FanDuel EPL Daily Fantasy Picks and Lineup – April 5 2017
By David Gate
Wednesday brings the second consecutive day of FanDuel EPL soccer action. Today there are six games on the Premier League slate and we are here to help you with picks, tips and lineups for DFS.
Yesterday was a bumper day for us on FanDuel EPL. My line was good for 187.25 FanDuel points which ranked in the top 1.5%! The Tue/Wed lineup also started strong with Muniesa the only player going yesterday and getting a huge 30.5 FanDuel EPL points making almost 7x his value.
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 1:45-2pm 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 4x value to $1k of FanDuel 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.
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
FanDuel EPL Goalkeepers
My standout pick at GK today is Hugo Lloris (6300)*** who is on the road to Swansea. Lloris 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.
Hull City have not kept a clean sheet in 6 games but their matchup this week against Middlesbrough is too good to ignore. Eldin Jakupovic (6500)*** will be facing a Boro attack that has only managed 3 goals in their last 9 games and look certain for the drop.
One keeper to be looking out for is Emiliano Martinez (3600)** for Arsenal. We know Cech will miss the game and the reports are Ospina suffered a back injury that will keep him out also. It is very rare to get a keeper at half price on FanDuel EPL soccer and so I will have him in lineups where I want to load the team with expensive attackers.
FanDuel EPL Defenders
Even though he will be highly owned I like Steve Cook (6500)*** against Liverpool. He has 20+ FanDuel EPL points in 8 out of his last 12 games and at least 14 FanDuel EPL points in the other 4 games. He will be extra busy today at Anfield and will hope to repeat his goal scoring 50+ FanDuel point week against the Reds from December.
Tottenham’s defense has been magnificent recently. Even with injuries they have been performing admirably. Toby Alderwiereld (5900)** is a nice play under $6k but I will going to his teammate Eric Dier (5500)** instead. He has been playing in a back three but is always the first to go forward. Spurs have injury problems in midfield therefore Dier could end up back in the middle today. I love his upside as a cheaper defender.
There are a number of bargain basement players I will be watching as team sheets are released. 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.
Arsenal confirmed today that Koscielny will miss the game against West Ham and so the question will be who will replace him. Gabriel doesn’t interest me at $5.4k but Wenger hinted in could be either Mertesacker (3600)** or Holding (3900)** who would both be fantastic value in a high-octane game.
FanDuel EPL Midfielders
The biggest game of the week is Chelsea v Man City. These big games often share the FanDuel points around 10 or so midfielders that you have to own the one player who scores to reach value. I think there are better options in other games. The one player I will use is N’Golo Kante (8400)* who will be rack up defensive stats as he tries to keep City’s numerous midfielders at bay.
With Harry Kane missing both Christian Eriksen (10000)*** and Dele Alli (9700)*** are still elite plays. They have a fantastic matchup with Swansea. Eriksen erupted for over 80+ FanDuel points last time out and I won’t be fading either of these studs.
Bookmakers are predicting Arsenal v West Ham to be the highest scoring game of the day. Therefore I will be stacking midfielders with forwards from this game. Maligned midfielder Mesut Ozil (8700)** has assisted Sanchez for a goal four times this season – the joint best combo. I am expecting him to be under owned on a big slate and I will take advantage.
Reports say Michail Antonio (6900)** almost played on Saturday and should be fit to start. A player with huge GPP upside is Manuel Lanzini (6700)** who remains a favorite at this price. My top pick from their midfield is Andre Ayew (5900)*** who is the team’s best finisher and has 3 goals in his last 5. He needs a goal to make value but I love his chances against a weakened and faltering Arsenal.
My number one pick here is Lucas Levia (5700)*** who had a sensational game against Everton. He reached almost 40 FanDuel EPL points. He will be facing a Bournemouth side who like to play through the middle giving the Brazilian enormous opportunity to rack up clearances, tackles and interceptions.
FanDuel EPL Forwards
As I’ve already mentioned I will be stacking the Arsenal v West Ham game. Chilean Alexis Sanchez (12500)*** is the most expensive 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?
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Andy Carroll (8500)*** is my favorite forward of the day in the same game. I will be stacking him with West Ham midfielders. 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.
Sadio Mane looks to be out for the season with a knee injury and so Divock Origi (8900)** will replace him in the side. The Belgian has a fantastic scoring rate and has been productive from the bench. In a favorable matchup at home I am backing him to prove his worth to manager Jurgen Klopp.
Vincent Janssen was a huge disappointment again for Spurs so I expect Son Heung-Min (9100)* will return to the lineup. In December he grabbed a goal and an assist against Swansea therefore he is a nice play again today.
FanDuel EPL Lineup – April 5
FWD: Sanchez – Arsenal
FWD: Carroll – West Ham
MID: Ozil – Arsenal
MlD: Ayew – West Ham
MID: Lucas – Liverpool
DEF: Dier – Tottenham
DEF: Cook – Bournemouth
GK: Lloris – Tottenham
Best of luck in your FanDuel EPL contests today and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the late breaking lineup news and roster updates!