The Premier League season continues this weekend with an absolutely loaded slate for Saturday as 14 different teams will be in action. That will mean plenty of options to choose from when it comes to building the perfect lineup in DraftKings fantasy competitions so we decided to take the time to crunch the numbers in order to help you out. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings EPL fantasy leagues.
GK: Petr Cech, Arsenal
Salary: $6,000
Arsenal had its clean sheet streak snapped at two games but still managed to extend its win streak in last week’s 3-2 win over Swansea. Now the Gunners will have the opportunity to buckle down defensively in a very favorable matchup against a Middlesbrough side that has just one win through its first eight games. Cech has ranked among the top fantasy Premier League goalkeepers early on this season and he is definitely worth spending a little more money on to capitalize on the favorable EPL fantasy matchup this week.
D: Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal
Salary: $4,200
Koscielny ranks third on the Gunners in overall fantasy points so far this season behind only Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez so it makes a lot of sense to have him in our lineup for this weekend. The fact that he is available at just $4.2K should make him a lock in most DraftKings lineups.
D: Sebastian Prodl, Watford
Salary: $3,200
Watford is certainly trending in the right direction with three wins and a draw in its last five games and they should benefit from a favorable matchup with a Swansea side that is trending in the opposite direction. Prodl is a strong value play at just $3.2K so he is worth taking a chance on for Saturday’s fantasy competitions.
M: Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
Salary: $8,500
Ozil started slow but is trending in the right direction after scoring goals in two of his last three appearances for Arsenal. We already broke down how a date with Middlesbrough will be a favorable matchup for the Gunners and Ozil makes sense in our midfield as a less expensive option than both Walcott and Sanchez, especially considering he had a better fantasy score than Sanchez in last week’s DraftKings competitions.
M: Manuel Lanzini, West Ham United
Salary: $6,400
Lanzini is another reasonably priced midfielder that is trending in the right direction following a strong performance last week when he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. Lanzini has two goals in his last four games and there is a good chance he will find the score sheet again this week with West Ham set to take on Sunderland.
F: Jamie Vardy, Leicester
Salary: $8,300
Leicester City has been trending in the wrong direction of late and it will be interesting to see if they can get back on track against Crystal Palace this weekend. Vardy is among the EPL fantasy forwards that has really underachieved early on and at $8.3K it is worth taking a chance on him in DraftKings competitions with the hope that this is the weekend in which he finally breaks through for the defending champions.
F: Nacer Chadli, West Brom
Salary: $7,200
Chadli has been on fire of late for West Brom and his dual-eligibility as a midfielder and forward allows us to plug him in to this spot at a very reasonable price. Chadli has scored four goals and two assists in his last four games overall and we can only hope he continues to produce at that rate in a tough challenge against Liverpool this weekend. West Brom has managed to score nine goals through eight games this season, which put them in the middle of the pack.
FLEX: Joe Allen, Stoke City
Salary: $6,200
Only Bournemouth’s Junior Stanislas had a better fantasy score than Allen among Premier League midfielders last week and that was in a 6-1 win over the same Hull City side that Stoke City will get the chance to play this Saturday. Allen has scored four goals in his last three games for Stoke City and at just $6.2K he is an outstanding value play in EPL fantasy competitions.
