EPL Daily Plays: Tuesday, 12/2
With a short turnaround from the games we had Sunday, we have a new gameweek here midweek in the premier league. And for that, we bring you another round of GPPs on DraftKings for this week’s matchups.
The first day of games brings us six matches that highlight several matchups between teams on different ends of the table. With a short rest it is important to be cognizant of starting XI and which players are in and which are out. This is a later start set of games with the first round of lineups locking at 2:45PM EST and the second round locking up 15 minutes after. As always, feel free to follow me on twitter @DFS_hambazaza and I’ll try to tweet out lineups right as they come out this afternoon.
Goalkeepers
David De Gea, Manchester United $5,700 The Manchester United keeper might be the biggest favorite on the board on a day where there aren’t many favorites. He’s on a run of four games with double digit keeper performances. His price has dropped by $100 since last week’s season high of $5,800. De Gea might be the most reliable keeper in this match, but as we’ve seen in recent weeks, there are always options and no Clean Sheet is guaranteed, no matter how big a favorite one team is.
Julian Speroni, Crystal Palace $3,500 Palace are coming into their home clash with an Aston Villa team that hasn’t had a win under their belt for almost 3 months and nine matchdays. Their last three weeks however were draws, but they only managed to score 2 goals. Speroni and Crystal Palace haven’t been able to keep a clean sheet for seven matchdays since a home win over Leicester, but I believe that given his price and the current form of Villa, Speroni is my cheap dark horse option at keeper for this slate.
Simon Mignolet, Liverpool $5,000 Liverpool are coming off a much needed win against Stoke City this weekend and Mignolet played a crucial role as he maintained a clean sheet and produced 3 saves. Moreover, Stoke produced a total of 10 chances created which resulted in zero goals scored, showing that Liverpool’s defense has started to step up a little bit. If you choose to pay up, Mignolet might be an option.
Lukasz Fabianski, Swansea $5,100 – It’s tough to suggest Fabianski as a goalkeeper this week as he’s facing arguably the hottest striker in the entire league in Charlie Austin. However, Fabianski is on his home soil and the Swans are favored to win this game with a 2-0 score. That said, I might not trust that Austin won’t be getting several shots on target today and maybe even a goal. I’d take Fabianski in a GPP team since the odds are in his favor (tho, don’t count on the clean sheet)
Other Goalkeepers I Like: Ben Foster – WBA, Adrian – West Ham
Defenders
Aaron Cresswell, West Ham $3,700 He scored last week for the first time in the Premier League. Cresswell has been a reliable wing defender this season and he has a floor of a few crosses a game. Don’t expect another goal from him as he hasn’t been a goal scorer prior to this moment in his career, I do however expect him to challenge and provide some key passes and potential chances created for this team today.
Kieran Trippier, Burnley $5,000 Trippier is the priciest option at defense today and he’s not a bad one. He’s had some tough games recently however, his time will come. On the season he has 12 chances created with only 1 assist on the season. He also gets plenty of touches in the final third, almost 20 a game putting him in elite territory in terms of attacking defenders. On a day with a lack of other options, Plenty of teams will be going to Trippier.
Carl Jenkinson, West Ham $3,400 Another great option today is Carl Jenkinson, along with Cresswell might be the easy West Ham stack. Jenkinson has been the cheaper option of the two, and he’s averaged 4.5 crosses a game. He has a relatively high floor and given his price, might be worth a flyer today.
Other Defenders I like: Aly Cissokho – Aston Villa, Joel Ward – Crystal Palace, Javier Manquillo – Liverpool, Daryl Janmaat – Newcastle
Midfielders
Stewart Downing, West Ham $7,200 With Angel Di Maria injured and unlikely to play for Manchester United this afternoon, there is an opening at midfield for the top play. One of the potential candidates for the top spot on the day is Stewart Downing. Downing has been a key player in the West Ham offense recently with an increase in his offensive influence as he’s created a total of 37 chances on the season so far. These have resulted in four total assists for a low assists/chances created ratio. Part of the reason has been the finishing for West Ham as Enner Valencia has been missing from the lineup. I would hesitate to call for a goal-assist combo from the duo today as Valencia is still not in form, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if the added attention to Valencia gives Downing a bit more freedom and he could make some magic happen on this day.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea $7,400 I highlighted Gylfi and Bony last weekend as the matchup was ripe and they had been inching closer to an assist with Gylfi missing out for three straight weeks. I think by sheer volume Gylfi gets the nod again this week as the offense tends to run through him in the midfield, and with a lack of a true top shelf option, I think Sigurdsson makes a great play today.
Ander Herrera, Manchester United $4,900 If Herrera does indeed start for Louis Van Gaal this week then he’ll become a must play. He played 76 minutes in the last game out and netted an assist. His talent is undeniable, and with the extra opportunity available after Di Maria’s injury he is a must play at his price tag if he does indeed start.
Raheem Sterling, Liverpool $8,300 Liverpool are favorites in this matchup and with Sterling being the focal point of the Liverpool offense. Sterling has been providing multiple crosses, fouls drawn and shots in the last few games. To top it off he also has 31 chances created on the season giving him a high floor as well as a high ceiling. He’s the most expensive (healthy) option on the board today and if you can roster him, go for it.
Steven Gerrard, Liverpool $6,600 Gerrard is coming off a bad fantasy week where he provided only 1 point, that should get enough people off of him to make him a GPP play. He does have a high ceiling though as he has created 27 chances with only one assist on the season. Gerrard is also a main corner kick taker for Liverpool giving him a chance to step up this week. It may be this week, and it may be next, but Gerrard will have a big game very very soon.
Yanick Bolasie, Crystal Palace $6,100 He was all over the place last week against Swansea on the road, and with Palace returning to their home turf, I expect Bolasie to be even more aggressive. He averages more crosses and shots at home than he does away and against a weak Aston Villa side, Bolasie will be key in his side’s offensive production.
Other Midfielders I like: Leroy Fer – QPR, Juan Mata/Marouane Fellaini/Adnan Januzaj (whoever gets the start at CAM) – Manchester United, Mile Jedinak – Crystal Palace
Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Manchester United $10,600 As the most expensive option on the board not named Di Maria, Rooney will likely be featured in plenty of lineups if he gets the start. Beware however, that he did get banged up last time out and as of now is questionable to play. I suspect that he will play however, but his chances of playing a full 90 minutes might be limited. Rooney is an excellent play on goal as he’s scored five goals in his last four matches (including International duty) and Rooney is probably the hottest striker in the Premiership right now.
Wilfried Bony, Swansea $8,400 He scored last week and has upped his tally to six goals on the season making him and Gylfi one of the most productive duo on the board today. He’s a good option in both cash games and tournaments and will be featured heavily in plenty of lineups.
Charlie Austin, QPR $8,000 Another very popular play last week and more than likely again this week. Austin comes in with one of the highest threat ratings on the season with 7 goals in 12 appearances. If you only include his last five matches, he has 5 goals, 22 shots, 12 shots on target and 9 fouls drawn. He has eclipsed value in seven of his last eight matches, and while his price has risen, I believe that he is worth rostering again as he has not reached his peak value on the season yet.
Rickie Lambert, Liverpool $6,100 Lambert has two goals and an assist in his last three matches, and Liverpool are facing a weak Leicester side that has made it a habit to concede shots to opponents. At his price of $6,100 he makes a great play in a game expected to feature some goals for the away side.
Robin Van Persie, Manchester United $9,600 Van Persie scored last week, and netted an assist. For his skill level, and involvement in the offense, he only has four goals on the season and that is not enough. With Rooney slightly dinged up and with Di Maria unavailable, I predict that Van Persie continues the form he found last week and for the savings, might be a better option than Rooney.
Christian Benteke, Aston Villa $8,200 He’s overpriced for somebody who is just coming back from injury and in almost zero form. However, given his abilities and his potential fole for a villa team searching for something positive, he’s a good GPP play.
Other Forwards I Like: Saido Berahino – West Brom, Enner Valencia – West Ham, Papiss Cisse – Newcastle, Radamel Falcao – Manchester United, Danny Ings – Burnley, Mame Diouf – Stoke, Bojan Krkic – Stoke