DraftKings EPL DFS Picks for Saturday, September 12: The Five-Game Slate

Chelsea and Liverpool are the two attacks to build around on Saturday's five-game DraftKings slate, but unlike a last week's Man City slate, this one forces you to split your money between them.

Saturday is a five-game slate on DraftKings, and it's headlined by two spots rather than one. Chelsea are the biggest favorite, home to a Hull City side that hasn't allowed a goal in the league yet, with an implied total above two-and-a-half. Liverpool are right behind them at home to Fulham, who have looked like the worst defense in the league, so both games project for goals.

After that it steps down: Crystal Palace host Ipswich Town, Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest, and the closest game on the board is Bournemouth at home to Brentford. The trick is that you can't just pile into one team the way you could last week, so the build is about which Chelsea and Liverpool pieces you pay up for and where you find the cheap floors around them.

A few lineup notes matter. Liverpool are a question in the wide areas, since Bradley Barcola came off with cramps in midweek and profiles for around 60 minutes if he even starts, so Victor Munoz is the steadier bet for minutes out there, assuming Cody Gakpo is also unable to start. Chelsea rotated in midweek but should be close to full strength.

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DraftKings EPL DFS Slate for Saturday, Sept. 12

• 10:00 am: AFC Bournemouth vs. Brentford
• 10:00 am: Aston Villa vs. Nottingham Forest
• 10:00 am: Chelsea vs. Hull City
• 10:00 am: Crystal Palace vs. Ipswich Town
• 10:00 am: Liverpool vs. Fulham

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

FORWARDS

Joao Pedro (CHE vs HUL, $10,100)

Pedro is the striker in the best spot on the board and you're paying for it. He's the favorite to score on the slate for a Chelsea side implied for better than two-and-a-half at home to a Hull City defense that will be tested. The downside for cash games is that his floor is unreliable and you're mostly paying for the upside. Would you rather take Pedro's brace upside in this spot or Szoboszlai's steady floor?

Pedro Neto (CHE vs HUL, $6,800)

Neto is the cheaper way into the Chelsea attack with a real floor. He splits Chelsea's corners with Reece James and gets forward against Hull City, so the dead-ball work holds him up even without a goal. The only worry is minutes, since he went 81 last week and came off the bench in midweek, but at $6,800 he's the best floor of the mid-priced forwards. He's not an amazing play, but he stands out because of the matchups.

Anan Khalaili (CRY vs IPS, $4,500)

Khalaili is the cheap forward that makes the build fit. He plays wing-back for Crystal Palace but gets forward, with five crosses against Manchester City a couple of weeks back and two shots last time out. At $4,500 with forward eligibility, I still think he's worth a point at home against Ipswich Town.

Abdul Fatawu ($5,400) is slightly more expensive than Khalaili and has slightly more upside. Both players make sense if you want to spend down, but the problem is that the cheaper midfielders are easier clicks.

Alexander Isak ($8,500) and Victor Munoz ($7,000) are the Liverpool routes. Isak will be plenty popular as a cheaper way than the Chelsea pieces into goals. Munoz is the safer minutes bet than Bradley Barcola ($6,000), who could see just an hour if he starts. 

Jorgen Strand Larsen ($3,900) and Liam Delap ($3,500) are the deep punts and both should get some attention.

MIDFIELDERS

Cole Palmer (CHE vs HUL, $9,700)

Palmer has a decent floor even without set pieces. He's on Chelsea's penalties, has piled up shots and chances created through the opening games, and gets the softest matchup on the board, so he pairs a good floor with the ceiling that comes from a Chelsea blowout. The problem is that he doesn't have the same floor as Szoboszlai.

Dominik Szoboszlai (LIV vs FUL, $10,300)

Szoboszlai is the floor play I trust most. He's been the ever-present, Bruno-style piece for Liverpool, sitting deeper but taking the penalties and racking up a floor even in the games where the goal doesn't come. At home to Fulham's leaky defense, that combination of minutes, set pieces and volume is the safest high-end play. 

You'll have to decide if you like Liverpool's safety more than Chelsea's possible upside in this situation.

Yeremy Pino (CRY vs IPS, $4,700)

Pino is the cheap floor that ties the build together. He has taken every corner and set piece for Crystal Palace this season, so at $4,700 home against Ipswich Town he carries a floor most of the cheap midfielders can't match. He's the value that lets you fit two of the studs above.

Emiliano Buendia ($4,400) and Vitaly Janelt ($4,600) are also in this range, and you could technically play two of them if you want to spend up on two forwards. James McAtee ($4,400) also deserves to be in the conversation, since his minutes look secure.

Morgan Rogers ($9,400) is the other Chelsea midfielder with real upside, and Florian Wirtz ($6,100) is the cheaper Liverpool piece. There are reasons to play both. Rogers is a move off Joao Pedro and Palmer, while Wirtz's upside has never really clicked at Liverpool. Morgan Gibbs-White ($8,200) is a tournament-only piece for Forest with no corners.

In the highest-total game outside the top two, Rayan ($7,600) leads Bournemouth at home and Kevin Schade ($5,000) is a Brentford tournament dart with the shot volume to spike.

DEFENDERS

Reece James (CHE vs HUL, $5,500)

James is the defender it's hard to leave off in cash. He takes a share of Chelsea's corners from a midfield role and put up strong floors in each of the last two games. Home against Hull City with the slate's best clean-sheet odds behind him, he returns through the ball on top of the shutout equity.

Neco Williams (NFO at AVL, $6,000)

Williams is the other defender with a set-piece share, splitting Forest's corners with James McAtee. He gets forward at Aston Villa in a game that projects tight, so the crosses and dead-ball work give him a floor that most full-backs can't match.

Jorrel Hato ($4,100) is the cheap Chelsea wing-back with the best clean-sheet odds on the board and some crosses against Hull City, a fine punt that saves salary. Antonee Robinson ($4,600) gets forward for Fulham, and the minimum-tier Chelsea and Liverpool center-backs pair with their keepers for a cheap shutout share.

GOALKEEPER

Matz Sels (NFO at AVL, $4,500)

I'm spending down in goal, and Sels is the one I like. Nottingham Forest draw an Aston Villa side that still hasn't scored in league play, so the clean sheet is live and he'll bank saves if it isn't, and at $4,500 that's the sweet spot on a slate where the cap belongs in the attack.

Bernd Leno ($3,900) is the cheaper option for Fulham, and Zion Suzuki ($4,900) and Caoimhin Kelleher ($4,700) are the other saves plays under $5,000. I'd stay off the pricier keepers behind Chelsea and Liverpool, since neither defense has earned the trust the odds suggest and the money is better spent up top.