EPL Grind Down: Matchweek 4

by Hesh Hambazaza (hambazaza) Last Updated 2017-09-09 14:11:34

Welcome back from the international break and we’re back with some exciting EPL contests this week. This week’s matches are an improvement over Match day 3 in that we have more decisions to make which makes it better for those who are better prepared and that is what I’m here for. This Grind Down will go through each and every match on the main Saturday slate and break down the top plays and each match. It’s important to still review the lineups the morning of the matches to make sure that your players are starting.

Let’s get on with the matches

Southampton vs Watford

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Southampton						Watford
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				1.684						5.84
				D W D						D W D
				1-2-0						1-2-0
16.33	3.00	12.00	9.33	23.00	19.33	12.00	3.67	12.00	9.00	15.67	20.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Austin, Tadic, Gabbiadini, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Davis		Tadic, Ward- Prowse, Redmond, Yoshida		Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Davis, Bertrand		Deeney, Gray		Holebas		Holebas, Cleverley, Watson, Capoue, Carrillo

Our first match to take a look at for our return from the international break is Southampton hosting Watford. The two teams are tied on points so far this season with each team at 5 points off their first three fixtures. The Saints come into this one as big favorites at home against the Hornets. In their last match, Southampton were out played by EPL newcomes Huddersfield Town and held to a 0-0 draw. The team failed to make any real impactful attacks that left them losing the shot-count battle 16-6 to the newcomers. The team mostly failed to the move the ball into the final third of the opponents half and seemed to be on their back heel more often than not. It remains to be seen if this performance was an abberration or the new norm for S’oton. In reality though, it is likely a mixture of both as the team looks to fix it’s problems we’re probably to have mixed performances and results in the coming weeks. Looking at their performances at home, they played two matches, one against West Ham and one against Swansea. They failed to score against the Swans despite taking 29 total shots, but if you look at the quality of the shots, they had just 2 on target. In fact, in their first three matches, they have a total of just 10 shots on target out of a total of 49. Their goal scoring is also abysmal as they have just 3 goals to show for the three matches, all three against West Ham, and 2 of them penalties. The team is also a mess on set pieces. Depending on who starts, corners could be taken by Ward-Prowse, Davis, Bertrand and even Tadic or Redmond.

Their opponent, Watford, are surely disappointed having entered the international break after a goal-less draw against newcomers Brighton. Watford however, have had some positive results with a 3-3 draw against Liverpool at home, and a 2-0 win against Bournemouth on the road in GW2. The team has played in a 4-3-3 formation regardless of opponent. They heavily favor the right side of attack, where Amrabat gets his start. I’d venture to say he’s their most important player in terms of getting to do what they want on offense. The other wing side features new addition Richarlison who has become a somewhat popular selection in recent weeks. Though Richarlison didn’t get the performance I would have wanted from him in GW3 against Brighton at home, it makes it very difficult to rely on either of these wingers for DFS purposes.

This match will go one of two ways, the oddsmakers will be right, and Southampton somehow find a way to regain that midfield dominance they showed against Swansea, but combine it with a finishing ability (that may only manifest itself with Charlie Austin starting and Tadic getting his game back to 2016 levels). Or, Watford will play up to Southampton’s level and the two will battle it out in a midfield slogfest that ends with 2 goals split between the two sides with each manager claiming his team did some good things that day. Regardless, not a lot to love from a fantasy perspective.”

Southampton Top Plays

James Ward-Prowse, $6,500 FD, $6,100 DK – I don’t know if Ward-Prowse will get the start for Southampton or not, but if he does start then he’s a great option on this team with his abiity to take crosses. When he comes in off the bench he produces points. In his first two matches he combined for 96 minutes and recorded 16 total fantasy points. If he does get the start he’s the best fantasy option for a team that is hard to figure out. Unfortunately, he hasn’t started the last two matches, but this team looked terrible last time out and they’ll be looking to improve their performance this week. Ward-Prowse is a cash consideration for fantasy if he does start. If he does not, then Tadic takes his place, but is no longer a cash play for me.

Southampton Secondary Plays

Charlie Austin, $7,000 FD, $7,700 DK – Charlie Austin is my choice to start for this team in place of Gabbiadini if he’s healthy. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the shared by the manager as Austin has been coming in off the bench. I’m banking on this team needing a change in attitude in order to get some open play goals, and that change in attitude could come from a personnel change.

Nathan Redmond, $$8,000 FD, $$5,900 DK -He’s priced fairly low on both DK and FD and is a worthy second forward play on any of your teams. Redmond has a decent floor as he is a peripheral points player who gets a lot of action points away from goals and assists. Given that, he’s also a good option for goals and assists if given the opportunity which makes him both a good cash and tournament play

Watford Top Plays

Richarlison, $7,500 FD, $5,300 DK – Richarlison has quickly gone from unknown to highly popular play all over the place. I like Richarlison on the season and I think he’s a good tournament play. Some will point to his six fouls drawn last week and say that this could be a reliable stat to chase, but don’t fall for that error. fouls drawn are too reliant on referee and cannot be relied on for fantasy output week in and week out.

Watford Secondary Plays

Jose Holebas, $6,500 FD, $5,200 DK – Holebas should be back in this one after serving a one game suspension. His role should fit back in with the team as a full back that pushes forward. The team being on the road pushes Holebas into a secondary option and a tournament option only.

Leicester vs Chelsea

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Leicester						Chelsea
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				4.76						1.819
				L W L						L W W
				1-0-2						2-0-1
10.33	3.67	18.00	9.33	15.67	25.00	15.33	5.00	11.67	7.00	19.67	23.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Mahrez, Slimani, Vardy, Ulloa		Mahrez, Fuchs, Albrighton, Gray		Mahrez, Albrighton, Fuchs, James, Gray		Hazard, Fabregas, Willian, Morata		Alonso, Luiz, Willian, Fabregas,Drinkwater		Willian, Fabregas, Pedro, Hazard,Drinkwater

Well, it won’t take long for Danny Drinkwater to see his old team without his services after his recent move to Chelsea on the transfer deadline day. Drinkwater adds depth to Chelsea and gives Antonio Conte options when selecting his players as well as rotation players for FA cup, EFL and Champions League matches this season. Leicester on the other hand, are now having to go to the well to find a replacement for Drinkwater, the likely candidates are Matthew James and Wilfried Ndidi as starting holding midfielders.

The oddsmakers have Chelsea as favorites in this one, I tend to agree and not for solely homer reasons (though, it doesn’t hurt). Leicester are coming into this one with their top player Riyad Mahrez probably feeling disappointed after not making his desired move out of the club meaning his motivations are unclear at this juncture, though he’s stuck there at least until January. Leicester have had a rough schedule to start the season with opening fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester United sandwiching an easy bout with Brighton in GW2. Their facing off with Chelsea doesn’t ease their concerns however and they will be pushing for a draw here and to try to come away with at least a draw in their home matchup.

With Leicester as a marked home underdog, that puts Chelsea in the driver seat in this matchup, and that is for good reason. This Chelsea team looks like it’s doing fine replacing Costa with Morata in the striker role, and with Hazard still not back (Conte claims he’s not ready for start yet despite his starts for Belgium in Europe WC Quals this week), the team will rely heavily on their wingers and midfielders to push their attack forward. Expect this to be a methodical matchup with both teams pushing at times but with Chelsea dominating possession and ultimately emerging victorious.”

Leicester Top Plays

Kasper Schmeichel, $5,500 FD, $4,000 DK – Schmeichel had a good week 3 with 9 fantasy points despite losing 0-2 to Manchester United. I expect him to get more opportunities in this one with Chelsea playing to try to win on the road and with Schmeichel hoping to preserve a clean sheet to try to give his team a chance at a positive result at home. This puts him as an elite play at just $4K on DK and $5.5K on FD.

Marc Albrighton, $6,500 FD, $5,600 DK – Albrighton is an active midfielder who takes most set piece free kicks for Leicester. He also gets involved in the attack and pushes forward on their counters. What I like about Albrighton is his ability to get several periphary stats even if he isn’t involved in a goal. Unlike Mahrez who almost needs a goal to reach value and that makes him a tough sell for me. Mahrez also wanted to leave Leicester and now that he didn’t get his wish, I’ll be waiting to see his body language before I decide if I’m investing in his performances in the future.

Leicester Secondary Plays

Jamie Vardy, $8,000 FD, $6,100 DK – Vardy has hinted at a departure from the Foxes in the future, but for now he’s still with the team and there are no indications that he’s letting up because of it. Over the first three games he was rather disappointing outside the opening match against Arsenal. Against Brighton he was extremely disappointing as he managed just a single shot and 5 fantasy points despite being at home. His opponent, Chelsea, have had a tough time keeping strikers from being active so far. Harry Kane had 8 total shots against them, and Sam Vokes scored a brace. That trend of striker activity should continue this week as Cahill is still suspended putting Vardy in a good spot to have a decent floor for a forward (roughly 2-3 shots) but he’s still rather goal dependent.

Chelsea Top Plays

Cesc Fabregas, $10,000 FD, $6,700 DK -Fabregas last match after missing GW2 with a suspension, but now with Hazard playing 187 minutes over the break with Belgium, I expect some changes to the Chelsea midfield. And while Conte’s words claim that Hazard will start the match on the bench, reports say that he’s been training with the team although not fully with the first team. That said, I think Fabregas continues in his previous role with some free kick duty. Fabregas scored a goal last time out and while I don’t expect goals every match, he should get a fair share of them this season. He has a good floor and should remain as starter even with Hazard returning to the squad be it on the bench or as a starter.

Alvaro Morata, $11,500 FD, $8,500 DK Morata has made a habit of scoring and assisting. He scored 3 goals for Spain over the break and assisted on another, and before the break, he had two matches where he finished with a goal and an assist. He’s facing a tougher keeper today in Schmeichel, but he should be able to find his way to a few more solid shots and open looks. As a striker he’s still goal dependent, but his chances at goal are probably better than most away strikers this week.

Chelsea Secondary Plays

Willian, $10,000 FD, $7,600 DK – Willian should be getting the start if Hazard does not. Willian is always good for a free kick goal and is a very active midfield player. On a Chelsea squad playing on the road and favored, sometimes goals come from the free kicks or set pieces putting Willian as a good chance for one of those to go his way. He’s a secondary option because of the risk that is there in case Hazard does start. Willian is also a candidate for a substitution for Hazard to come on his place, so I worry about minutes as well.

Everton vs Tottenham

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Everton						Tottenham
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				3.77						2.13
				W D L						W L D
				1-1-1						1-1-1
7.67	2.00	15.33	7.33	14.33	23.00	21.33	5.67	9.67	7.67	27.33	18.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Baines, Sigurdsson, Rooney, Barkley, Mirallas		Sigurdsson, Barkley, Rooney, Mirallas, Baines		Sigurdsson, Mirallas, Rooney, Baines, Barkley		Kane, Janssen, Alli, Lamela		Eriksen, Lamela, Kane		Eriksen, Davies, Lamela, Son, Trippier

This is a tough match for both teams. Everton spent a bunch of money this summer and overhauled their team with sending away Lukaku, bringing back Rooney and signing Sandro Ramirez and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Tottenham are a solid team with good defensive credentials, but they’ve had a rough start to the season with just four points in their first three matches. Their offense hasn’t been as productive as you’d expect with their team scoring 4 goals in the opening matches (1 OG, 2 goals against 10 men). Kane still hasn’t scored in August, but luckily we’re not in August anymore so maybe that’ll change. Everton are not a strong defense, but they do have some good defensive players and they have looked pretty decent thus far. I like this match to be a real close one with both teams clamping down to avoid a loss. There will be some opportunities from set pieces and from counters, but I don’t think the goalkeepers will get tested very often, though that doesn’t mean they wont get 2-3 shots on target each. This screams of a midfield battle with some quality offense on both sides and even better defense.

Everton Top Plays

Gylfi Sigurdsson, $8,500 FD, $8,100 DK – With a close match like this, the free kick taker usually gets a boost as midfield slogs tend to draw fouls and cards from the official and that could lead to free kicks in good positions on the pitch. Gylfi Sigurdsson is one of the best in the world at taking free kicks, and he’ll be looking to get his new team off to a good home start in his first match at Goodison Park. He had 9 crosses last time against Chelsea and he should be close to that number again this time.

Everton Secondary Plays

Sandro Ramirez, $7,000 FD, $5,500 DK – Cheap home striker with pedigree on a good team. This is what Sandro Ramirez brings to the table. Last season the 22 year old scored 14 goals in La Liga with Malaga. And while that’s not exactly a direct translation to the Premier League, he is in a good spot here to open up his account with his new team. I can see a Ramirez-Sigurdsson pairing working very well.

Tottenham Top Plays

Christian Eriksen, $10,000 FD, $10,500 DK – Similar to Sigurdsson, Eriksen also takes free kicks and is probably the very best in the world at them. In fact, he scored a beautiful strike this week for Denmark and should be raring to go again for Tottenham. The price is extremely high on Eriksen, but for cash he’s a very decent option and remains a good tournament option. While this match won’t feature a ton of shots, there will be some opportunities for both offenses to make their mark and it’s hard to ignore Eriksen’s impact. A good pivot from him would be Dele Alli.

Harry Kane, $10,000 FD, $11,000 DK – Kane has been a bit on the disappointing end if you’re looking for goals. He hasn’t scored any though to start the season, but looking at his shot numbers, you can’t be too disappointed, except that you’ve spent a premium every week to get him into your lineups. Now, of course, he was able to score twice for England against Malta. Before that though, he did take 24 shots in three matches and 9 of those shots were on target and approximately 11 of them were in good positions on the pitch which implies a high expected goals (xG) probability. If you believe in the “due” theory, then Kane is “due” to score a goal here eventually. He won’t go the entire season without scoring, it is a matter of whether that streak of no goals in the Premier League ends against Everton on the road or not. I believe it will.

Tottenham Secondary Plays

Ben Davies, $6,500 FD, $5,800 DK – Ben Davies is quickly emerging as one of my favorite defenders with his penchant to push forward and cross the ball and be part of the attack. He’s also been taking corners along with Eriksen and he’s a player that I can trust in cash games in the right matchup (one where Tottenham expect to attack). Davies is a candidate for my cash games this week provided I can make the salaries work given his high price tag.

Brighton vs West Bromwich Albion

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Brighton						West Bromwich Albion
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				2.57						3.19
				L L D						W W D
				0-1-2						2-1-0
9.00	2.00	12.00	5.67	18.67	19.00	11.33	3.00	15.00	8.00	21.00	26.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Murray, Hemed		Knockaert, Gross, Stephens, Skalak, March		Knockaert, Gross, Stephens, Skalak, March, Dunk, Bruno, Kayal, Murphy

Brighton have played well in recent weeks and have shown themselves better than their record so far. They put up a good fight against Manchester City and Leicester and managed to come away with a draw against Watford. They are one of two teams that haven’t scored any goals yet (the second being Crystal Palace), but they’ve also only conceded 4 goals putting them equal to Chelsea and better than Arsenal and Leicester. They will figure out their defense, but their offense remains to be seen as they currently don’t have a reliable striker and have been going with Glenn Murray and Tomer Hemed as a lone striker. I don’t trust either of them, even at home. The team does not average a lot of shots on target and until they fix their issues will remain a likely candidate for low scoring games and potential relegation.

Their opponents West Brom are the likely victors of this match given the quality of their roster. The team hasn’t been challenged yet with matches against Burnley, Bournemouth and Stoke. They emerge from the first three weeks with 7 points and feeling confident they can come away with points from this matchup as well. Tony Pulis teams are strong defensively and that means they’ll be limiting chances for this Brighton squad giving their full backs a rare chance to attack. The team in general has played well and should be looking to improve on their record this week.”

Brighton Top Plays

Pascal Groß, $6,500 FD, $4,000 DK – My keyboard doesn’t have the ß symbol, so I really hate writing Groß up, but nevertheless, he’s a good fit on this team and does a lot of things well for them. He lines up behind the striker and seems to take corners for them (9 corners last match) as well as open play crosses (6 last match, for 15 total crosses on the game). Even with Brighton being a goal-thirsty club, Groß is a good play for cash because of his seemingly high floor, the only concern is that the team doesn’t do well offensively and thus he doesn’t get a lot of crossing opportunities because of Pulis’ defensive schemes.

Brighton Secondary Plays

Lewis Dunk, $5,500 FD, $3,000 DK – What Brighton will likely be doing a lot here is defending. Dunk has proven to be one defender who likes to go up for corners as well as track back for defense. He already has 5 shots on the season with all of them coming off set pieces. He also adds clearances and interceptions and should be a major factor for this team on both sides of the pitch.

West Bromwich Albion Top Plays

Chris Brunt, $6,000 FD, $5,900 DK – Brunt scored a goal for Northern Ireland to keep their hopes alive for Russia 2018 and comes back to West Brom ready to get this team a chance to compete for a European spot next season. He’s a very skilled versatile left winger who can play left back or winger on this team. Depending on formation, Brunt could go from tournament option to cash option, though I wouldn’t fault you for taking him in cash regardless of formation given his role on this team and ability to both contribure peripherals and score goals on those rare occasions.

West Bromwich Albion Secondary Plays

Kieran Gibbs, $4,000 FD, $3,700 DK – Gibbs transferring over to West Brom could mean good things for both himself and Brunt in terms of fantasy value. This gives Brunt an opportunity to start in the midfield and Gibbs to be behind him at left back. Both players would then play forward when o

Arsenal vs Bournemouth

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Arsenal						Bournemouth
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				1.362						8.7
				W L L						L L L
				1-0-2						0-0-3
17.67	5.33	11.67	9.00	17.00	14.67	8.00	2.33	18.00	12.33	16.00	21.00
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Lacazette, Sanchez, Giroud, Ozil, Welbeck		Sanchez, Cazorla, Ozil, Walcott		Xhaka, Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Walcott		Wilson, Defoe, King, Stanislas, Afobe, Arter		Arter, Fraser		Surman, Stanislas, Daniels, Fraser, Arter, Pugh, Ibe

I don’t trust Arsenal. They are managed by a coach who is roughly 10 years past his coaching days and the club seems to be in no hurry to fix things. They failed to replace Sanchez and sell him away despite what the player apparently wanted. When compared with how Chelsea handled Costa’s departure, you can see the clubs are run in a different manner. That said, the team is now left trying to pick up the pieces with Alexis. I won’t be recommending Sanchez because I need to see how he plays and how well he adjusts to not being transferred before the deadline. Arsenal also looked terrible last match losing to Liverpool quite easily. It remains to be seen how they respond after that embarassment, but overall, I likely won’t be taking any Arsenal players on any of my main teams this week.

Their opponents, Bournemouth, are not doing much better, they are a point so far this season after losing their opening 3 matches by a combined score of 5-1. They are a bit lucky to play Arsenal right now, assuming they still struggle. Though, this would be a good way for Arsenal to come back and get their act together. This match as a whole doesn’t provide a lot of fantasy confidence for me and I’ll likely skip players from both sides.”

Arsenal Top Plays

Mesut Ozil, $10,500 FD, $8,200 DK – If you don’t want to skip players from these teams, Ozil stands out as one potential player from Arsenal who could improve and get them that much needed turn around. Ozil has played great for Germany in the international break and could continue to pick up that performance in the EPL. Assuming of course that Wenger watched the German matches and saw how he needs to use Ozil. That uncertainty alone is enough to put Ozil as a tournament option only.

Arsenal Secondary Plays

Aaron Ramsey, $7,500 FD, $5,100 DK – I’ve gone back and forth on Ramsey getting my second spot here for this team. He’s not a sure thing, but I do think that he’ll step up for this Arsenal team and I’m still not 100% sold on him. What Ramsey brings for the table that is different from the rest of the team is that he’s actually played well in their last home fixture. shooting 4 times and scoring once. He also played well for Wales in the International break and may be in line to carry over that form and confidence into this week’s matchup.

Bournemouth Top Plays

Ryan Fraser, $5,000 FD, $6,300 DK – Fraser has had a very impressive heat chart over his first three matches. He’s been consistently placed near the wings and has the potential for those stats to creep up in the right matchup. I don’t think that going against a top 6 team is really the time to invest into a player like Fraser, but I believe that he’s got the skillset necessary to create chances off crosses and get his teammates involved to score goals. Of course, a match against Arsenal in their current state might be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of them and get an unlikely road result against a top 6 club.

Stoke vs Manchester United

Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm	Sh/Gm	SoT/Game	Shots A/Gm	Shots A in box /Gm	Cross/Gm	Cross A/Gm
Stoke						Manchester United
				Vegas Odds						Vegas Odds
				7.25						1.537
				L W D						W W W
				1-1-1						3-0-0
12.00	2.33	12.33	7.33	19.67	25.00	20.00	6.67	8.33	4.67	26.00	15.33
Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks		Penalties		Direct Free Kicks		Corners & Indirect Free Kicks
Adam, Shaqiri		Adam, Shaqiri		Shaqiri, Jese, Adam, Allen

Hot take: Manchester United are not that good. I know that they are dominating everybody so far, and that they have scored the most goals of any team so far, and are one of two teams that haven’t conceded a goal, but looking at the games, they scored 3 goals against Swansea in the span of 3 minutes, 2 goals against West Ham in the final 5 minutes, and they looked vulnerable against Leicester to the point that another top team would have won that match on the road against the Red Devils. Jose Mourinho knows this and was very close to signing more players in the summer transfer window on deadline day. What does this mean? Stoke is a very tough place to play for visitors and this might be a good spot here to back an upset, though it is highly unlikely.

Stoke, on their part have played well. defeating Arsenal and drawing with West Brom after losing their opening fixture to Everton. This team has the potential to give United trouble, but they probably won’t, though that does give us some fantasy options.”

Stoke Top Plays

Jack Butland, $5,500 FD, $3,800 DK – The second goalkeeper I’ll consider on the slate is Jack Butland who plays at home and is expected to get plenty of save opportunities against this United squad. Butland has the potential for 20+ points depending on the match flow but he could also end on less than 5 points if things don’t go his way. But I believe he’s closer to 10-20 points given the matchup and Stoke’s ability to walk away from here after not conceding a lot of goals.

Stoke Secondary Plays

Xherdan Shaqiri, $6,000 FD, $6,800 DK – One of two outfield players from Stoke that I’ll trust is Shaqiri (the other being Jese). Shaqiri is the more reliable cash play option however with his ability to take corners and free kicks. Shaqiri does have some streakiness however. His cash value doesn’t depend on consistency, but rather his ability to get double figures without scoring a goal.

Manchester United Top Plays

Paul Pogba, $10,500 FD, $8,200 DK – With 2 goals and an assist in his first two games, Pogba is a play that is worth considering on both sites with his ability to record peripherals that are valuabe on FD and with his upside for DK games with goals and assists to compliment his activeness.

*Daley Blind, $$6,500 FD, $$5,900 DK*Blind is a wing player that has been bombing forward for United this season. His heatmap shows as much and allows him the ability to drift down the lane to feed his teammates in crosses. He also takes corners in some situations and would be a good fantasy option this week at defense.

Manchester United Secondary Plays

Romelu Lukaku, $11,500 FD, $10,800 DK – Lukaku is a secondary option because I think his string of goals ends here this week. He will likely be active but I don’t know if he’ll get a lot of shots off and I don’t think his accuracy will be there ending in him being my 4th or 5th favorite striker on the week.