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EPL DFS breakdown – Saturday, September 14

By Vince Dray

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal with team-mates David Silva (left), Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final second leg match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at at Etihad Stadium on April 17, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Rich Linley - CameraSport via Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal with team-mates David Silva (left), Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final second leg match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at at Etihad Stadium on April 17, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Rich Linley - CameraSport via Getty Images) /
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Poland’s Jan Bednarek listens to the national anthem prior to the Euro 2020 qualifying football match between Slovenia and Poland at the Stadium Stozice in Ljubljana, Slovenia on September 6, 2019. (Photo by Jure Makovec / AFP) (Photo credit should read JURE MAKOVEC/AFP/Getty Images)
Poland’s Jan Bednarek listens to the national anthem prior to the Euro 2020 qualifying football match between Slovenia and Poland at the Stadium Stozice in Ljubljana, Slovenia on September 6, 2019. (Photo by Jure Makovec / AFP) (Photo credit should read JURE MAKOVEC/AFP/Getty Images) /

EPL DFS Top-Tier Defenders

Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City @ Norwich, $14) – With two of the top defenders dealing with injuries and not in great matchups, I’m skipping right down to Zinchenko as my top target.  If you have enough money and roster space, he’s a great addition to a City stack.  Zinchenko is more of an attacker than a defender, but he hasn’t bet on his best-attacking game much yet this season.  He did create five chances on his way to 20.2 fantasy points against Bournemouth.  This is a matchup where he can repeat that performance.  I’ve touched on Norwich’s lack of defense already.  Playing Zinchenko allows you cheap City exposure while still being able to use your FWD/MID spots for other players.

Jannik Vestergaard ($14) and Jan Bednarek ($14) (Southampton @ Sheffield United) – Both Southampton defenders have established super-strong fantasy floors, not just this year but last year as well.  They accumulate defensive peripherals very well.  Sheffield allows a good number of clearances for their opposing defenders, which is my main interest here.  Bednarek is a clearance monster with at least six in every game so far and as many as eight.  They should both score well into double digits on Saturday and very well could reach 20+.  Southampton defenders have kind of become a thing, so I don’t expect either to be very low owned, but they should not be chalky.

Ricardo Pereira (Leicester City @ Manchester United, $14) – The top tier of defenders isn’t so great this weekend, but I have faith in using Pereira.  He’s been very consistent this season by getting a lot of his value from tackles.  Last season, it was his added attacking ability and chances created that interested me, but he only has three so far this season.  To me, this game seems like a tightly contested game where Pereira should see a lot of opportunities to make tackles and get other defensive stats.  There are some solid defender options for $14, so I think he will get overlooked here.

James Tarkowski (Burnley @ Brighton, $13) – If you need that extra dollar, James Tarkowski is another really solid option.  Three of his four games have been 15+ point games, and one well into the 20s.  Tarkowski used to be one of the better defenders in the league at getting all the defensive stats, but this is a different Burnley team.  However, he spread his defensive stats around well enough where he has a strong floor.  He isn’t a very well-known name, so I expect him to be low owned as well.  For $1 less, Ben Mee is a viable Burnley defender as well.