FanDuel Premier League DFS Daily Picks – February 11 2017
By David Gate
Saturday brings 6 FanDuel Premier League games to the FanDuel EPL slate. Here to bring tips, picks and lineups to cash in on DFS
The aim of these articles is to provide FanDuel 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 FanDuel. I will also be doing the same for DraftKings. 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 4 points for every $1k of budget will be a high scoring lineup.
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
FanDuel Premier League EPL Goalkeepers
As always there are two strategies to picking a high scoring FanDuel GK; a busy keeper who makes saves or chasing a clean sheet. Top of the list for keepers who will be busy this week is Heurelho Gomes (6400)**. With Manchester United at almost full strength and having a weeks rest they should be raring to go at home. Gomes scored far more points in DFS when playing away and is capable of making enough saves to mitigate the unlikelihood of the clean sheet bonus.
Ben Foster (6500)*** 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.
If you want a safe floor this week in the GK position the look to David de Gea (6300)* who is nailed on for a clean sheet at home to Watford. There is a very low ceiling here as de Gea has only made more than 3 saves in 4 games this year. He is the best goalkeeper in the league but United’s defense is too strong for us to reap the rewards of his talent in DFS.
I am high on Lee Grant (6700)** 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 this week, but I will find space to have him in at least one lineup on Saturday.
FanDuel Premier League EPL 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 (5600)** is the only player I’ll be interested in. If they revert to 3-5-2 then Coleman (6400)** and Baines (6100)** shift to midfield and become way more appealing for their respective prices. This would also see the return of Mason Holgate (5100)*** 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 who got 21+ FanDuel points in the reverse fixture.
Cédric Soares(6000)*** 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 (5300)** and Stephens (5200)** who are the new center back pairing with Van Dijk (5900) injured and Fonte (5600) now at West Ham.
Continuing to look for value in the Watford @ Man Utd game I want to see if Daryl Janmaat (5100)* returns after missing out last week. He performed well against Arsenal two weeks ago (19+ FanDuel points) and this week’s matchup is a similar away game. For United Eric Bailly (5400)** is still under priced after returning from injury. He is their best defender and his price should rise over the next few weeks.
My top defensive pick of the day is Erik Pieters (6100)*** who has managed 22+ FanDuel points in 4 of his last 5 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 (5200)*** who gained 27 FanDuel points in the reverse fixture and should be busy with Scott Dann missing out and matching up against Peter Crouch.
Other players to note are Chris Brunt (6100)*** who is now listed as a defender, not a midfielder. As their free kick and corner taker he has great upside for a defensive pick and at around $6k has similar upside to James Milner(8000) but with way better value. West Ham have huge injury issues in defense so value could be found in some low-priced replacements. James Collins (4700)** is the name to watch out for.
FanDuel Premier League Midfielders
The top of the slate is dominated by the Liverpool v Tottenham Premier League contest. Out of the 16 highest priced midfielders 10 of them 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 18 FanDuel points. It is also the late kick off so we won’t know final teams before FanDuel 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 (10100)** and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (8400)*** should figure to benefit. When Mkhitaryan starts he fills the more advanced role so I’ll be banking on the Armenian this week.
Ross Barkley (8400)* 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 $6k who are all great value picks if they start. Mirallas, Davies, Scheiderlin, McCarthy all offer ** value.
After his transfer from Hull Richard Snodgrass (6400)** has seen his price drop significantly on the back of 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 (7400)* is safer bet but I love Snodgrass’ upside. Mark Noble (5800)** has good record against West Brom, scoring 3 goals against them in previous contests.
Further down the slate I like the value of Southampton’s midfield this week at Sunderland. In particular I like Oriol Romeu (6000)** who registers 22+ FanDuel points against them in August. Ward-Prowse (6500)* and Tadic (6500)* also figure to be solid picks against Sunderland’s poor midfield.
FanDuel Premier League EPL Forwards
Picking forwards is the most crucial part of DFS soccer, especially on FanDuel where you get rewarded with 20 points for a goal and a shot on goal every time someone scores. 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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My top forward this week is Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic (8100)***. 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. His teammate Peter Crouch (7500)** is also on a hot streak scoring 4 in the last 6.
Early season star Salomón Rondón (7600)** 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 (11800)** 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 89 FanDuel points came from the goals (80 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!
Teams that thrive in GPP play usually have an attacking midfield/forward stack. A goal and assist in that stack reaps a massive 30 point bump – much like a QB/WR stack in NFL DFS play. For that reason I am going to return to Ibrahimovic (12000)** 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 (6800)** who is still waiting to make his first start for Stoke. I love his price if he gets selected.
My FanDuel Premier League EPL Lineups
Lineup 1
FWD: Arnautovic – Stoke
FWD: Ibrahimovic – Man Utd
MID: Mkhitaryan – Man Utd
MID: Snodgrass – West Ham
MID: Romeu – Southampton
DEF: Pieters – West Brom
DEF: Soares – Southampton
GK: Grant – Stoke
Lineup 2
FWD: Ibrahimovic – Man Utd
FWD: Rondon – West Brom
MID: Pogba – Man Utd
MID: Romeu – Southampton
MID: Schneiderlin – Everton
DEF: McAulay – West Brom
DEF: Brunt – West Brom
GK: Foster – West Brom
Best of luck in your FanDuel Premier League contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter fir all the late breaking lineup news and roster updates!