DraftKings Soccer EPL Daily Fantasy Picks – April 22 2017
By David Gate
Welcome back to the DraftKings Soccer EPL column. We have a four game slate in the Premier League slate this Saturday for us to cash in DFS. We have you covered for tips, picks, analysis and lineups on DraftKings.
After taking a mini-break from DraftKings we are back it this week. After 3 straight losses I took the time to re-evaluate strategies. With a few tweaks I feel much better going into the weekend. My strategy on DraftKings has long been to stack the forwards. Where FanDuel only lets you have two forwards the Midfield/Forward designation and utility slot allow you to have up to five. When you are trying to chase goals in GPP play this is a huge bonus.
Where I was using more stacks in FanDuel I was eschewing those for sheer numbers of strikers and after looking back through scores of the winning lineups I think the ideal scenario is a balance. Strikers for goals and stacks to gain maximum value from games.
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. My lineups are for GPP play and not so much for cash.
DraftKings Soccer EPL Goalkeepers
The prime candidate for both the clean sheet and win bonus on Saturday is Artur Boruc (5500). He has a favorable home game to low scoring Middlebrough and should pick up the win. The clean sheet is also in play despite his teams poor defensive record as Boro struggle so badly to find the net.
Lee Grant (4400) for Stoke City faces a Swansea side who have only scored one goal in their last 5 games. The Swans trouble finding the net makes Grant a nice play at a relatively low price. Both bonuses are very much in play here. In their matchup earlier in the season Grant made 5 saves which would be a solid base to build from.
Watford have only 12 goals away from home all year so that makes Eldin Jakupovic (5400) a pretty solid play this week. Hull’s home form has been excellent in 2017 giving them hope of survival. With Watford comfortable in midfield I can see them approaching the game without much attacking onus.
DraftKings Soccer EPL Defenders
Watford’s Jose Holebas (5400) has established himself as column favorite on DraftKings Soccer EPL. He ranks 10th in the Premier League for crosses which are an underrated part of DFS scoring on DraftKings. He is also not a household name and we know punters gravitate to the guys they’ve heard of. I have him down as perhaps the highest scoring defender this week but his usage and top of the slate price make me wary.
With Everton playing on the big Olympic Park stadium pitch I love their creative players this week. Leighton Baines (5100) will have the freedom of the park to get forward and make chances. He always carries a high chance of an assist on free kick duties or a goal as the designated penalty taker. Teammate Mason Holgate (4200) is a nice cheaper pivot or good as part of an Everton defense stack.
Watford are still missing Younes Kaboul and Adrian Mariappa (2700) should keep his place. At under $3k he is one of the lowest priced starters on the slate. I am expecting Hull City to do a lot of attacking at home in a must win game for them. Swansea have a winnable game against Stoke and Hull could find themselves back in the relegation zone if they don’t pound Watford’s back line.
DraftKings Soccer EPL Midfielders
For some weird reason Xherdan Shaqiri (7700) plays for Stoke City. If he played for any team in the top 7 he would be priced at $10k and we would all be using him every week. He is the best player on Stoke’s side and now he is back from injury they look much improved. Against Hull last week he grabbed a goal and assist in only his second game back.
I am going to be having a lot of Marko Arnautovic (7500) on Saturday. He is the one forward on the slate who will get points without a goal or an assist. He has been playing as a midfielder for most of the season and so gets involved more than most forwards. I love him in a stack with Shaqiri.
One player I’ve not mentioned much in my columns but have been using in lineups is Kamil Grosicki (7200). The January purchase has become Hull’s most creative player (which is not the biggest complement!). With Hull pushing to avoid relegation they will have to start taking more shots and the polish midfielder is the prime candidate.
DraftKings Soccer EPL Forwards
The chalk player of the day will be Romelu Lukaku (11400) who is the Premier League’s leading scorer. He has 24 goals on the year and is the only player over $10k on the slate. It is very easy to get him in a lineup and so I imagine everyone will.
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I am guessing he will be 60% owned in GPP and even higher in cash. He has a good match-up too. I will definitely fade him in some GPP and 100 person tournaments but will have him in at least 50% of my lineups. He won’t win you money this week on his own but not having him could definitely lose you cash!
I have very little excitement about any other strikers this week. The one player who I think is underpriced is Alvaro Negredo (6000). Middlesbrough have to win on Saturday and have a nice matchup against a Bournemouth side who don’t keep many clean sheets. However I cannot bring myself to be hope about the upside of a Middlesbrough attacker.
I will be using Jon Walters (4600) in the second forward role to double down on the Shaqiri/Arnautovic stack. Berahino and Crouch have been playing second fiddle to Walters who has chipped with goals and assists recently.
DraftKings Soccer EPL Lineup
GK: Jakupovic – Hull
DEF: Baines – Everton
DEF: Holgate – Everton
MID: Arnautovic – Stoke
MID: Shaqiri – Stoke
FWD: Lukaku – Everton
FWD: Walters – Stoke
UTIL: Markovic – Hull
Best of luck in your DraftKings EPL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the late breaking lineup news and roster updates prior to lock!