EPL DFS Targets: Saturday, January 2nd
With 2016 starting up, we waste no time getting to work on some DFS EPL matches this Saturday morning.
This is a fun slate with seven matches to choose from. We have a couple of defensive battles and a few seemingly one sided affairs. This should be great for line variation and should be a good chance for us to start off the new year on the right foot. Good luck.
Goalkeepers
Cash Goalkeeper: Kasper Schmeichel, Leicester City $4,300 vs Bournemouth – I like Schmeichel in this matchup as he faces a Bournemouth team that is struggling to find its offensive identity in the Premier League this season. They’ve lacked a premier striker that can truly challenge the opponent and make the keeper work since Callum Wilson’s season ended with injury. Schmeichel is a very solid goalkeeper who believes he is the best in the business and is the son of former Manchester United stopper Peter Schmeichel. Bournemouth opponents have made 3.7 saves per game and in his last four matches Schmeichel has posted 5, 3, 2, and 2 saves. If Leicester take care of business at home (and they should), you can expect the clean sheet and win bonuses to apply for Schmeichel and for him to tally over 15 fantasy points on Saturday.
GPP Goalkeeper: Boaz Myhill, West Brom $3,600 vs Stoke City – Another home keeper, this time for the Tony Pulis run squad West Brom. Facing Stoke City, West Brom are in a challenging position as Stoke just got done beating Everton in an exciting match 4-3 with Shaqiri, Arnautovic and Bojan all in form. Myhill should face plenty of shots from a road squad that isn’t afraid to push forward and try to get a win. If you’d rather go a safer route, the opposing keeper, Jack Butland, is a great goalkeeper to target as he has 20+ fantasy point upside and West Brom may not be as threatening.
Defenders
Alan Hutton, Aston Villa $3,500 – When two bad teams face each other, what we find most of the time is a lot of incompetence and a lot of attempts by either team to try to spread the ball wide and use aerial strikes to score goals. In this case, Alan Hutton is the most likely candidate to benefit the most from this matchup between Aston Villa and Sunderland. Over the last six weeks Hutton has crossed the ball 30 times, second highest among defenders, putting him in the elite class of Alberto Moreno, Aleksander Kolarov and Ryan Bertrand. However, his price remains well below where he needs to be, and you should take advantage of the discount.
Ryan Bertrand, Southampton $3,200 – Speaking of Bertrand, he’s facing a Norwich squad that has allowed the sixth-most crosses in the Premier League, and at just a $3,200 price tag he’s too cheap to not take him in your cash games. He also carries upside as he’s coming off a week with 37 touches in the final third and he can provide chances to his teammates that can lead to assists (of which he has two this season)
Erik Pieters, Stoke $3,900 – He ranks in the top five among defenders in tackles, interceptions and fouls drawn over the last six weeks. Pieters has averaged close to double digit fantasy points in that time frame as well, and as mentioned earlier this should be a matchup between two defensive teams. Playing on the road, I would not be surprised if Pieters has more work to do intercepting and tackling, which should ultimately help his fantasy output in this matchup.
Midfielders
Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City $7,800 – Kevin De Bruyne has been one of the top midfield performers this season. His floor does not depend on goals or assists, but he can reach a double digit output day off of just crosses and shots alone. His opponent Watford have allowed multiple games of 10+ crosses to midfielders this season already, which puts him in a great position, especially considering his corner-kick duties.
Matt Ritchie, Bournemouth $6,200 – Among the middle tier midfielders, Ritchie is in the best position, as his opponent, Leicester City allow a very large amount of crosses and play a very open match that allows for opponents to pressure on the wings. This plays perfectly into Ritchie’s skillset as he is usually the primary corner kick taker, and that should bring his floor up while allowing him a good ceiling as well.
Jordan Veretout, Aston Villa $4,300- The four highest crossing totals of the season for Aston Villa belong to Veretout and they all happened in the last six matchdays. Combine that fact with Veretout’s price tag of just 4.3K and he’s a must play in your cash games and your GPP teams alike. His opponent this week in Sunderland allow plenty of crosses and possession to the opponent, so this could be a week for Veretout to shine.
Marc Albrighton, Leicester City $6,200 – Albrighton is a relatively cheap way to get exposure to the Foxes offense that should get a couple of goals on their way to a win. Albrighton takes some crosses and free kicks for Leicester, but he does defer to Mahrez on occasion, so it’s not a sure thing that you’ll get the upside of Mahrez in this matchup. However, he has reached double digit fantasy points in every matchup this season with the exception of three.
Forwards
Sergio Aguero, Manchester City $8,300 – You can only count on Aguero for 60 some odd minutes at this point in the season, but with Manchester City being such a dynamic offense, he is still their best forward and most likely to score a goal. He’s only played three times since gameweek 14, and has nine shots in that span, with eight of them coming from inside the box. I expect that a matchup against Watford should help turn things around for the recovering-from-injury Argentine. In the reverse fixture Aguero came close a couple of times and ended up with four shots but no goals. Aguero is solely a GPP play for me this week.
Olivier Giroud, Arsenal $7,500 – Arsenal may be sitting Giroud in this matchup this week and going with Theo Walcott, who is dangerous with his fast pace against slower defenders. If Giroud does get the start, I love him in this matchup and will be looking for ways to fit him into my cash lineup; the same applies for Walcott.
Shane Long, Southampton $3,700 – Pelle is injured for the Saints, meaning they’re having to rely a little on Shane Long for their offense, and he’s stepped up in recent weeks. He scored twice against Arsenal and finished with 25 DK points. This matchup against Norwich should be a good one, and at such a cheap price tag, you can’t afford to not roster him.
Marko Arnautovic, Stoke $4,900 – Arnautovic has stepped up in the last two weeks, scoring two goals and netting an assist last week as well. Stoke are in a tough matchup, and I’ve already recommended the opposing goalkeeper in GPPs, however, you can’t ignore what Arnautovic has been doing on the field. For a cheap price tag, he’s worth your consideration this week until he stops converting those shots.