuel Soccer Picks: Defense

Danny Rose ($7,900): Out of the high-priced defense on this slate, I’m rolling with Rose as my favorite if you decide to spend here. The Spurs are in a good spot against Leicester, and Rose will have a big part of Tottenham’s success. He’s averaging 1.4 shots on target per game so he has goal scoring upside for tournaments, and his 4.2 tackles and 1.8 interceptions give him a high floor. I expect Tottenham to control possession in this game and that bodes well for Rose as a key member of their attack.

FanDuel Soccer Picks: Midfielders

Christian Eriksen ($9,200): Tottenham should score in this game, and it’s hard to imagine that happening without Eriksen being somehow involved. He’s the Spurs’ setup man as he takes set-pieces for them, and that’s evident by averaging 3.3 chances created per game this season in the EPL. His activeness in the offense gives him an extremely high floor, and he averages 3.5 shots on goal per game, so there’s massive goal-scoring upside too. The Spurs have some other talented players in Erik Lamela, Dele Alli, and Son Heung-Min, but if they find success on Saturday, Eriksen will be somehow behind it.

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David Silva ($8,700): David Silva is in a very similar situation to Eriksen this week in his matchup against West Brom. Silva takes all the set pieces for Man City and averages nearly 5 chances created per game. He doesn’t take nearly as many shots as Eriksen (1.4 per game), but with Kevin de Bruyne to potentially sit out this match, Silva will pick up a lot of the work. Man City will have possession a lot, so Silva has a very high floor for cash games, as is evidenced by his 22.3 fantasy points per match average that was achieved with just 2 assists and no goals so far.

Wilfried Zaha ($5,700): Crystal Palace doesn’t have the greatest matchup against Liverpool this week, but I still expect them to score, and Zaha is far too cheap at just $5,700. Zaha won’t put up the passing statistics, but he leads the EPL in dribbles per game, so he still has the ball quite a bit. He averages 2.3 chances created per game to go along with 1.5 shots on goal. His 2.5 tackles per game also contribute to his floor, but the reason we play Zaha is for his ceiling. He has 2 assists and one score in his last 5 games, so there’s certainly upside at a very reasonable price.

Emre Can ($4,500): Can has started the last two games for Liverpool and will get overlooked in favor of players like Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson. They’re all great plays this week against Crystal Palace, but they’re priced accordingly. Can is a legitimate scoring threat, averaging 1.6 shots on goal per game in a limited role. He has also hit double digits for every-5-passes in both of his starts, so they are obviously comfortable with him having a big role in their offense. His salary should allow you to get up to the elite players on this slate.

FanDuel Soccer Picks: Forwards

Zlatan Ibrahimovic ($11,500): The former PSG stud hasn’t showed many signs of regression with his new club, as Zlatan has averaged 24.1 fantasy points per game so far this year. He draws a very favorable matchup with Burnley this week, and although there’s talk of him potentially resting, I believe he’ll play. His 5 shots on target per game so far in EPL action gives him a huge floor and massive upside, and he’s worth grabbing at his lofty price tag if you can get there. Burnley tends to give up a lot of chances, so look for Ibra to take advantage.

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Roberto Firmino ($9,100): When choosing from Liverpool attackers, I liked Can because of his price, and I like Firmino because he has the highest floor on the team and a great ceiling to go with it. He averages 2.8 shots on target per game to go with 3.6 chances created. He’s also an important defensive contributor, so expect a few tackles, interceptions and clearances. His salary isn’t cheap, but $9,100 is a great price for a player with one of the highest floors of the slate.

Odion Ighalo ($6,400): I keep talking about Watford being in such a great spot this week against Hull City, but if they’re going to do well, someone has to score. Troy Deeney and Ighalo are the two forwards for Watford, and while they’re the same price this week, I’m leaning towards Ighalo. He’s been taking more shots lately, and eventually they’ll start to find their target.

Callum Wilson ($5,900): The Middlesbrough vs. Bournemouth match isn’t my favorite place to look for fantasy output on this slate, but Callum Wilson is in too good a spot to turn down. He’s the lone striker for Bournemouth, taking 2.2 shots per game. If they score, I absolutely expect Wilson to have a part in that goal. He has an extremely low floor in this matchup, but he’ll crush value if he can net a goal.

Next: DFS Fantasy Football Picks: Week 8 DFS Bargain Bin

Good luck out there! Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for plenty of DFS picks for sports Stateside!