EPL Gameweek 28: Tuesday's Top Plays
With a short slate today, DraftKings has offered us some nice GPPs with a $5K warmup for only $5 to enter as well as a few other options including some qualifiers to their end of season championship.
So, here are my picks for today’s slate, but make sure to check starting lineups about an hour before lineups lock to make sure players are available and playing. If you have any questions, as always, feel free to message me here or to drop me a line on twitter @DFS_Hambazaza. Good luck today.
Goalkeepers
Allan McGregor, Hull $3,900 – McGregor leads his side into a tough home matchup against fellow bottom-table dweller, Sunderland. Hull are coming into this match having secured 7 points in their last 5 matches and looking for some more points to separate themselves from the relegation zone. Hull are facing an easy squad in Sunderland who are 17th in the table in goals scored away from home with just 10 on the season. McGregor and his team are favorites in this matchup (albeit slight ones), and facing a striker in decent form in Defoe allows for McGregor to face some saves which could put him as the top goalkeeper on the slate.
Ben Foster, WBA $4,600 – I’m picking Foster over Forster purely due to form of the opposition. Foster is facing an Aston Villa team that has only scored 3 goals at home in their last 6 matches. While Foster is coming off three clean sheets and fantasy totals of 15, 9 and 16. Forster is facing a Crystal Palace side that is finding its groove and in their last 6 games away from home have managed 11 points and scored 7 goals. I’ll take the savings and roster Foster who has a good chance at a clean sheet in a more even match.
Other GoalKeepers to Consider: Brad Guzan – Aston Villa $5,000, Julian Speroni – Crystal Palace $3,500
Defenders
Nathaniel Clyne, Southampton $4,900 – While I am not a fan of Forster this week, I will however have some exposure to his full backs, Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand (if he starts). Both will see time up front supporting the attack from the wings and potentially delivering several crosses. Given the way that the forwards for Southampton have been playing however, don’t expect many assists from those crosses and Graziano Pelle hasn’t scored a goal in 10 league games, and the Saints have scored just once in their last five. Clyne makes for a decent option for a high floor cash game play.
Craig Dawson, WBA $3,000 – If you’re like me and you see West Brom Albion as one of the better defensive squads recently then you’ll love their full backs. However, you’ll also be a bit upset that Chris Brunt is listed as a midfielder on DraftKings, especially since he plays the DL spot in a 4-2-3-1 formation that allows for the full backs to drift forward on several occasions. Nevertheless, we still get the right full-back in Craig Dawson who will provide a decent floor with crosses and the potential for shots and fouls drawn. Moreover, the chance at a clean sheet is high for this team.
Other Defenders I Like: Ryan Bertrand – Southampton $5,100, Alan Hutton – Aston Villa $3,700, Matthew Lowton – Aston Villa $2,400, Andrew Robertson – Hull City $4,700
Midfielders
Ahmed Elmohamady, Hull $6,600 – With a short slate, you almost have to roster Elmo given his double digit upside and crosses delivered. With a superb talent such as Dame N’Doye (we’ll get to him later) I trust that Elmohamady only has a matter of time till he has an assist on his tally.
Jason Puncheon, Crystal Palace $5,000 – he scored 23 fantasy points last time out with three assists against a tough West Ham side and his price dropped. While you can’t expect him to produce that sort of output again, Puncheon does possess the potential to be very effective in the DK game as he relies on crosses and is an attacking midfielder who will get some shots off. The other option you can consider is Yannick Bolasie at $5,800.
Eljero Elia, Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse, Southampton – I don’t know who Koeman will start in the midfield or the forward position. The fourth member to consider is Sadio Mane who is listed as a forward on DK, but for the players listed in midfield, Dusan Tadic is my favorite when it comes to talent level. Although he’s been disappointing for several weeks now without a goal or assist or even a double digit fantasy game, he’s still going to be the most highly owned midfielder in this slate. It wouldn’t hurt to go with Elia who has as much potential and would be lower owned. Elia is also $1900 cheaper than Tadic, so he’s a good pivot if you need the savings (provided they both start)
Other Midfielders to consider: Stephane Sessegnon – WBA $6,700, Sebastian Larsson – Sunderland $5,500, Yannick Bolasie – Crystal Palace $5,900, Carlos Gil – Aston Villa $5,700
Forwards
Sadio Mane, Southampton $7,000 – He’s listed as a forward in DraftKings game and might be the safest option on the board for guaranteed points. Mane should get on the score board here, but I still can’t trust Southampton offense until I see them break out of their funk. That said, Mane still can deliver crosses, shots and draw fouls. He’s a great play at $7K.
Dame N’Doye, Hull $6,800 – N’Doye finished February with two goals and an assist, and in his brief time in the premier league has proven to be quite an asset to Hull as they battle their way into the top half of the table. They’ll count on N’Doye today along with Nikica Jelavic, but for my money I’ll go with the newcomer.
Dwight Gayle, Crystal Palace $5,700 – without Berahino or Ideye (both potentially out for injury), my third choice for striker goes to Dwight Gayle who had 15 total points last week without scoring a goal. With 10 crosses, 2 fouls drawn and three shots, he set himself a tremendous floor and would have been a great play had he scored as well. This week, I expect him to provide some more of that magic as he’s facing Southampton (who are less talented than Arsenal) and if CP can continue their run of form he would be an excellent source of offense and points for your fantasy team.
Other Forwards I Like: Shane Long – Southampton (if he starts) $5,600, Connor Wickham – Sunderland $6,500, Christian Benteke – Aston Villa $7,800