FanDuel EPL Daily Fantasy Picks – April 8 & 9
By David Gate
Welcome to the another weekend of FanDuel EPL DFS soccer action. We have you covered for Premier League daily fantasy picks, tips, analysis and lineups.
We’ve been on a good run in FanDuel EPL over the last week. We cashed easily on the Tuesday and Tuesday/Wednesday slates. This weekend there are four open slates. This column will cover the games from both Saturday and Sunday and I will do a lineup for both the main Sat only slate and one for Sat/Sun.
With games coming thick and fast there has been a lot squad rotations and positional changes. Teams release their lineups an hour before kick off – which is at 9am ET. It is paramount you check these team sheets before you complete your lineup. FanDuel 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 games. With such a large slate there is much less need for my usual ratings system. If they are in the column then I like them! Here are my tips and picks for this week:
FanDuel EPL Goalkeepers
The keeper I have locked in on the two-day slate is Jordan Pickford (7100) who has a great matchup at home. He faces Man United who have the duel benefit of giving up numerous saves while not scoring many goals. Sunderland always allow plenty of shots. He will have a solid floor with stats alone and is not a ridiculous bet for a clean sheet either.
Eldin Jakupovic (6700) also has a great matchup. Man City forced six saves from Chelsea’s Courtois on Wednesday and the Chelsea defense is *slightly* better than Hull’s! There is no chance of a clean sheet bonus but I would bank on 5+ saves.
Burnley are the worst away team in the league.They have no victories and 9 goals in 15 attempts. There is not a safer bet for a clean sheet this week than Middlesbrough’s Victor Valdes (6600).
Leicester and Everton have arrows pointing in opposite directions. The Foxes have won six straight and Everton do not look the same since Seamus Coleman’s leg snapped in two. I will be targeting the Leicester players in the two game slate and that starts with Kasper Schmeichel (6600). He is back on form and a nice play away from home.
FanDuel EPL Defenders
Any central defender playing Burnley is worth a pick. Middlesbrough defenders are some of the lowest priced out of all starters (because they’re not very good). They will have every opportunity this week to make value against Burnley’s long ball tactics. I have Bernado (5700) as a very safe, inexpensive defensive option this week.
Jason Denayer (5100) is touted to start this Sunday in a great matchup with Manchester United. John O’Shea is missing because of the death of his father and Denayer should take his place. He is a solid pick with some nice cash saving.
There are two bargain basement picks I will be using to save cash for expensive forwards. Middlesbrough’s James Husband (3000) started on Wednesday and if he is in line to start again I will be using him despite only picking 2 points. He is as cheap as you can find and has a much better match up for defenders against Burnley.
Watford have an injury/fatigue crisis so there could be lots of value in the early morning game on Saturday. The one guy I will absolutely have is Adrian Mariappa (3300). He had 12+ FanDuel EPL points in just 20 minutes on Tuesday and has an elite matchup with Tottenham. I will be stacking this game in the two-day slate.
FanDuel EPL Midfielders
Spurs star midfielders labored for 88 minutes on Wednesday before pulling out 3 goals to seal a dramatic victory. With the title race a possibility Spurs will be keen to go out in the early game and put pressure on Chelsea. I’ve already mentioned Watford’s injury crisis and that makes Dele Alli (9500) and Christian Eriksen (10200) elite plays. There price and ownership don’t scare me off in this matchup.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (9000) has been in a dip with three consecutive down weeks. I’m hoping the game log watchers will be put off from him this week and be drawn to other targets. I love his matchup away to struggling West Ham. The big Olympic stadium pitch has been good to attacking players as they have more room to operate.
My favorite midfield play of the week is Marc Albrighton (6100) who I picked in mid-week. He didn’t start but came off the bench for two assists. He will be back in the side this Sunday and has fantastic upside.
Other Saturday picks I like are Eden Hazard (9700) who is making a late play at pipping his teammate Kante to POTY (Player of the year – ie. MVP). Chelsea face Bournemouth where there is always goals. Pedro (8400) now has a midfield designation which makes him much more appealing. He has 20+ FanDuel in his last four starts . That is with only one assist. If he plays in Moses’ role he is good for more defensive stats and if he plays up front he is more likely to score. It’s a win-win.
FanDuel EPL Forwards
This is easy. Jamie Vardy (9400) has 5 goals in 5 games. Leicester have 6 wins in 6 games. They are playing a dipping Everton side. Don’t over think it.
The most expensive player on the slate is Sergio Aguero (12900) who will need to get over 50 points to make value. However he does have 4 goals in 5 games and an elite matchup at home to Hull. In December Man City ran out 3-0 winners and I’m expecting something similar. There are much safer options on the two-day slate but I do like him on the Saturday contests.
In order to get Aguero into my Saturday lineup I am going to pair him with Jordan Ayew (6900) who has been starting up front for Swansea. He has a nice match up for strikers away at West Ham.
Most of the expensive forwards have no floor. They can bomb your lineup without a goal. Roberto Firmino (10800) is the exception. He is heavily involved in Liverpool’s pressing game, collecting defensive stats. With Lallana and Mane missing that only increases. I like the Brazilian this week and he had 47+ FanDuel points in his last game against Stoke.
FanDuel EPL Lineups April 8/9
Lineup 1 – Sat/Sun slate
More from FanSided
- Yankees: Luis Severino has blunt assessment of another miserable outing
- 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
FWD: Vardy – Leicester
FWD: Firmino – Liverpool
MID: Alli – Tottenham
MlD: Sigurdsson – Swansea
MID: Albrighton – Leicester
DEF: Mariappa – Watford
DEF: Denayer – Sunderland
GK: Jakupovic – Hull City
Lineup 2 – Saturday only
FWD: Aguero – Man CIty
FWD: Ayew – Swansea
MID: Sigurdsson – Swansea
MlD: Pedro – Chelsea
MID: Redmond – Southampton
DEF: Azpilicueta – Chelsea
DEF: Husband – Middlesbrough
GK: Valdes – Middlesbrough
Next: FanDuel MLB Picks and Pivots
Best of luck in your FanDuel EPL contests – stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the latest lineup news and roster updates as we head towards DFS lock!