FanDuel EPL Daily Fantasy Picks and Lineup – April 22 2017
By David Gate
Welcome to FanDuel EPL soccer column for Game Week 34 of the Premier League season! We have you covered for all the picks, analysis and lineup help you need to win at FanDuel EPL DFS this week!
It has been a great few weeks for our FanDuel lineups as we cashed last weekend and again in the Champions League contests this week. Phil Jagielka scored for the third week running helping the Saturday line to cash and a late pivot to Ander Herrera helped us crush Sunday too.
This weekend sees FanDuel EPL revert back to two separate slates on Saturday and Sunday. No joint slate this weekend which is a huge shame. More games equal more ways to separate from the pack.
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. 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. My lineups are for GPP play rather than cash. Let’s see who we like in game week 34:
FanDuel EPL Goalkeepers
There is not much upside to any of the keepers this week. Their matchups leave them all reasonably priced. Because of that I am most interested in making savings at the GK position and using the budget elsewhere.
The best way to do that this week is with Brad Guzan (5500) who is filling in for the injured Victor Valdes. Middlesbrough have a solid defense and have conceded less goals this year than top six teams like Arsenal and Liverpool. A clean sheet is always on the cards. They are visiting Bournemouth this week who take a lot of shots at home. I will be using Guzan everywhere to save me the most money.
The keeper who should see the most work with saves and clearances is Darren Randolph (6200) who is facing a strong Everton side who are pushing for the Champions League. He has a nice price point for a starting keeper and is a solid play this week.
Earlier on in the season Lee Grant (6500) managed to grab 5 saves against Swansea for 14.75 FanDuel EPL points. This is a solid base considering he didn’t keep a clean sheet. The Swans have scored only 1 goal in the last 5 games and Grant could well hit 20-25 FanDuel points on Saturday.
FanDuel EPL Defenders
Phil Jagielka (6300) has been tearing it up on DFS scoring in his last three games and gain over 44 FanDuel EPL points in each of those weeks. While his goal scoring can’t continue you can feel good about his defensive stats. He has double-digit clearances in the three of the last four and 9 in the other game. The move to a back four has meant both he and Ashley Williams (6400) have had a good uptick in DFS production. They are both solid picks against a West Ham side who look to use Andy Carroll’s physical strength.
On the other side of the ball Winston Reid (5800) is a very good value play if he makes his comeback from his groin injury. Prior to his injury he was one of the most consistent defenders in FanDuel EPL and now his price has dipped after being out. He also has a good matchup against a free attacking Everton side.
Watford are still missing Younes Kaboul and Adrian Mariappa (5300) should keep his place. At just over $5k 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.
FanDuel EPL Midfielders
There are some really nice options in midfield on FanDuel this week. With only four games it’s hard to get excited about the striking options so it is in the midfield position I’ll be looking for some value and productivity.
For some weird reason Xherdan Shaqiri (6300) plays for Stoke City. If he played for any team in the top 7 he would be priced at $8k 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. This week he has another elite matchup with Swansea and another 25+ FanDuel points is a reasonable expectation.
One player I’ve not mentioned much in my columns but have been using in lineups is Kamil Grosicki (5700). 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.
Both slate leaders Gylfi Sigurdsson (9200) and Ross Barkley (8700) are solid picks this week but my pick goes to the Englishman. Creative players have really enjoyed playing at the Olympic Park stadium. The bigger pitch will give Barkley the opportunity to impose his talent on West Ham’s midfield.
FanDuel EPL Forwards
The chalk player of the day will be Romelu Lukaku (12500) 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. I am guessing he will be 60% owned in GPP and even higher in cash.
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He has a good matchup too. If you are going to fade him you will probably have $2k+ left in budget. 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 am going to be having a lot of Marko Arnautovic (8200) 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.
I have very little excitement about any other strikers this week. The one player who I think is underpriced is Alvaro Negredo (6800). 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.
FanDuel EPL Lineup – April 22 2017
FWD: Lukaku – Everton
FWD: Arnautovic – Stoke
MID: Barkley – Everton
MlD: Shaqiri – Stoke
MID: Grosicki – Hull
DEF: Jagielka – Everton
DEF: Williams – Everton
GK: Guzan – Middlesbrough
Best of luck in your FanDuel EPL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the late breaking lineup news and roster updates prior to lock!