EPL Daily Plays - New Year's Day Edition
Happy New Years Eve Grinders! I hope you are having a great NYE and are preparing for a great night out with friends, family or at home chilling on the couch watching the ball drop. Speaking of balls dropping, we have a big slate of EPL games tomorrow that feature some exciting matchups and some interesting decisions to make for your rosters and how you should spend that bankroll. The goal of this article is to give you the best plays based on matchups and to point you in the right direction. I will go through these position by position highlighting the best plays in my mind at each position. As always, be cognizant of the starting XI as they get released as things can and will change between now and lineup lock. Be sure to follow me on Twitter as I will send out the latest lineup information as I have it. Happy New Year.
Goalkeepers
Jak Alnwick, Newcastle United $4,700 – Alnwick hasn’t kept a clean sheet since taking over for the starting keeper job with the injuries to Krul and Elliot. However, he gets a very juicy matchup against a Burnley team that has only managed 14 goals on the season and only managed 5 points in their last 6 matches away from home. Newcastle has been very good at home in their last six with 15 points (5 wins, 1 Loss) with only 4 goals conceded in that span. Alnwick might have his price a bit high given his past performance, however, I have him pegged for the win this week and he’s slightly cheaper than most other options with the odds in their favor.
Joe Hart, Manchester City $5,700 – DraftKings has a unique soccer pricing algorithm as it determines the keepers’ pricing based on opponent, while barely taking into account the keepers’ previous performances when determining said keeper’s price. Joe Hart just allowed two goals with a single save and did not get the win in his last match, yet his price went up $100 this week. Why? His opponent Sunderland have not been very good at scoring goals on the road, to the tune of only six goals on the season. Moreover, Manchester City managed to dominate Sunderland in their first meeting 4-1. Look for a repeat performance of dominance on behalf of City, even if they will have to do it without Sergio Aguero.
Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea $5,000 – Chelsea beat Tottenham 3-0 last time these two met. This game will be on the road for the Blues, so they won’t have the advantage of the home supporters, however, Chelsea is a much better team than Tottenham that I wouldn’t be surprised at a 1-0 win for the away favorites with Courtois being in the middle of it all with a few key saves to bring his team the win. In a GPP it might be worth it taking a shot on an away team and hope for the best. With Courtois, the best is easily a double-digit performance.
Other Keepers I Like: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Adrian (West Ham United), Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal)
Defenders
Aaron Cresswell and Carl Jenkinson, West Ham United $5,000 and $4,900 – West Ham United are playing the managerless West Brom Albion at home, and are solid favorites against the 16th placed team in a matchup that is sure to invite plenty of attack from the West Ham side. Cresswell and Jenkinson both are capable of providing assists and crosses. and facing a Baggies team that is in freefall, I’ll be liking a lot of West Ham players today.
Leighton Baines, Everton $5,600 – Baines is as expensive as ever, but he’s also as valuable as ever as in their last matchup, Everton have switched Baines to a midfield role and that led to him being even more of an attacker. Roberto Martinez has hinted at shifting back to previous formations, however, even if he does that, I don’t believe that will affect Baines’ ability to get up front, and thus, his value is still there as a high floor high ceiling option on the defense. You will have to get savings elsewhere if you do choose to roster him however as his price is the highest on the board on defense.
Paul Dummett and Daryl Janmaat, Newcastle United $4,100 and $4,000 – The full back duo has the potential to get into double digit points on new years day, and thus should be on your radar. They’re a pair of the lowest priced full backs for a favorite in this slate. If you believe, like I do, that Newcastle will manage to dominate Burnley at home, then Dummett and Janmaat should be part of your lineups and if you are lucky can get the clean sheet bonuses for both of them as they make a good stacking option along with their keeper Alnwick.
Other Defenders I Like: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Pablo Zabaleta (Man. City), Jores Okore (Aston Villa), Alberto Moreno (Liverpool)
Midfielders
Stewart Downing, West Ham United $7,400 – He scored or assisted in the first four games in December, then the schedule intervened and he played two matches against Chelsea and Arsenal and was blanked out. He’ll be looking for getting back in form against WBA who, as mentioned earlier, currently have no manager and Downing would be the perfect playmaker to take advantage of the situation.
Jordan Henderson, Liverpool $5,200 – Another good option from the Liverpool midfield would be Gerrard, however at his price, it is difficult to ignore Henderson in this matchup where he is facing a Leicester City team that has allowed the most fantasy points to anybody so far this season. Henderson has five assists on the season and could be due for many more. He’s a good differentiation play that has high potential.
Raheem Sterling, Liverpool $8,900 – Sterling comes in as a pricier option in this game slate, however, he is due to score a goal. He hit the woodwork twice in his last time out and will be itching to get a goal in this game. He has 48 goal attempts on the season, but only 4 goals to show for it. It feels like Liverpool will be getting all three points in this match, and thus, I like plenty of options from their attack in this slate.
David Silva, Manchester City $9,200 – With four goals in his last three matches, and 16, 16 and 28 fantasy points, Silva is as hot as fire right now. He’s going to be heavily owned this game as City are expected to attack and attack and attack. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out though, that he didn’t play a full 90 minutes in three of the last five matches he’s played, however, with the shorter rest, he might get the full 90 this match for City to ensure they can secure the win.
Others I Like: Kevin Mirallas (Everton), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle), Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
Forwards
Stevan Jovetic, Manchester City $7,500 – He’s priced as the 16th highest forward, he scored in his last matchup against this very same Sunderland away from home, and he is likely getting the start here at home for a City team that is looking to keep pace with Chelsea at the top of the table. So why would you not roster Jovetic? He came off the bench against Burnley in the last matchup and managed 2 shots in 28 minutes. While that is a small sample size, it draws concern that he might not play the full 90 minutes even if he does start. However, facing a team that he has had success against this season might be more than enough for him to get a result that will please his fantasy owners. I will make sure I have a healthy dose of Jovetic in most of my teams tomorrow.
Charlie Austin, QPR $9,500 – Every week I tout Charlie Austin, and almost every week he comes through. I didn’t get an article written for the 28th game day slate, but I put Charlie Austin in every one of my lineups. He disappointed me and managed only 7 points with no goals. His price has gone up yet again and is at its highest mark, he’s back at home against Swansea who he only managed one fantasy point against a month ago. So why am I touting Austin this time? He’s a different type of player at home than he is on the road. Following that abysmal performance against Swansea he netted five goals in his next three matches. A lot of people will shy from Austin this time out and go after Alexis or Costa for a bit more cap space, and those would be good picks, however, to differentiate from the crowd, you’ll have to take some risks and Austin might be enough of a risk without really taking a risk.
Christian Betenke, Aston Villa $8,600 – Betenke is one of the top skilled strikers, but he hasn’t been able to show it so far this season. With only two goals on the season (one of them against Palace the last time these two met) not a lot of people will trust him. Betenke however will be featured heavily in this game as he hasn’t had the wear and tear of the whole season as others on the team have. He can be relied on to get some shots on target and attack the defense of Palace and make Speroni dive for a few saves.
Other Forwards I Like: Diego Costa (Chelsea), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Wilfried Bony (Swansea), Diafra Sakho (West Ham United), Ayoze Perez (New Castle)