DraftKings Premier League Fantasy Daily Picks – February 11 2017
By David Gate
Saturday morning features 12 Premier League teams on the DraftKings EPL slate. Here to bring tips, picks and lineups to cash in on DFS!
The aim of these articles is to provide DraftKings Premier League EPL DFS players with an edge through delving into stats and news to give your lineup the best possible chance of making money on DraftKings. I will also be doing the same for FanDuel. While a lot of information will be applicable to both sites I will tailor lineups according each site’s scoring systems.
The key to all DFS sports is value. Getting the most points out of every dollar spent. The EPL contests are still quite new to these sites but it seems that 3 points for every $1k of budget will be a high scoring lineup on DraftKings.
My picks are ranked out of three stars for each position to give you an idea of how confident I am in that pick.
* One Star = high floor players who will get adequate value
** Two Stars = players with a higher upside and good match up
*** Three Stars = excellent pick with a strong match up
DraftKings Premier League EPL Goalkeepers
When choosing a DraftKings Goalkeeper you are looking for clean sheet and a win above all else. The 5 point win and clean sheet bonuses are invaluable. This week’s best for those is David de Gea (6000)*** who is has a prime home matchup with Watford. He is the most expensive keeper but worth in DraftKings this week.
Elsewhere I like Fraser Forster (5100)** at his price point to pick up the bonuses against a weak Sunderland attack.
Ben Foster (4400)*** is the another keeper whose best performances come away from home. West Brom travel to the Olympic Stadium this week to face West Ham who are attacking well enough recently to think Foster has a good day. It is much safer to choose one strategy or another when picking GKs but I also like to look at who could get both high stats and a clean sheet bonus. Foster is my flier for a bumper day in game week 25 as he ranks 8th for clean sheets and 2nd for saves.
I am high on Lee Grant (5200)** against Crystal Palace as a player with a high floor with high upside. His price has crept up a little more than I’d want, so I give Foster the nod, but I will find space to have him in at least one lineup on Saturday.
DraftKings Premier League Defenders
The Everton team sheet will be the first I’ll be looking for on Saturday to look at formation and personnel. Last week against Bournemouth they reverted to a back four and conceded 3 goals in a 6-3 blowout win. All the value for the Blues’ defenders is dependent on formation. If they stay with 4 at the back then Funes Mori (3200)** is the only player I’ll be interested in. If they revert to 3-5-2 then Coleman (5500)** and Baines (4900)** shift to midfield and become way more appealing for their respective prices. This would also see the return of Mason Holgate (3400)*** who at a bargain price would give you room to spend more on midfield and attack. On the other side of the ball I’m keen on Ben Gibson(2800)* who had a season’s best game in the reverse fixture.
Cédric Soares(5100)*** is almost matchup proof as he defends well in the games where Southampton struggle and creates chance in games where they have more room to attack. I’m always looking for under priced defenders as the position has low upside so I’m keen to find any way I can save money. In that logic I like the price of Yoshida (3100)** and Stephens (2600)** who are the new center back pairing with Van Dijk (3800) injured and Fonte (3100) now at West Ham.
Continuing to look for value in the Watford @ Man Utd game I want to see if Daryl Janmaat (3900)* returns after missing out last week. He performed well against Arsenal two weeks ago and this week’s matchup is a similar away game. Teammate Holebas (4300)*** is a fantastic DraftKings play as they give points for crosses. He has racked up 6+ crosses in 6 of his last 10 games.
My top defensive pick of the day is Erik Pieters (4500)*** who has managed 12+ DraftKings points in 4 of his last 8 games. I also like his matchup this week against Crystal Palace who will seek to attack down the right side through Zaha, giving Pieters ample opportunity to continue his recent DFS form. For value in this game I love James Tomkins (3000)*** who had a stellar game in the reverse fixture and should be busy with Scott Dann missing out and matching up against Peter Crouch. Also look for Sakho (2500)* to make his first start. Excellent value at under $3k.
West Ham have huge injury issues in defense so value could be found in some low-priced replacements. James Collins (3000)* is the name to watch out for.
DraftKings Premier League EPL Midfielders
The top of the slate is dominated by the Liverpool v Tottenham Premier League contest. Five out of the seven highest price midfielders are from this game. I am going to fade this match entirely for a number of reasons. It promises to be a tightly contested game with Liverpool seeing more of the ball yet they are in wretched form. With 10 midfielders on the pitch there isn’t enough stats to go around. In their August matchup, no midfielder managed more than 10 DraftKings points. It is also the late kick off so we won’t know final teams before DraftKings lineups lock at 10am ET. I’m going to let everyone else chase a goal or assist from a game that may not have either!
So with that game off my radar I am looking to Manchester United’s midfield for points. Watford have given up the most assists to center midfielders this season and so Paul Pogba (7600)*** and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7800)** should figure to benefit. When Mkhitaryan starts he fills the more advanced role but I like Pogba better at his price playing at home.
Ross Barkley (6800)** will be highly rostered this week after a monster performance against Bournemouth where he grabbed a goal and an assist whilst creating 3 chances. He is a solid pick this week but Middlesbrough are a much tighter, defensively minded team and will look to restrict his space. Everton have a slew of midfielders under $5k who are all great value picks if they start. Davies, Scheiderlin, McCarthy all offer ** value.
After his transfer from Hull Robert Snodgrass (7900)* has seen his price maintain despite an injury and a poor showing last week. It remains to be seen how West Ham adapt after the sale of star man Payet but Snodgrass should replace him as set piece taker and creative fulcrum of the midfield. Michail Antonio (7200)** is safer bet right now. Mark Noble (3700)** has good record against West Brom, scoring 3 goals against them in previous contests and is at an appealing price.
With DraftKings flexibility with positions I love filling the midfield roles with player who really play as forwards – designated as M/F on the site. My top midfield/forward pick this week is Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic (6100)***. Crystal Palace gave up 4 goals to Sunderland last time out and are clearly struggling to contain opposing attacks. Arnautovic has already scored against Palace this season in August and I love his chances of repeating this week.
DraftKings Premier League EPL Forwards
Picking forwards is the most crucial part of DFS soccer. Almost all of the teams playing on the Saturday slate play with only one forward giving us only a dozen or so to pick from this week. This is where you will win or lose your money!
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Early season star Salomón Rondón (6000)** has seen his form drop of the cliff by not scoring in his last 8 games. While his form is a huge red flag there could be real upside in low DFS ownership and a good matchup away at West Ham who have conceded 20 goals at home in 12 games. Rondón scored against them earlier in the season and strikers have enjoyed the space of playing on the big pitch at the Olympic stadium.
Lukaku (8700)** figures to be highly rostered after a stellar 4 goal game against Bournemouth. I am avoiding him this week though as Middlesbrough have proved tough to beat at home. Also almost all Lukaku’s 55 DraftKings points came from the goals (44 points). He scored with every shot on goal last week and that won’t repeat tomorrow. If he doesn’t score he bombs your lineup!
Rosters that thrive in GPP play usually have an attacking midfield/forward stack. A goal and assist in that stack reaps a 17 point bump – much like a QB/WR stack in NFL DFS play. For that reason I am going to return to Ibrahimovic (9700)** even after he has burned me the last few times I’ve picked him. I like pairing him with Pogba or Mkhitaryan especially as he often chips in with assists or chances created more frequently than the other high priced forwards.
Other things to note: I’m avoiding Kane and Firmino as part of my fade of the Liverpool v Spurs game. Name to watch out for on the team sheet is Saido Berahino (4600)** who is still waiting to make his first start for Stoke. I love his price if he gets selected.
My DraftKings Premier League EPL Lineups
Lineup 1
GK: Ben Foster – West Brom
DEF: Funes Mori – Everton
DEF: Holebas – Watford
MID: Arnautovic – Stoke
MID: Pogba – Man Utd
FWD: Ibrahimovic – Man Utd
FWD: Lukaku – Everton
UTIL: Rondon – West Brom
Lineup 2
GK: Grant – Stoke
DEF: Pieters – Stoke
DEF: Soares – Southampton
MID: Arnautovic – Stoke
MID: Rodriguez – Southampton
FWD: Carroll – West Ham
FWD: Defoe – Sunderland
UTIL: Ibrahimovic – Man Utd
Best of luck in your DraftKings Premier League contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the late breaking lineup news and roster updates!