DraftKings EPL Daily Fantasy Picks and Lineup – April 4
By David Gate
There are 4 games tonight for a nice DraftKings soccer EPL midweek slate in the Premier League. We are here for all your daily fantasy soccer tips, picks and lineups.
DraftKings soccer lineups blew cold on Saturday. I only cashed in 50/50s and barely! All the GPP lineups fell well short. Much of this came from the team sheet surprises from Tottenham. I had Son rostered everywhere and then he didn’t start. The irony being he came off the bench and scored beating out all my swaps anyway!
This week has two match days full of tasty matchups. I see the most goals being in the Leicester v Sunderland matchup with the Foxes in great form and Sunderland fighting for Premier League survival.
Teams release their lineups an hour before kick off – which is at 1:45-2:00pm ET. It is paramount you check these team sheets before you complete your lineup. The DFS sites won’t list designations as accurately as they do for NFL or NBA sports as a player could be on the bench. I will list changes to my DFS lineups on Twitter at @DavidGateSports and @FantasyCPR
The best EPL DFS lineups have 3x value to $1k of DraftKings soccer budget. These lineups are for GPP play and not cash. Because of the scoring in soccer DFS that means chasing goals and assists wherever you can find them. It often means looking in places where others won’t rather than just load up with the highest priced strikers on the slate. There is also an article for FanDuel here.
My picks are 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 fair match up
*** Three Stars = excellent option with a strong match up
DraftKings EPL Goalkeepers
There are only three realistic options for GK on Tuesday. After Heurelho Gomes (4900)** performed for me on Saturday I’m ready to back him again in another favorable home game. He faces West Brom who only have 12 away goals on the season and are sitting nicely in 8th place. The month of April is when teams with little to play for start to dream of the beach in June. I can see a cautious West Brom side taking it easy in this game and Gomes going with back to back clean sheets.
Leicester host impotent Sunderland who look bereft of ideas and belief under struggling David Moyes. The Foxes themselves are in fine form and will look to keep their run going at home. Kasper Schmeichel (5500)** is a great pick for a clean sheet and has the top-level ability to make the saves to achieve it.
My top pick is David de Gea (5600)*** who is at home to Everton. Man Utd specialize in clean sheets at Old Trafford and with both teams suffering a host of injuries United to should make it two losses in a row for the Blues.
DraftKings EPL Defenders
Jose Holebas (4200)*** has been a regular in my DraftKings soccer columns. He ranks 2nd among defenders for crosses with 129. He has a nice home matchup with West Brom who are happy to allow defenders have the ball. With West Brom struggling to find a consistent goal scorer he has a fair chance of grabbing a clean sheet bonus too.
Defenders against Man Utd typically do well in DraftKings soccer because they attack enough to get defensive stats yet often fail to score. I will be using Leighton Baines (4600)*** today as he is on set piece duties and will have room to attack if Everton stay in their 352 formation. I love the value of his teammate Mason Holgate (3500)*** who came close to 5x value against Liverpool on Saturday.
There is some nice value today in the bargain basement under $3k on DraftKings soccer. Yohan Benalouane (2700)** has been deputizing for captain Wes Morgan and is a nice play against Sunderland to reach 3x value. The Black Cats have been starting Jason Denayer (2500)** in midfield but he is still listed as a defender. That is an ideal scenario in DraftKings soccer as the only way to win is to get multiple goals and assists. Midfielders have better chances of getting those. I will be using him in lineups where I want to play all three elite strikers.
DraftKings EPL Midfielders
Goals from midfield is the key to DraftKings soccer wins. With the Midfield/Forward designation on many players I love to fill the Midfield spots with players who are really forwards. After missing out on Saturday due to illness Troy Deeney (5700)*** should return to the starting lineup today. As Watford’s leading scorer and furthest forward player I love using him in DraftKings soccer as midfielder under $6k with huge upside in GPP play.
In a similar fashion Marko Arnautovic (6200)*** is a player with elite upside in the midfield spot. He matches up with a poor Burnley side this week and I won’t be hesitating to include him.
I am targeting the Leicester v Sunderland game as the most likely to have plenty of goals. Riyad Mahrez (8300)** has the best chance of goals or assists but his price has risen to over $8k meaning he would need 25 DraftKings soccer points to make value. A player who will be less owned is Marc Albrighton (6600)*** whose form has been similarly impressive to Mahrez but is much cheaper. He has 13+ DraftKings soccer points in his last four outings.
If you’re looking to save money in Midfield then Wilfred Ndidi (4600)** has settled in as a crucial part of the Leicester revival. He has begun to add goals and assists to his contribution and if that continues he is a bargain at under $4.6k on DraftKings soccer.
DraftKings EPL Forwards
There is not much to consider with forwards on this slate. The three elite options stand so far above the others you will need to have at least two in your lineup. I will have a few lineups with all three.
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United will be delighted to have Zlatan Ibrahimovic (10500)*** back after a three game suspension. Two of those games were shut outs for their attack. The Swede will be well rested and raring to go against an injury plagued Toffees who defended horribly against Liverpool. Ibrahimovic will have watched the video of Everton keeper Robles with gleeful anticipation.
Jamie Vardy (7400)*** has 4 goals in 4 games. At under $8k he probably only needs one goal to make value. Add to that a first-rate home match-up with Sunderland and I will have him everywhere.
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku (9400)** has the hardest match up and his team is struggling with injuries but he is at a nice price on DraftKings soccer for his upside. I can see him impressing at Old Trafford who are rumored to be a potential destination for the Belgian this summer.
The only other Forward I’m looking at today is Fabio Borini (4100)**. If Defoe misses out with the knee injury he is carrying then Borini will get pushed further forward in a high scoring game with Leicester. He is not shot shy and is a good play to meet value.
DraftKings Soccer EPL Lineup
GK: De Gea – Man United
DEF: Holebas – Watford
DEF: Holgate – Everton
MID: Arnautovic – Stoke
MID: Deeney – Watford
FWD: Ibrahimovic – Man United
FWD: Vardy – Leicester
UTIL: Albrighton – Leicester