The Premier League season continues this weekend with six games on the schedule for Saturday. Three of the top five teams in the standings will be looking to build on their excellent starts to the year so it should be no surprise we are drawing from their lineups when it comes to building a winning EPL fantasy lineup. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings EPL fantasy leagues.
GK: Hugo Lloris, Tottenham
Salary: $5,400
Tottenham is off to an outstanding start to the season with five wins and four draws through nine matches and now they get the opportunity to prove their merit against the defending Premier League champions in Leicester City. Riyad Mahrez and company have trended in the opposite direction of late with one win in their last four games and they were blanked twice. It won’t get any easier for them against a Hotspurs side that has conceded just four goals through their first nine games. Lloris has been brilliant for Tottenham again early on and he should definitely be the top play on the board.
D: Luke Shaw, Manchester United
Salary: $3,800
United will be motivated to bounce back following last week’s embarrassment at the hands of Chelsea and a date with Burnley might be the perfect opportunity to get back in the win column. Shaw has been United’s best EPL fantasy defender so far this season and he is still available at a very reasonable price on Draftkings. Jose Mourinho will stress a much cleaner game at the defensive end of the pitch and that could lead to the clean sheet bonus being in play for Shaw.
D: Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham
Salary: $3,300
After breaking down the favorable position Hotspurs appear to be in from a defensive standpoint heading in to this weekend it only makes sense to roll out at least one of their defenders. Vertonghen owns the second-best EPL fantasy score among Tottenham’s defenders behind only Kyle Walker and yet he is available at just $3.3K on DraftKings. That makes Vertonghen a strong value option for Saturday and one that should be a lock in every single DraftKings lineup.
M: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
Salary: $8,800
After locking in a pair of undervalued defenders at a very decent price, we have that much more money to spend on our attacking players beginning with the top midfield option on the board in De Bruyne. Manchester City’s main man in the middle has been dealing with a calf injury but is expected to play this week versus West Brom. Lock in De Bruyne as your top midfield option and keep an eye on the wire to see if there are any setbacks in his injury situation. If he doesn’t play, you can easily substitute in Eden Hazard in this place. If he does play, there is a very good chance he will produce an outstanding EPL fantasy score.
M: Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool
Salary: $8,400
Only Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez have posted better fantasy scores than Coutinho this season among midfield-eligible players. Considering neither of those players will be inaction on Saturday, it only makes sense to plug in Coutinho. Liverpool should find its offensive rhythm against a Crystal Palace side that has dropped two in a row and that should mean a strong fantasy performance from Coutinho.
F: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
Salary: $8,600
Manchester City is another team that should be in a favorable position when it comes to goal scoring this weekend when they clash with West Brom. That could mean a strong performance from Aguero, who has been held without a point in each of his last three games. Aguero should be overdue for a strong performance so look for him to break out with at least a couple of points as City takes down West Brom.
F: Roberto Firmino, Liverpool
Salary: $8,200
Firmino will team up with Coutinho at the offensive end as the reds look to continue their strong start to the season on Saturday. Liverpool is tied with Manchester City for the league lead with 20 goals so far this season and they should have no problem executing up front versus Crystal Palace.
FLEX: Dejan Lovren, Liverpool
Salary: $3,400
With the top four attacking options on the board in our lineup, we need to find another strong value option to fill out our final FLEX position with the remaining salary cap space that we have left over. Lovren has been an underrated source of fantasy points on Liverpool’s back end and at $3.4K, he is the best option we have available with the remaining cap space we have left over to address the final spot on our optimal DraftKings lineup for Saturday.
