The Premier League season opened with the defending champion Leicester City falling to Hull City while Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea each opened with wins. Soccer fans might not see a Cinderella story the way they did a year ago but there could be plenty of intrigue at the top if the Premier League powers could deliver an exciting title race. While the opening week might be a small sample size, we certainly took last week’s results when evaluating who should be on our fantasy roster for this week’s DraftKings tournaments. Here is a look at our optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings EPL fantasy tournaments.
GK: Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea
Salary: $5,100
The Blues opened the season with a 2-1 win over West Ham United as Diego Costa’s goal in the 89th minute proved to be the difference in Chelsea earning an important three points to open the season. Courtois stopped two of the three shots he faced and should be in position to deliver another strong performance this week when the Blues host Watford. Chelsea got off to a terrible start a year ago and never recovered but we are banking on a better first few weeks from them this year with Courtois a strong pick to deliver with a clean sheet this week.
D: Calum Chambers, Arsenal
Salary: $3,200
Arsenal came out on the wrong side of a shootout with Liverpool in its opener, dropping a 4-3 result. The Gunners will have a difficult time shutting down their opponent with Leicester City in town week two but it could be a benefit to have Chambers in another high scoring game. Chambers delivered with a goal and two shots for Arsenal in its opener and his offensive minded game should translate well in DraftKings tournaments at a very reasonable $3.2K price tag.
D: Stephen Kingsley, Swansea
Salary: $3,100
Kingsley was all over the field for Swansea in their opening 1-0 win over Burnley as he excelled in his own end while chipping in on offense with a pair of shots. Kingsley isn’t afraid to join the rush and contribute in the attacking third and his low price tag makes him worth taking a chance on again this week in EPL fantasy.
M: Riyad Mahrez, Leicester
Salary: $9,900
Leicester was stunned by newly promoted Hull in its first title defense last weekend, as they dropped a 2-1 result despite having plenty of chances to win that game. Mahrez scored Leicester’s lone goal on a penalty kick in the 47th minute but he fell short on several chances to tie the game and he finished with five shots in total. Mahrez will look to capitalize on his opportunities in what could be a high scoring game versus Arsenal on Saturday and we are more than willing to roll with him as our top midfield option in EPL fantasy.
M: Adam Lallana, Liverpool
Salary: $5,700
Lallana got off to an excellent start in last week’s 4-3 win over Arsenal, recording a goal and an assist with two shots. Lallana’s fantasy score was second among all Premier League midfielders behind only his teammate Phillippe Coutinho and considering he is available at nearly $2K less than Coutinho, Lallana is the smart EPL fantasy play in this spot.
F: Harry Kane, Tottenham
Salary: $10,000
Kane didn’t have a single shot in last week’s 1-1 draw with Everton as Erik Lamela led the way up front for Hotspurs with a goal and three shots. We thought about taking Lamela in this spot but Kane seems like the better fit since it seems unlikely that he will finish without a shot again this week. Kane has the potential to deliver the best EPL fantasy score of the week regardless of player position so it is worth taking a chance on him at $10K after finding smart value plays at other positions.
F: Jamie Vardy, Leicester
Salary: $9,400
Vardy was held off the score sheet in the opening game of the season and he finished the game with only two shots including zero on target. Leicester will need more from its top forward this weekend and Vardy should bounce back with a better effort. After finding some excellent value plays at the defender and FLEX positions, we have more than enough money to spend big on our second forward position.
FLEX: Gareth McAuley, West Brom
Salary: $2,700
The fact that we are able to slide in McAuley in this spot for only $2.7K makes this an excellent FLEX pick for DraftKings purposes, especially since we were able to spend big on the midfield and forward positions. McAuley should play the full 90 minutes against Everton and he will benefit tremendously if West Brom is able to clinch another clean sheet result.
