FanDuel EPL Soccer Daily Fantasy Picks – May 13 2017
By David Gate
Welcome to our FanDuel EPL DFS column for the penultimate weekend of the Premier League! There are 4 games on Saturday’s main slate and we have you covered for the best picks, tips and analysis to cash on FanDuel soccer daily fantasy!
The season is drawing to a close and so many of these games are getting harder to predict because teams are trying new players and formations. Last week my main lineups were tanked by Lukaku. However I had great success with a couple of stack lineups. One Stoke/Bournemouth stack cashed easily game and a Leicester stack with the Burnley value center backs that came 47th in the 3000 player GPP.
I am going to learn from last week’s successes and failures and stack heavily in all my lineups. With so much unpredictability I want to go all in on building high upside GPP lines. The game I am going to target most is Bournemouth v Burnley. The projected highest scoring game is Stoke v Arsenal but I think the Gunner’s dramatically improved defense will have people chasing the wrong the game.
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. Let’s look at the slate!
FanDuel EPL DFS Goalkeepers
Half of the GK’s on Saturday’s slate are over $7k. Those who read my columns often know that I am not a fan of overpaying for a GK. Unless they have an elite matchup – none do today – then there is much less upside to a $7k goalkeeper than there is to a $7k midfielder. If you manage to include lots of value elsewhere and want to grab an expensive goalkeeper then I would choose Jordan Pickford (7200) who is playing at home against a Swansea side desperate for points.
A much improving Arsenal defense makes Petr Cech (7000) a viable option too. His matchup against Stoke isn’t ideal but he has kept 3 clean sheets in the last 4 games and made 3 or 4 saves in each game also. He is the safest GK on the slate.
I am expecting a very low scoring game at Middlesbrough so both Fraser Forster (6700) and Brad Guzan (6500) are solid picks for clean sheets. Offense has been a problem for Boro all season and Southampton are in their own attacking dip.
The busiest keeper of the day should be Jack Butland (6400) who is the cheapest projected starter. I’m very happy to use him this week with no keeper on the slate with huge upside on the lines I want the savings for attackers.
FanDuel EPL DFS Defenders
The defender position is very simple for me this week. I love stacking center backs against long ball specialists Burnley. Last week Gareth McAuley had 25 FanDuel points against The Clarets. Since losing Joey Barton to suspension they have lost their one midfielder who liked to play short. Now they are hitting the long balls early and are playing with two big men up front. Steve Cook (6600) and Simon Francis (6000) are solid picks every week as they have little midfield protection so see a ton of action against even the poor team. This a slam dunk choice and I won’t dwell on it. Lock them in.
If value is what you’re looking for then you can get it on the other side of this game. With Ben Mee and Michael Keane out The Clarets are using back up defenders Kevin Long (4600) and James Tarkowski (5900). They are both solid plays but have similar upside so obviously Kevin Long is the better pick here at a much cheaper price.
One player with a high upside is Hector Bellerin (5400) who came in for the injured Oxlade-Chamberlain on Wednesday against Southampton. He had 9.5 FanDuel points in just over a half which is not incredible but the Arsenal 3-5-2 formation gives him huge license to get forward. His price has fallen since falling out of favor and is sitting at nice price with a fair shot and getting an assist or creating multiple chance.
FanDuel EPL DFS Midfielders
My Saturday lineups are going to revolve around two midfielders; one attacking and one defensive. My attacking midfield lock this week is Gylfi Sigurdsson (10300) who is playing in a must win game at Sunderland. He is the safest pick on any slate. He is a lock each week for 20+ FanDuel points. The trouble is that makes him chalky. I like that his price is over $10k as I’m hoping that scares away people using Alexis Sanchez or Arsenal stacks. High floor, great matchup, must win game. What is there to think about? Last time out against Sunderland? A goal, an assist and 51 FanDuel points. Yeah, I’m not fading Gylfi this week.
I’m pairing him this week with Geoff Cameron (5700) who is at home to Arsenal. Mark Hughes uses Cameron in midfield against the top teams. This is the dream matchup for him as Arsenal play so much if their game in the midfield with high possession giving Cameron plenty of opportunity to get those tackles and interceptions. Pencil him in for 20 FanDuel EPL points.
These two picks are not difficult to make and could have a higher ownership than I would like so the third midfield spot is going to be crucial for separation in GPP. I’m fading theArsenal midfield because I don’t like their matchup, upside or ownership levels on a cheaper midfield slate. The two names with the highest upsides are Junior Stanislas (6100) and Xherdan Shaqiri (6600). I like Ryan Fraser (5400) if he starts. One low owned name I like in a stack with Gylfi is Ki Sung-yueng (5000).
FanDuel EPL DFS Forwards
The Stoke v Arsenal game is projecting to be an Arsenal win and the highest scoring game on the slate but I am going to fade the Gunner’s attack. Now don’t get me wrong I think Arsenal win this game – Stoke have nothing to play for but pride and Arsenal need the points for Champions League qualification. Since Arsenal shifted to 3-5-2 they have not been in a game where they’ve scored more than two goals. They are much improved in defense but their attack is not firing on all cylinders. Alexis Sanchez (10600) is at the cheapest I remember him being all year. He is playing left midfield for the Gunners. His upside drops dramatically when they play him wide because his opportunities to score decrease enormously. Add to this Arsenal have only won once at Stoke in the Premier League era I’m fading the Arsenal forwards and midfield.
I will be looking to the Bournemouth v Burnley game for my forwards. Joshua King (10400) is the most in form striker in the league and his matchup is worthy of his high price. Burnley are all in on the long ball game with Ashely Barnes (7800) and Sam Vokes (7100) who have combined for 3 goals and an assist in the last two games. They face a leaky Bournemouth backline and I like them both this week.
The only other forwards I’m interested in are Fernando Llorente (8000) and Jordan Ayew (7000) who are in that must win game at Sunderland. I will have a line with a heavy Swansea stack as they will certainly get their chances.
FanDuel EPL DFS Lineups
Lineup 1 – Bournemouth Stack
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FWD: King – Bournemouth
FWD: Barnes – Burnley
MID: Sigurdsson – Swansea
MlD: Cameron – Stoke
MID: Stanislas – Bournemouth
DEF: Cook – Bournemouth
DEF: Francis – Bournemouth
GK: Cech – Arsenal
Lineup 2 – Swansea Stack (I’ve paired this with Pickford at GK which is a high upside risk)
FWD: Llorente – Swansea
FWD: Ayew – Swansea
MID: Sigurdsson – Swansea
MlD: Shaqirir – Stoke
MID: Cameron – Stoke
DEF: Cook – Bournemouth
DEF: Francis – Bournemouth
GK: Pickford – Sunderland
Best of luck in your FanDuel EPL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR on Twitter for all the late breaking line-up news and roster updates!