DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Picks

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday EPL Picks

This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.

For detailed odds and stats, check out the Fantasy Premier League: Saturday Cheat Sheet.

MATCHES (EDT)

10:00 a.m: Bournemouth v. Burnley
10:00 a.m: Middlesbrough v. Southampton
10:00 a.m: Sunderland v. Swansea City
12:30 p.m: Stoke City v. Arsenal

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Lukasz Fabianski, SWA at SUN ($5,300): Fabianski has scored at least eight fantasy points in five consecutive matches, including two with at least 14 thanks to clean sheets. He'll now face off against a Sunderland side that had a surprising 2-0 win at Hull City last weekend but were shut out in nine of their previous 10 games.

DEFENDER

Adam Smith, BOU v. BUR ($5,200): Smith has scored at least eight fantasy points in five consecutive matches, including three with at least 11. It's been an impressive run for a player who hasn't sent in that many crosses, as he's able to contribute with tackles and fouls drawn. He'll now face a Burnley side that has allowed the most crosses and shots per match this season among teams on the slate.

Kyle Naughton, SWA at SUN ($4,300): A Swansea defender away from home isn't usually a recipe for success, but the Swans are facing a Sunderland side that's already sealed their relegation fate, while Swansea need three points to delay theirs. Martin Olsson ($4,900) has gotten some fantasy attention this season, but he isn't crossing much lately and isn't taking any shots or winning tackles to make up for it. Naughton's stat lines aren't jumping off the page either, but he does check off a few other boxes that can make him more reliable if he's able to move forward against one of the worst defensive sides in the Premier League (and one that's allowed the second-most crosses per game this season).

MIDFIELDER

Junior Stanislas, BOU v. BUR ($6,800): It was expected that Stanislas would be taking Bournemouth's set pieces last weekend in place of Ryan Fraser ($7,800), who was on the bench, but Bournemouth ended up not winning a single corner. However, Stanislas was still able to provide a goal, and he figures to be involved Saturday against a Burnley side that's really struggled away from home this season, even if they've been better of late. With Fraser dealing with an Achilles injury, it seems likely he'll start on the bench, giving Stanislas free reign early on.

Xherdan Shaqiri, STK v. ARS ($7,400): The matchup against Arsenal isn't ideal, but Shaqiri has shown that he can produce against top teams, as we saw a few weeks ago when he had two shots, an assist and 10 crosses against Liverpool at the bet365 Stadium. He had another 10 crosses last weekend at Bournemouth, and he should continue to take a majority of set pieces, which puts him in a nice spot against an Arsenal side that struggles defending them.

Scott Arfield, BUR at BOU ($3,700): Arfield's fantasy value plummets if Robbie Brady ($6,300) starts, something he hasn't done in each of the last two games. Brady should garner consideration himself if he's in the first XI, but Arfield should be in charge of most set pieces if he's the only one there. Arfield's upside isn't that high, but he's scored at least seven fantasy points in four consecutive matches (31 total), which is a decent return from a player under $4,000.

FORWARD

Gylfi Sigurdsson, SWA at SUN ($10,200): Sigurdsson is the most expensive player on the slate, an impressive spot given that Alexis Sanchez is also available. However, Sigurdsson comes in with just one fewer shot than Alexis this season (albeit in 160 more minutes), but he's also sent in the most crosses by a difference of 107 over the next-highest player, Southampton's Dusan Tadic. Swansea continue to fight off relegation, and three points against Sunderland would be absolutely massive, and it's unlikely to happen without some kind of involvement from Sigurdsson, who has scored at least 14 fantasy points in four consecutive matches.

Alexis Sanchez, ARS at STK ($10,000): Speaking of Alexis, the Arsenal attacker comes in with five more goals than the next highest player, and his nine assists trail only Sigurdsson's 12. He has the best any-time goal-scoring odds and figures to be at the forefront of the Arsenal attack as they try to keep their top-four hopes alive.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Andrew M. Laird plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: kingmorland, DraftKings: andrewmlaird, Yahoo: Lairdinho.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew M. Laird
Andrew M. Laird, the 2017 and 2018 FSWA Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's Head of DFS Content and Senior Soccer Editor. He is a nine-time FSWA award finalist, including twice for Football Writer of the Year.
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