SOCCER

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for Matchweek 8

Jack Grealish is facing a Norwich City side that has struggled defensively, putting him in a good spot. Who else should you look to on Saturday?

A five-game Premier League slate kicks off on Saturday, and it includes the late kickoff at 12:30 p.m. EST. The biggest favorite -- and the long big favorite -- is Liverpool against Leicester City. All of the other games are close on paper, at least according to odds on Soccer odd.

So which teams and situations do we want to target for our lineups this week? Let's have a look.

Forwards to Target

Mohamed Salah ($11,500): If Liverpool are the biggest favorite, it usually means Salah is in play. He offers the most goal upside on the team and also has some kind of floor due to getting a share of corner kicks. It looks like it could be a tough match against a Leicester team that has impressed to start the season, but the odds still say Liverpool has a significant edge as a -230 favorite. They also say Salah is likely to score, giving him -125 anytime goal scoring odds.

Gylfi Sigurdsson ($8,200): Sigurdsson is always a fantasy asset on DraftKings due to his crossing. Even in the last match against Manchester City, Sigurdsson stuffed the stat sheet with seven crosses and five shot assists. In this match against Burnley, Everton are slight favorites on the road. The Toffees should have the possession advantage as they rank sixth in possession in the Premier League, whereas Burnley rank 19th, according to WhoScored.com. That will give Sigurdsson more opportunities to play crosses and get shots off.

Dwight McNeil ($6,200): McNeil has seen his price come down to $6,200 after it was in the 7,700 two weeks prior to this. Even though Burnley has poor possession stats like I just mentioned, it hasn't hurt McNeil's crossing as he ranks sixth with 44 crosses this season. He got two corners to Ashley Westwood's one last week, but this will vary from week to week depending on which side the ball goes out on. McNeil has had an eight-cross game against Liverpool and a nine-cross outing versus Arsenal, so the opponent hasn't affected his production.

Midfielders to Target

Jack Grealish ($7,900): Grealish has been a better fantasy asset than I would have anticipated coming into the season. Part of that has come through a hidden floor from fouls drawn, worth one point each on DraftKings. Grealish has had five fouls drawn in the last three matches and at least two in every game. Aston Villa's corner kicks have been shared around a few different players this season, but Grealish does have the most total corners taken. Given this matchup against Norwich City, there could be extra corner kicks available since the Canaries have allowed the most shots per game and the third most crosses per game, per WhoScored.

Emiliano Buendía ($7,600): In the same game, Buendía makes a lot of sense as someone to target. Unlike Grealish, Buendía has a monopoly on corner kicks. He has taken all 23 of Norwich's corners this season. This is also a good matchup for the Canaries as Aston Villa allow the second most crosses and third most shots per game. Given that both of these newly promoted teams have struggled defensively, this could be a very open match with goals flying in from both sides. FanDuel Sportsbook has over 2.5 goals at -174.

John Fleck ($4,600): Fleck would be a value midfield option on this slate if he's in the lineup. His Sheffield United side faces off against bottom-of-the-table Watford. Fleck is another floor player who will give you a little of everything. He was able to get four crosses and two shot assists against Liverpool, and in this easier matchup, he could improve on both of those. He also has the upside to contribute to a goal.

Defenders to Target

Trent Alexander-Arnold ($6,800): A decision point fantasy players will have on this slate is whether to roster Lucas Digne ($7,000) or Trent Alexander-Arnold. A few points the Liverpool defender has going in his favor over Digne are being a home favorite and leading the entire league with 68 crosses this season. Liverpool also have a better chance of keeping a clean sheet than Everton do. If picking between the top two defenders on this slate, I'm going with the one who will save me $200 and might have a better outlook.

Daryl Janmaat ($4,000): Janmaat drew a start for Watford last week and is still underpriced at just $4,000. He is a defender who has shown willingness to get forward and play in crosses in the past, though he hasn't been showing it too much this season. Janmaat is a salary-relief option at defender who helps you fit in expensive players at other positions, particularly in midfield.

Goalkeepers to Target

Roberto Jiménez ($5,100): Roberto Jiménez takes over for an injured Lukasz Fabiański in goal for West Ham. West Ham are even money at home to beat Crystal Palace, who have only scored six goals in the Premier League this season.

Dean Henderson ($4,400): Henderson faces Watford on the road as an underdog -- it's not ideal, but there are a few things going in Henderson's favor. Watford have taken the fourth most shots per game this season but aren't scoring on those shots as they only have four goals. Even if Henderson doesn't win or keep a clean sheet, he could get extra saves in this matchup.


Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.