The Premier League season continues this weekend with a loaded slate of DraftKings contests that cover Saturday’s six games – including a key early season showdown between Liverpool and Manchester United. Both teams are coming off disappointing losses and while United will have the home field advantage at Old Trafford, we think that Liverpool has the potential to bounce back with an upset win on the road.
Here is a look at the optimal starting XI for Saturday’s DraftKings Premier League Daily Fantasy Leagues.
GK: Lukasz Fabianski, Swansea
Salary: $4,700
Fresh off their upset win at Manchester United, the Swans should have a ton of confidence with a favorable matchup at Watford. Swansea hasn’t completely shut down its opponents this season but Watford has been held without a goal in three straight contests since opening the season with a 2-2 draw to Everton. Fabianski has – for the most part looked – good when tested early on this season.
D: Bacary Sagna, Manchester City
Salary: $4,100
There are some experts joking that City has already wrapped up the Premier League title and while they still have a long way to go, it’s impossible to understate how important their dominant start to the season will be to a potential championship bid. Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Fernandinho and Jesus Navas have led an impressive group that has averaged 2.5 goals per game over the course of four straight wins. In addition to being a solid defensive piece, Sagna also chipped in with some offense when he recorded his first assist of the year in a 2-0 win over Watford.
D: Simon Francis, Bournemouth
Salary: $3,700
Newly promoted Bournemouth followed up consecutive 1-0 losses to Aston Villa and Liverpool by earning its first Premier League win with a 4-3 victory over West Ham United. They then carried over the momentum from that win in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City last week. Francis has been a defensive stud but he has also contributed an assist and isn’t afraid to push forward to join the attack either and that makes him a quality value play at the defender position.
M: Jesus Navas, Manchester City
Salary: $6,500
Navas is still looking for his first goal or assist of the season but he has been a consistent source for fantasy points as an important figure in the City midfield. Navas has six shots through his first four games and if he continues to dominate possession and send balls in to the box via crosses, it will only be a matter of time before he breaks through with a dominant fantasy performance at a bargain price.
M: Jason Puncheon, Crystal Palace
Salary: $6,500
There is no denying Crystal Palace’s potential in the Premier League after they picked up their third win in four games against Chelsea last weekend. Only City has scored more goals than Palace through four games and while Puncheon has yet to score a goal, he does have two assists. He has been all over the field making plays in each of his starts. There aren’t many midfielders with Puncheon’s fantasy potential that are listed under $7K and we like him to have a big performance this weekend in a heavyweight matchup where he will need to produce against City.
F: Christian Benteke, Liverpool
Salary: $9,700
Philippe Coutinho is out following a red card in last weekend’s 3-0 loss to West Ham United so there will be even more pressure on the Liverpool attackers to carry the load this weekend when they visit United. Benteke has been held to a single goal through his first four games under Brendan Rodgers but they will need him to step up in this one. We’re banking on him delivering up front.
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F: Callum Wilson, Bournemouth
Salary: $7,000
In terms of value plays for this week, there might not be a better one than Wilson, who has opened the year with four goals in four games for Bournemouth – including a hat trick in their 4-3 win over West Ham. The eight goals that Norwich has conceded this season is the third-most in the Premier League behind only Chelsea and Sunderland, so we are high on Wilson delivering again this weekend.
FLEX: Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea City
Salary: $7,700
The Swans are coming off that big win over United and will be looking to carry that momentum into their visit to Watford where we will hope Sigurdsson can produce as the best available talent that we can still fit in to our lineup. Sigurdsson earned his first point of the season with an assist in the 2-1 win over United and with 13 shots through the first four games, it is only a matter of time before he breaks through with a goal.
