FanDuel EPL DFS breakdown: Gameweek 9 – Oct 21 2017
By David Gate
We’re back this week for the FanDuel EPL DFS main slate for this six game Premier League Saturday. We have you covered for soccer tips picks and analysis this weekend.
After two great days in the Champions League DFS this week we are back to Premier League action. Cashing last weekend was heavily dependent on stacking Man City players in their 7-2 rout of Stoke. Quite simply, if you weren’t on City you weren’t making money. The other big teams – Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea – only managed a goal a piece.
Hugo Lloris did the business in goal but none of the cheaper options in midfield or defense did much to help us. There actually was very little value in any players not playing for City. Wilfred Zaha making his return from injury scored and Tammy Abraham bagged a brace. The failure of Harry Kane to produce at Wembley also must be noted for future slates. There is not yet a Sunday slate on FanDuel but he will be a fade again against Liverpool.
I am not going to lie – it is an ugly slate this week with the Man City players all getting a price bump and little else out there offering huge potential. Because of that I am going to write this slate up differently. I am going to show you two different ways to play the slate: a stars and scrubs Man City stack and a very different alternative.
Finding good value is going to be crucial this week so you will need to check lineups early. You are goign to have find some sneaky plays in defense and midfield to stack the top forwards on this slate. I’ll be on Twitter @davidgatesports to chat through lineups on Saturday from 9am EST. Happy to give advice with any surprises.
Let’s look at this funky slate and work out how to cash this weekend!
FanDuel EPL Analysis – How to Stack the Man City Attack
Before we get into how to stack Manchester City this week I want to temper some expectations. Most punters are going to look at this matchup and think ‘wow this rampant City side is up against Burnley – they’re surely going to kill it’.
Now I’m almost certain that Man City win on Saturday but I don’t think they put up 5 or 7 like they have been doing. Burnley have not conceded more than once in the last seven games. That includes some tough away games at Tottenham and Liverpool.
Regardless, this game is by FAR the bookies favorite to have 3 goals or more. Playing a handful of City attackers is basically a must in cash games. But that is much harder this week as their prices make it impossible to put four of them in a lineup and very hard to even get three in your line.
Leroy Sane (9500) is virtually a must play as the cheapest of the 6 attackers. Raheem Sterling (10000) is in the form of his life. David Silva (11000) and Kevin de Bruyne (12000) are the surest bets and the least dependent on goals and assists. You’ll need at least one of those in cash games. Gabriel Jesus (12000) is the most likely to score. If Sergio Aguero (12000) may make his return from injury and would be the player with the highest ceiling.
Cheap options
Using three of those guys is going to take over half your budget so how should you spend the rest? Julian Speroni (4000) should play again for Wayne Hennessey and gives you a saving on the other GKs. He is also in a fairly decent spot to make value too.
For defenders you’ll need to pay attention to lineups as that is where surprise value is usually found. From the predicted lineups Matteo Darmian (4500) should play again for Manchester United. Craig Dawson (4500) will lineup at right back for West Brom and made over 4x value last week against Leicester.
After a poor showing against Swansea last week Aaron Mooy (7500) has dipped in price. I like his potential usage against Man Utd and his game log should put some people off. He is nice value with high upside at his price.
To pair with Jesus or Aguero I am going to go with Manolo Gabbiadini (7000) in cash as he was back in the goals with a brace after a long drought. The new Southampton formation suits his gifts. In GPP I am looking at Jordan Ayew (7000) as a game theory pick as people chase Tammy Abraham’s (8500) big week last Saturday.
FanDuel EPL Analysis – Spreading the Budget Evenly
While I am not going to advocate a full Man City fade I will have most of my lines with much more exposure to the other games. In goal I am going to pay up for Nick Pope (5500) as he faces off with that City attack. He has the most upside against the league’s second most prolific shooters. I also like David de Gea (5000) again. He has still only conceded in one game and was magnificent against Liverpool last week.
As most people will be loading up on City attackers I am going to play some game theory and go for two of their defenders. Nicolas Otamendi (6000) and John Stones (5500) will be surely under owned with punters choosing the attackers or Kyle Walker. They also have THE elite matchup for center backs against Burnley. The long ball system Burnley employ gives opposition defenders a ton of opportunity for defensive stats.
In midfield I want a trio of players with high upside. Wilfred Zaha (8000) should play as a forward and proved he can produce in DFS last week against a good Chelsea defense. Matt Ritchie (8500) is not a popular play but he is their best player and has been very consistent. He is also playing rock bottom Crystal Palace. I love Ander Herrera (7000) this week as player who will have opportunity to pick up both defensive and offensive points.
That leaves me enough budget to pair Manchester United forwards Romelu Lukaku (11000) and Anthony Martial (8500) who should have bounce back weeks against Huddersfield. I also like Tammy Abraham (8500) after his brace last weekend.
FanDuel EPL DFS Lineups
Note: these are sample lineups and are not optimized. The only guarantee I can give you is that I will playing them too. I will also have some lines that are not here. Best thing is to take some of these picks and build your own lineup – especially in GPP – as lineup sharing only reduces the amount you can win.
Lineup 1: Man City Stack
FWD: Jesus – Man City
FWD: Ayew – Swansea
MID: Sane – Man City
MlD: Silva – Man City
MID: Mooy – Huddersfield
DEF: Darmian – Man Utd
DEF: Dawson – West Brom
GK: Speroni – Palace
Lineup 2:
FWD: Lukaku – Man Utd
FWD: Martial – Man Utd
MID: Ritchie – Newcastle
MlD: Zaha – Palace
MID: Herrera – Man Utd
DEF: Stones – Man City
DEF: Otamendi – Man City
GK: Pope – Burnley
Stay tuned for more DFS advice for the NFL, NHL, and NBA, along with our college football picks against the spread! Good luck out there!