The Premier League season continues this Saturday with seven games on the schedule. While there are plenty of options to choose from, the smart bet is to narrow your focus and concentrate on the most favorable matchups. Manchester City should be in line for a win over Southampton on Saturday. Meanwhile, one team that could surprise is Sunderland, which will look to snap its slide against West Ham United. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings EPL fantasy leagues.
GK: Claudio Bravo, Manchester City
Salary: $5,300
Manchester City is four points up on Manchester United for a Champions League spot but could still leapfrog Liverpool for third in the table. A matchup with Southampton should produce the three points they need to keep the pressure on the Reds. Claudio Bravo is expected to start. Bravo should be in line for the win with the potential to produce a clean sheet.
Man City has been one of the most reliable teams in terms of defense for EPL fantasy purposes. They have allowed just 35 goals on the season, which is the fourth-fewest in the Premier League.
D: John Stones, Manchester City
Salary: $3,300
Building off of our decision to lock in Bravo as our netminder, it makes sense to plug in Stones in this spot. City should have no problem keeping the Southampton attack in check. Stones has been a reliable player in DraftKings tournament and his price tag makes him a good fit.
D: Jason Denayer, Sunderland
Salary: $2,600
Sunderland has been starting Denayer, who is available at just $2.6K in DraftKings competitions. Sunderland has a decent matchup against West Ham United this week so Denayer could be a capable sleeper pick that helps us save money for other areas of our lineup.
M: Ross Barkley, Everton
Salary: $8,500
Everton is still in hot pursuit of the fifth spot in the table – three points back of Manchester United and tied with Arsenal. Everton will be playing with a sense of urgency when they take on Burnley FC. Barkley has been excellent all year and should produce another quality fantasy score on Saturday.
M: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
Salary: $8,300
Considering the matchup, it only makes sense to turn back to Manchester City with De Bruyne available in this spot. De Bruyne has shown he is one of the most talented players on City’s roster this season and his potential for a massive EPL fantasy performance this weekend is impossible to pass on.
F: Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
Salary: $10,100
Aguero might very well be the top forward option on the board for this week’s DraftKings competitions. After saving some money with our defender selections, we have no problem breaking the bank to plug Aguero in as our top forward option this week.
F: Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
Salary: $7,300
Vardy is available at just over $7K in DraftKings competitions, which makes him an excellent complimentary pick next to Aguero. Vardy still has the potential to produce at a high level and should benefit from a favorable matchup versus Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Leicester City enters the week in 11th place with 36 points. Their main issue has been defense this season as they’ve allowed 51 goals in 31 games, which is among the worst in the EPL.
FLEX: Fabio Borini, Sunderland
Salary: $4,200
There is still a chance that Jermain Defoe will be held back in Saturday’s game, which will make Borini an even better value pick. Borini is a capable option regardless of whether Defoe players but if he is out with a nagging knee injury than Borini’s value will shoot up even higher. At just over $4K, he is the perfect value pick for our final FLEX position.
Sunderland isn’t often in our EPL fantasy writeups because they’ve been absolutely terrible this season. However, this is one spot where we’ll take a shot. Sunderland enters the week with just 20 points in 31 games. They are in dead last and need to pick up at least nine points to get out of the relegation zone.
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