Week six of the La Liga season gets underway on Friday with Real Betis clashing with Malaga, followed by four games on Saturday that will include both Real Madrid and Barcelona in action. For whatever reason, DraftKings opted not to include the clash between Eibar and Real Sociedad in their competitions, which leaves us with three games to choose from for Saturday’s fantasy competitions. That means even lesser room for error when it comes to building a winning lineup in this weekend’s tournaments. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings La Liga fantasy leagues.
GK: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Barcelona
Salary: $5,700
Barcelona is coming off a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Athletico Madrid on Wednesday but should be prepared and ready for Sporting Gijon by the time they arrive. Lionel Messi will be sidelined for three weeks with a groin strain so Barca will have even lesser room for error on their back line, so expect them to play a sound defensive game while relying on their transition attack. Ter Stegen has been a solid La Liga fantasy goalkeeper early on and that should continue as the best option at the position for this weekend.
D: Gabriel Mercado, Sevilla
Salary: $3,900
Sevilla has looked strong out of the gate with three wins and two draws through their first five games and will be looking to extend their undefeated run when they take on Athletic Bilbao this weekend. Mercado has actually been one of Sevilla’s top fantasy performers regardless of position early on so he makes an excellent value pick for Saturday’s action.
D: Aymeric Laporte, Athletic Bilbao
Salary: $3,800
Like Mercado with Sevilla, Laporte has been one of his team’s top fantasy assets through the first five weeks of the La Liga season. At just $3.8K, that makes him an obvious pick as the second defender on our DraftKings roster.
M: Arda Turan, Barcelona
Salary: $7,600
Barcelona will rely even more on its midfield in transition with Messi out and that should result in another strong fantasy performance from Turan in the middle. Turan is Barcelona’s fourth-ranked fantasy performer regardless of position behind only Messi, Suarez and Ivan Rakitic and his $7.6K price tag makes him an excellent value pick.
M: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid
Salary: $7,100
Kroos has played a similar role to Turan this season as a productive fantasy option for a dynamic offensive team that is available at a very reasonable price. Kroos actually leads Real Madrid in La Liga fantasy points so far this season with a goal and three assists through five games so make sure to have him in your lineup for Saturday. Real Madrid is currently in first place in La Liga with 13 points.
F: Neymar, Barcelona
Salary: $10,100
Neymar has been limited to a goal and an assists in La Liga play this season but he should get a much better opportunity to produce in a favorable matchup for Barcelona now that Messi is sidelined. Neymar’s value increases with Messi out and at $10.1K he is a very reasonably priced option as our top striker.
F: Alvaro Morata, Real Madrid
Salary: $8,000
Morata has been limited to one goal through Real Madrid’s first five league games but it is only a matter of time before he breaks through with a strong performance. Real Madrid will be playing its second league game in four days on Saturday so we expect him to get his shot to prove what he can do for his club up front.
FLEX: Gerard Pique, Barcelona
Salary: $3,400
With $3.8K left over to spend on our final FLEX position, it makes sense to invest in the player we feel has the highest upside. Pique has done a tremendous job early on for Barcelona and actually owns the sixth-best fantasy score on the team regardless of position. Pique should be the perfect fit for this spot as a strong value option to complete our optimal DraftKings La Liga fantasy lineup. Barcelona is a currently in third place in the standings with 10 points. They are three points back of Real Madrid and one back of Sevilla.
