DraftKings EPL Soccer DFS Picks and Analysis – April 29
By David Gate
Welcome to our DraftKings EPL soccer column! We have a 5 game slate on Saturday to enjoy and you need to look no further for tips, picks and analysis to cash in DraftKings soccer DFS this week!
This weekend is split into two very different days. Saturday has 5 games featuring 8 teams from the bottom half of the table and no team higher than 8th. Sunday on the other hand features 6 of the top 7 clubs. Two very different slates. It will be hard to spend your budget on Saturday and hard to fit in everyone you like on Sunday.
The team sheets come out an hour before kick off 9:00am ET and I’ll be tweeting out changes and surprises. You can follow me @DavidGateSports for updates and @FantasyCPR for the lineups.
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.
So let’s look at who we are targeting on this bottom of the table slate on DraftKings soccer DFS this Saturday:
DraftKings EPL Soccer Goalkeepers
After failing to score in a must win game on Wednesday night Sunderland look set for the drop. They are unable to find the net and are equally poor in defense. I see no reason on Saturday why Artur Boruc (4900) won’t come away with both a clean sheet and a win bonus. There is no pressure on the Cherries and I think they will play freely and capitalize on Sunderland’s subdued home atmosphere.
West Brom are safely in middle table with little to play for and Leicester only need a point from this game to consolidate their position above the relegation zone. This game has 0-0 written all over it. That puts both keepers in play. Ben Foster (5000) is a slightly better shot at getting the clean sheet bonus and is priced a bit higher. I would have no problem using Kasper Schmeichel (4700) to save a little budget for my midfield and forward stacks.
If you want to go even cheaper than I would go for Tom Heaton (4100). He is away to Crystal Palace who may come off the gas after a run of tough fixtures. The plus with Heaton is that he always makes a lot of saves giving you a solid floor.
DraftKings EPL Soccer Defenders
On DraftKings it is always worth picking defenders who gain a good share of their points in the oppositions half. Those who create chances and cross the ball a lot. The leading contender on this slate is Christian Fuchs (5300) who needs no encouragement to get forward. West Brom have a deep back line and little threat on the right-wing. Fuchs should get forward often.
The Southampton full back pair of Cedric Soares (5600) & Ryan Bertrand (5000) combined for a goal and an assist on Tuesday against Chelsea. Both are good plays on Saturday against a Hull side that struggles to keep possession. Soares has the higher floor with the sheer amount of crosses he makes.
Even though his priced has risen again I like Adam Smith (4700) against Sunderland. In the early part of the season he gained 4 assists from open play. It could worry you that he has not had one in 2017 but you could also say that he is due another soon. There is no better place for him to grab one than against a wretched Sunderland defense.
DraftKings EPL Soccer Midfielders
On DraftKings this week I am going all in on the midfields and forwards of two team: Bournemouth and Southampton. My line up is almost entirely a south coast affair!
You have to stack players on Saturday. I am going to shoot for Goal/Assist combos from my midfield and forwards. I consider all Southampton midfielders available for stacking but I am going to go for Nathan Redmond (6000) and Dusan Tadic (8200) as they have the best chances to grab goals. Set piece taker James Ward-Prowse (6500) is a more consistent option than Redmond so look to him if you are playing in cash games or want to build a more solid floor to your GPP lineup.
For Bournemouth I am going to go for Ryan Fraser (7200) who is coming off the back of a 21 DraftKings EPL point week. Marc Pugh (4300) erupted out of nowhere for a goal and assist to gain 26+ DraftKings EPL points. That was against Middlesbrough and they have a similar matchup this week against Sunderland. I am looking to load my team up with the only good attacking side on this slate.
The other team I would look at stacking is Stoke City. West Ham have a midfield injury crisis and will give up a lot of possession away from home. I think West Ham are going to coast through this game on auto pilot. Marko Arnautovic (8100) & Xherdan Shaqiri (8500) are both good plays although They are on the pricier side of this slate.
DraftKings EPL Soccer Forwards
Continuing my Bournemouth stack I am going to use both of their forwards. Joshua King (8000) is the Cherries leading scorer and always involved in their attacking play. I actually prefer his teammate Benik Afobe (4900) this week who is crazy cheap against the worst team in the league. Sunderland concede the highest % of headed goals in the league. Afobe is the aerial threat on this team and could be in for a bumper. With his upside and his price I will have him locked in on all my DraftKings EPL lineups on Saturday,
As part of my Southampton stack I am going to go all in on Manolo Gabbiadini (8500) who has not scored since returning from injury. However those games were against Man City and Chelsea. He played very well against Chelsea and was unlucky not to have an assist under DraftKing’s scoring system. I love his match-up against a very poor Hull side who struggle away from home.
If you want to vary your lineup away from Southampton and Bournemouth then I would look to Burnley’s front pair of Andre Gray (4500) and Ashley Barnes (4100). They are facing a depleted Crystal Palace back line and could benefit from the unfamiliarity in their opposition. The nice plus is that they are also very cheap! I actually prefer this duo to Benteke and you can get both for $200 less than the cost of him!
DraftKings EPL Soccer DFS Lineups
Lineup 1
GK: Boruc – Bournemouth
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DEF: Elmohamady – Hull
DEF: Adam Smith – Bournemouth
MID: Fraser – Bournemouth
MlD: Tadic – Southampton
FWD: King – Bournemouth
FWD: Afobe – Bournemouth
UTIL: Gabbiadini – Southampton
Lineup 2
GK: Forster – Southampton
DEF: Soares – Southampton
DEF: Bertrand – Southampton
MID: Arnautovic – Stoke
MlD: Shaqiri – Stoke
FWD: Gray – Burnley
FWD: Barnes – Burnley
UTIL: Gabbiadini – Southampton
Best of luck in your DraftKings EPL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for the latest lineup news and roster updates!