I know you all miss TreyJ but he is still on vacation (will be back next week for sure) and we fared pretty well to open the season so let’s give it another go. If you’re reading this and have not yet jumped into DFS Soccer, don’t wait, you’re missing out on one of the most fun DFS sports. Four games play simultaneously while you have your coffee and then there’s a hammer match shortly after to add in that drama we all love. The below is a free preview of each game and my thoughts on the top player from each team. But the real value is with our Slack Chat when official lineups are released Saturday morning as well as the Research Station. Not a VIP? Join now and use code “SNIPER” for 10% off membership. See you in Slack!
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– Odds
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Game-By-Game Breakdown
Everton vs. Southampton
Everton burned a lot of people week one and it was just a case of bad luck and variance. Gylfi Sigurdsson was absolutely the smart play but after Everton received a red card he was subbed off for defense. I’m going right back to the well with Gylfi as Everton is a -120 favorite and he’s still expected to be the focal point of the attack, even in 42 minutes he registered five crosses. On the Southmapton side…yuck. They played to a 0-0 draw with Burnley at home last week and faced a lot of pressure, not to mention they are incredibly difficult to try and predict in terms of a floor. If you are going anywhere, I would point you to the fullbacks on DraftKings (Bertrand and Cedric) or the centerbacks on FanDuel (Vestergaard and Hoedt).
Leicester vs. Wolves
Leicester is a small home favorite (+102) to Wolves and actually offers quite a few viable fantasy plays for Saturday’s slate. But for now let’s just talk about the chalk (other than Tottenham) of the slate in James Maddison, especially on DraftKings. Maddison racked up 12 points without a goal or an assist as he took a pair of shots, crossed six times, and drew four fouls in only 63 minutes. He was returning from a knock so hopefully he gets more playing time and I expect his salary to slowly climb over the next few weeks, now is the time to play Maddison but he will definitely be popular. People love Wolves, and I’m definitely one of them…the hero of the hammer match for DFSers last week was Ruben Neves and he’ll be in my player pool come Saturday. I’m not sure about the cash viability as your building your lineup but even without his goal and assist there seemed to be a stable floor on Neves. There’s a cheaper option I’m considering on Wolves, but I’ll save that for the VIPs in Slack.
Tottenham vs. Fulham
Tottenham are the massive favorites and they are clearly priced that way against the newly promoted Fulham side. The question of the slate becomes how much Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen can you stomach. Look, both of these guys are above average plays and you should give Kane more value on FanDuel and Eriksen plays better to the DraftKings scoring. It will be hard to squeeze in both but it’s doable if you are willing to punt a spot or two. Fulham has some pieces that will garner consideration most weeks but it’s impossible to trust them against the mighty Spurs so with that said Mitrovic is the clear GPP choice if Fulham were to poach a goal.
West Ham vs. Bournemouth
West Ham will be one of the more intriguing teams come Saturday as an even money favorite in a game that has a total slightly over 2.5 goals. Arnautovic is the guy that jumps out and while it’s usually counter-intuitive to play a center forward in cash games, he typically gets enough peripherals to provide a floor. He clearly as a ceiling and some head-to-head history as the striker registering a brace (two goals if you’re new) on Boxing Day last year versus Bournemouth. Most people will gravitate to Ryan Fraser on Bournemouth and while he was great to us last week on the road as an underdog, I’m having a hard time paying his salary. For some straight salary relief, I’m toying with the idea of firing up David Brooks on the other side of the midfield, assuming Jordan Ibe sits again.
Chelsea vs. Arsenal
Well this hammer match is actually a bit of a mess for DFS as there’s still plenty of uncertainty with Chelsea in terms of how they will line up and how they will play tactically under a new manager this year. It’s hard to count last week for much as Chelsea took on a Huddersfield side that looked just plain awful and will not to figure things out if they don’t want to be relegated. The top play, assuming he starts, on DraftKings is Willian with his floor and scoring upside while Eden Hazard, who didn’t start last game, is an intriguging FanDuel target. Look, there are plenty of fine plays on Chelsea but with Tottenham on the slate and plenty of pay-down options going off earlier, I’ll likely be limiting my exposure to GPPs. Arsenal is almost always another GPP team for me as Aubamayeng and Laccazette are live for goals and Mkhitaryan and Ozil competing for the same floor points. If I had to throw out another option, I would shockingly consider Peter Cech in goal as a punt option simply because he’s cheap paired with the remaining questions on the Chelsea side. Hey, it’s goal keeper, why not?
That’s all the free goodies I have for you today, good luck and I’ll see you in Slack tomorrow morning! Remember, a ton changes based on confirmed lineups & formations. Not a VIP? Join now and use code “SNIPER” for 10% off membership.