Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have set the tone for the 2016-17 Premier League season with back-to-back wins to open their respective campaigns. Hull City has provided the biggest surprise to the start of the year as the fourth side in that group of teams that is a perfect 2-0 to begin the year but despite their strong debut they certainly aren’t expected to contend for a Premier League title the way that Leicester City did on its miracle run a year ago. Three of the four teams with perfect records will be in action on Saturday, and it should be no surprise that we are fading one of them in one of the most intriguing matchups of the week. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for this week’s DraftKings Premier League EPL fantasy tournaments.
GK: Maarten Stekelenburg, Everton
Salary: $5,400
Everton followed up a 1-1 draw with Tottenham by beating West Brom 2-1 last week, and they are in a favorable position to extend their point streak to begin the season with a win over Stoke City. Stekelenburg has looked good in each of Everton’s first two games and improved play from the team in front of him could result in a clean sheet win this weekend.
D: Luke Shaw, Manchester United
Salary: $4,300
Shaw has been among the top EPL fantasy defenders throughout the first two weeks of the Premier League season and there is every reason to expect that trend to continue with United matched up against Hull this weekend. There is no doubt that Hull deserves credit for its strong start but the most likely scenario has them suffering their first loss of the year versus United on Saturday with Shaw delivering another strong EPL fantasy performance.
D: Mason Holgate, Everton
Salary: $3,300
After highlighting Everton’s potential for a clean sheet win for our goalkeeper selection, it only makes sense to plug in at least one defender option from that club. Holgate has been Everton’s best defender from a fantasy perspective through their first two games of the year and at $3.3K he is an excellent value pick.
M: Paul Pogba, Manchester United
Salary: $8,000
Pogba is off to a strong start with United and we are expecting another strong performance from him this week. Hull is off to a strong start but that could end when they go up against a United side that has seen some strong early results after spending big to land some top offensive players this past offseason.
M: Anthony Martial, Manchester United
Salary: $7,300
It isn’t that we are trying to build our lineup solely around United players as much as it is that they have been so good to start the season and are still mostly available for reasonable prices. Martial ranks fourth among fantasy midfielders through the first two games and is still available for a very reasonable $7.3K heading in to this week’s matchup with Hull.
F: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United
Salary: $9,600
We can’t justify calling Ibrahimovic a value play as the highest priced player on the board for this weekend’s games but we can tell you that he is worth spending the money on as the most dangerous forward threat. Ibrahimovic is off to an excellent start for United this season and it won’t surprise anybody if he registers another multi-goal performance this weekend.
F: Diego Costa, Chelsea
Salary: $8,700
The Blues have gotten off to a much better start this season than they did a year ago and Costa is one of the reasons for it as he looks that much more comfortable up front for Chelsea. Costa should have his share of opportunities when the Blues take on Burnley on Saturday and we are banking on him delivering as the perfect forward compoliment to Ibrahimovic on our EPL fantasy roster.
FLEX: Stephen Kingsley, Swansea
Salary: $3,200
Kingsley has been another strong fantasy defender so far this season and at just $3.2K, he represents one of the better value options on the board. Swansea should have its hands full with Leicester City this week but the defending Premier league champions have scored just one goal through their first two games of the season and Swansea’s defensive play could be enough to keep them off the EPL fantasy board this week.
