EPL Daily Plays: Wednesday, 12/3
It’s a shorter slate today with only four matches, however these games are where all the studs will be featured. There are fewer value plays and you’ll have a tough time finding guys you want to roster and be comfortable with. This piece is meant to shine some light on the players in the best position to succeed and to give a good starting point for your research/lineup building. As always, keep on the lookout for the starting XI and feel free to hit me up on Twitter or here in the comments to let me know if you have any questions. Good Luck.
Goalkeepers
Damian Martinez, Arsenal $3,500 The Arsenal backup keeper gets the start today for the Gunners against a suffering Southampton side that just finished getting demolished by a Manchester City side 3-0 over the weekend. While Southampton will look to forget about what happened and drown their sorrows, they face a very tough opposition in an Arsenal team that is looking to maintain momentum. I like Martinez for the win and possibly the clean sheet. He will face some attacks as Arsenal are missing some key pieces in the midfield and the back. However, Martinez should prove worthy of his low salary for a starting keeper in a favored position.
Tim Howard, Everton $5,400 He’s too expensive for what he’s done recently, but Captain America gets the easiest matchup of the week against a weak Hull team at home. Everton should come away with the win here and the clean sheet is the most definitely in the cards for them.
Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea $5,800 There are only four games on the day, and Courtois is the biggest favorite, and while I have some doubts as to whether Chelsea will maintain the clean sheet, I do think that Chelsea gather themselves after dropping two points in their last matchup and come away with all three.
Other Goalkeepers I like: Joe Hart – Manchester City, Hugo Lloris – Tottenham, Costel Pantilimon – Sunderland
Defenders
Leighton Baines, Everton $6,300 His price is absurdly high and for good reason, he has the highest floor of any defender as well as a very high ceiling. Baines is one of the main assist men for Everton as well as their main set-piece taker. If you can afford Baines, then he’s a must roster tomorrow.
Seamus Coleman, Everton $4,600 Coleman is also another good defender to roster from this game as Everton have a great matchup that will see them put pressure for most of the game and control possession for a majority of the time. Coleman is a good pivot from Baines for $1.7K cheaper.
Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea $5,100 Another expensive option at defense comes with Chelsea, I hesitate to roster him however except in GPPs as Chelsea might concede the goal here and thus taking away the clean sheet bonus. I do like Ivanovic tho as he does have a decent floor with the crosses and shots.
Editors Note: Gibbs is not in the starting XI today
Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal $3,900 If he’s not injured and will start tomorrow I like Gibbs as a cheaper option in the Arsenal back court. Gibbs has the potential to provide some crosses, but most likely his value will lie with being a defender on a team that might get the clean sheet. If you don’t believe that Arsenal can hold Southampton goalless, then don’t roster Gibbs.
Santiago Vergini, Sunderland $3,000 Vergini comes into this game with a consistent 5-6 points in his last four games. Sunderland are facing a tough Manchester City team that is coming off a big win against Southampton. However, with all the expensive defenders, we have to find a potential punt play somewhere, and Vergini is that today.
Other Defenders I Like: Pablo Zabaleta – Manchester City, Ryan Bertrand – Southampton, Andrew Robertson – Hull
Midfielders
Eden Hazard, Chelsea $9,600 With Diego Costa out for accumulating too many red cards, Eden Hazard will be getting more opportunities up front as the attacking midfielder of choice for the Blues. Even though Fabregas has been getting the lions share of the assists this season for Chelsea, Hazard has been just as productive in terms of creating chances for the offense. It is only a matter of time before the Belgian midfielder is able to parlay those opportunities into assists and goals.
Christian Eriksen, Tottenham $8,100 He’s facing a very tough matchup with Chelsea and while he’s scored in his last two games, if you believe that Tottenham can get a result here then Eriksen is the man to push them to that result. He has the ability to deliver crosses as well as draw fouls, so Eriksen does have value beyond the goal scoring column.
Yaya Toure, Manchester City $7,600 He’s been on FIRE lately and absolutely taking it to the next level. City is in an advantageous position coming off a thrashing of Southampton and now face a Sunderland team that isn’t very good. Toure gets more up front with the unavailability of David Silva for City. I expect Toure to continue his assault on defenses as he’s scored or assisted in his last four games. If you believe he’s reached his peak, then only roster him in GPPs, I believe he has at least one more gem in him.
Santi Cazorla, Arsenal $6,500 With the recent formation change for the gunners, Cazorla has found himself as the “hole” man for the gunners when they play the 4-2-3-1 formation. He’s assisted on all three of Arsenal’s goals in their last two matches (EPL and UCL) and I expect that trend to continue.
Editors Note: Nacer Chadli is not in the starting XI today
Other Midfielders I Like: Oscar – Chelsea, Nacer Chadli – Tottenham, Dusan Tadic – Southampton, Ahmed Elmohammady – Hull
Forwards
Romelu Lukaku, Everton $10,800 He’s very expensive and might not get the start for Everton midweek. If he does go however, he might be one of the better contrarian options as most people will flock to Sergio Aguero or Alexis Sanchez with any extra salary they have. If you manage to fit him in he’s a certainty to get a few shots on target and if things go your way, there might be a goal or two in there.
Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal $12,500 His role has diminished with the recent change in formation, however, Sanchez is still other-worldly with his ability to net goals and create chances. He’s actually been an underrated play maker for the Arsenal team and while I don’t know if he’s going to be scoring anything this week, he has a very decent chance to net an assist.
Didier Drogba, Chelsea $5,900 Without Diego Costa, I expect Drogba to get the start for Mourinho’s men in blue today. Drogba is a savvy veteran who makes the most of his opportunities. He has a chance to burn his owners if he doesn’t get any scores, however with at least 50 minutes of game action He should be rather productive and might be in for a big game. Be careful tho as Mourinho might decide to go with Loic Remy as the starting forward and bring Drogba off the bench. If he does go with Remy, I’d look for Giroud as my value forward.
Editors Note: Giroud is not in the starting XI today, bump up Alexis Sanchez
Olivier Giroud, Arsenal $6,500 Speaking of Giroud, he returned from injury last week and picked up right where he left off and was able to notch a spectacular goal from a very tough angle. His price of $6,500 is not prohibitive and his position in the offense is expected to be at the head of the arrow meaning he’ll get the supply from both sides if it’s there. Southampton have been a great defense, but they will be facing a team that is clicking on all cylinders now in these Gunners.
Kevin Mirallas, Everton $5,000 Mirallas has come on strong for Everton since returning from injury, his price tag of only 5K is likely too low for his abilities and with three goals in six starts, he’s proving to be a vital cog in the Everton attack. If Lukaku does indeed get a rest day, then Mirallas’s stock rises even higher for me. However, I like him as a play today regardless of Lukaku’s status.
Connor Wickham, Sunderland $4,800 He’s a GPP play, Sunderland are playing at home to a Manchester City team that they’ve had some success against. Wickham is a good play and he provides some decent value without scoring as evidenced by his run of three games with double digit scores without scoring or assisting on a goal.
Sergio Aguero, Manchester City $12,900 The most likely scorer of goals on this City side, Aguero has been unconscious lately when he’s been in front of goal. On the season he’s far and away the leader in touches in the penalty area as well as the leader in Shots on Target with 31, He also leads the league in goals scored and is the most expensive option on the slate today. Go ahead and roster him if you can fit him in, however, with the dearth of value plays today, it’s going to be very difficult to fit Aguero in a lineup and be comfortable with it.
Other Forwards I Like: Steven Fletcher – Sunderland, Graziano Pelle – Southampton, Roberto Soldado – Tottenham