DraftKings EPL Daily Fantasy Picks and Lineup – April 5 2017
By David Gate
The second consecutive day of DraftKings EPL soccer action brings us six games. With plenty of options and decisions we have you covered for Premier League DFS picks, tips and expert analysis!
Yesterday’s analysis proved fruitful with Albrighton, Deeney, Vardy and Ibrahimovic among the goals and assists. Today promises to be even better with six games and lots of opportunity to separate from the pack.
There are some tasty games to target today with Liverpool v Bournemouth, Swansea v Tottenham and my favorite Arsenal v West Ham all standing out.
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
The most reliable keeper on today’s slate is Hugo Lloris (5600)***. He kept a clean sheet when the two teams met in December and the Spurs defense is now the meanest in the league. Swansea has only scored once in their last three games and will struggle to find the net again this week.
There will be lots of goals today so it may be hard to find a clean sheet bonus. Though there are two lower priced keepers on DraftKings EPL who have a great chance of grabbing one. Middlesbrough can’t score but they don’t concede many either. They have only surrendered 16 goals away from home which is the second best total in the league. They are away at Hull who are low scorers so I feel very comfortable with Victor Valdes (4400)** as cheap option.
Even more savings are found with Wayne Hennessey (4000)** who has only conceded one goal (away at Chelsea) in the last four games. He matches up with a Southampton attack who drew a blank at the weekend with lead striker Gabbiadini missing through injury.
DraftKings EPL Defenders
There is a huge saving to be had in Steve Cook (2600)*** who is at the cheapest he has been all season. Usually defenders struggle to make value on DraftKings EPL without attacking stats but Cook is so cheap there is little risk here. As a bonus he scored against Liverpool in December who are very vulnerable from set-pieces.
West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell is going to miss the clash with Arsenal and will be replaced by Arthur Masuaku (4200)**. The Frenchman was excellent at the beginning of the season and has a fantastic opportunity against a weakened Arsenal to rack up the crosses. West Ham rank sixth for the most crosses and they will be looking to hit Andy Carroll often against a reserve keeper and center back.
Liverpool youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold (4300)** could be in line to play with Liverpool struggling with multiple injuries. He managed 2 shots on goal in only 16 minutes on Saturday and should be a lock to meet value if he starts.
Marcos Alonso (5400)* is a DraftKings EPL column favorite as he plays in midfield and has huge upside with goals or assists. The matchup with Man City will be favorable as the two teams struggle for space in the middle and the wide man will be a regular outlet for the Blues.
DraftKings EPL Midfielders
With Harry Kane missing both Christian Eriksen (10400)** and Dele Alli (8400)*** are still elite plays. They have a fantastic matchup with Swansea. Eriksen erupted for over 50 DraftKings EPL points last time out and I won’t be fading either of these studs.
The biggest game of the week is Chelsea v Man City. These big games often share the DraftKings points around 10 or so midfielders that you have to own the one player who scores to reach value. Overall I think there are better options in other games. There are two exceptions. Last week Pedro (8000)*** started at right-wing back in place of injured Victor Moses. He racked up 12 crosses and came close to 3x value without a goal or an assist. For City, I love Leroy Sane (6300)*** who is in fantastic form and has the best shots to goal ratio in the EPL.
Chilean Alexis Sanchez (10500)*** is the second most expensive midfield option but I will pay up for him. He ranks in the top 5 among forwards for goals (3rd), assists (1st), shots on goal (4th) and chances created (1st). The matchup at home to West Ham is great. There will be goals and would you bet against Sanchez being involved?
DraftKings EPL Forwards
Today I will be paying up in midfield so I will need to find some cheaper forward options. The Hammer’s Andy Carroll (5700)*** is my favorite forward of the day. He has found some consistency since recovering from injury and will be facing a 3rd choice goalkeeper and a reserve center back. He will be chalk on my lineups.
More from FanSided
- Bills: 3 2023 roster holes that could cost Josh Allen a Super Bowl
- Colts RB Jonathan Taylor shoots down rumors of troubling injury
- MLB Rumors: Favorite to trade for Justin Verlander emerges and it’s not the Astros
- NY Mets should disband franchise if nightmare Justin Verlander report becomes reality
- First-time PGA Tour victory couldn’t happen to a nicer guy such as Lee Hodges at 3M Open
Sadio Mane is out for the season with a knee injury and so Divock Origi (6800)** will replace him in the side. The Belgian has a fantastic scoring rate and has been productive from the bench. In a favorable match-up at home I am backing him to prove his worth to manager Jurgen Klopp.
Bournemouth should find themselves in a high scoring game against Liverpool. Both teams have struggled to keep clean sheets. The form of Joshua King (5900)** combined with a favorable matchup makes him a very nice GPP option in the Forward or Utility spot.
I feel that the Chelsea v Man City game won’t be as high scoring as others are predicting. Top forwards Sergio Aguero (8900)* and Diego Costa (8600)* both represent their teams most likely goal scorer. While I don’t love their match-up they are nicely priced as players who can create on their own.
DraftKings EPL Soccer Lineup – April 5
GK: Lloris – Tottenham
DEF: Masuaku – West Ham
DEF: Cook – Bournemouth
MID: Pedro – Chelsea
MID: Sanchez – Arsenal
FWD: Carroll – West Ham
FWD: Origi – Liverpool
UTIL: Sane – Man City
Best of luck in your DraftKings EPL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all the latest DFS lineup news and roster updates!