The Premier League is back after the FA Cup and the end of the transfer window. We have all the ‘Fixtures, Flyers & Fades’ you will need to cash in FanDuel EPL DFS.
Lots has happened since the last ‘Fixtures, Flyers & Fades’ column. We have had the fourth round of the FA Cup, the end of the January transfer window and a midweek round of Premier League fixtures.
Liverpool crashed out of the Cup. Chelsea and Manchester United fell to surprise EPL losses. There are also a slew of players who have moved clubs or entered the league. That means there will be some nice DFS opportunity this weekend.
Much of the transfer activity in the Premier League last week was with forwards. Particularly around Arsenal who let three players go to rivals – Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud. However they also brought in big names (literally) in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Almost all of those player are available for us to pick on this 12 team slate. This is going to be a fun one and interesting to work out where most punters will go.
I break down this column into three categories: Fixtures are those you need to build your lineups around. Flyers are the gambles and the punts; cheaper or lesser known players in great positions for a break out game. Fades are those you need to avoid; I think who you choose to fade in soccer DFS is more important than in any other DFS sport.
I’ll be on Twitter @davidgatesports to chat through lineups changes and team sheet surprises from 9:00am ET.
FanDuel EPL: Fixtures
I have three forwards that will make up my front line this week. The player I will be using in cash and GPP is Callum Wilson (9000). He is in fine form with four goals in his last six games and finally looks healthy. I rate him as one of the best forwards outside of the top six and against Stoke he has an elite matchup. Stoke are the worst team in the EPL away from home, conceding 30 goals in 12 games. I am going to lock Wilson in.
In cash games I will be using Romelu Lukaku (11000) as my other forward. He only has one goal in his last six EPL games but has been a flat track bully this season. I am expecting more attention to go to his new teammate Alexis Sanchez which will hopefully create some lower ownership.
In GPP I am desperate to use Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (10000). The new boy is not projected to start on FanDuel but I think will be wrong. With him being in the late game – and the highest predicted scoring game on the slate – that could mean he has some low ownership opportunity in GPP. I am okay with keeping enough budget to pivot Lacazette and leave 1.5k on the table is Auba starts. He’s that good.
Theo Walcott (7500) is coming off a huge 66 FanDuel point game in midweek. He is also heading back to Arsenal only two weeks after they sold him. It is a classic revenge game. His ownership will be huge but I won’t be the one to fade him on Saturday.
FanDuel EPL: Flyers
My favorite defender of the day is James Collins (6500) from West Ham. The Hammers are having a huge injury crisis ahead of this relegation scrap with Brighton & Hove Albion. That means West Ham should be on the back foot for most of the game. But I am picking him for his goal upside – Brighton concede and enormous percentage of their goals from headers. Collins is the Hammers’ biggest threat from set pieces.
As soon as I saw Seamus Coleman (5000) in the Everton lineup on Wednesday I put him straight in. He has risen to 5k for this game week but that is still 1-1.5k under what it should be. He played 90 minutes in midweek and looked outstanding.
There is a good chance that Robert Huth (4000) will return for his first start of the season for Leicester. I am not expecting great things but at a bargain 4k he will allow you to add more expensive options in midfield.
I am always keen on Junior Stanislas (7500) if there is any guarantee of his fitness and getting minutes. Recently Bournemouth have been playing him in the central creative area which is perfect for FanDuel. I want to pair him with Wilson and Xherdan Shaqiri (8500) in what should be a high scoring game.
FanDuel EPL: Fades
Manchester United looked pretty hopeless against Spurs on Wednesday. New signing Alexis Sanchez (12000) was in a central position and had no service and looked lost. As the most expensive player on the roster I cannot justify using him until he settles down. He did score against Huddersfield for Arsenal already this year but that was all he did in a 4-0 win.
Paul Pogba (9500) is another who is getting faded. He is playing in a deep role next to Nemanja Matic. He cannot influence the game offensively from that deep. Sanchez has had a real negative impact on his DFS potential.
The Arsenal midfield is now stacked with players who can play a nice through ball but can do nothing else. Good luck trying to sort out who is going to get the assists between Granit Xhaka (8500), Mesut Ozil (10500), Aaron Ramsey (9500) and new boy Henrikh Mkhitaryan (8000).
Riyad Mahrez (10500) was the subject of a huge £65 million deadline day bid from Manchester City. For some reason Leicester rejected the move leaving Mahrez pissed. He didn’t play on Wednesday and Leicester looked terrible against Everton. Despite a great matchup with Swansea this week I will fade him and Jamie Vardy (10000) until we can see if things settle down there.
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.
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Lineup 1: GPP
FWD: Wilson – Bournemouth
FWD: Aubameyang/Lacazette – Arsenal
MID: Walcott – Everton
MlD: Stanislas – Bournemouth
MID: Shaqiri – Stoke
DEF: Coleman– Everton
DEF: Collins – West Ham
GK: Adrian – West Ham
Lineup 2: Cash
FWD: Wilson – Bournemouth
FWD: Lukaku – Man Utd
MID: Ndidi – Leicester
MlD: Walcott – Everton
MID: Gueye – Everton
DEF: Coleman – Everton
DEF: Collins – West Ham
GK: Schmeichel – Leicester
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