SOCCER

FanDuel Soccer: EPL DFS Helper for 9/26/20

As always, we're covering FanDuel's main slate, and that kicks off at 10 a.m. EST. All betting lines come from Soccer odd, and they may change after the article is published.

Slate Overview

Fixture Favorite Over
2.5 Goals
Most Likely
to Score
Everton at Crystal Palace Everton (+105) +120 Calvert Lewin (+130)
Chelsea at West Brom Chelsea (-270) -150 Werner (-165)
Southampton at Burnley Southampton (+130) +112 Ings (+115)


Positional Breakdown

Forwards/Midfielders

Chelsea are the only team with implied win odds greater than 50%, and they're all the way up at 73% for their road matchup at West Brom. The Blues are going to be wildly popular.

Timo Werner ($22; -165 anytime goal odds) has the best goal odds on the slate. While he hasn't yet scored in EPL play, he's looked sharp, creating one chance in each of his two starts. He totaled 28 goals and eight assists in 33 starts last year in the Bundesliga and has multi-goal upside against a West Brom side that should be one of the league's worst. The lone negative with the German star is that he'll likely be the slate's most popular player.

Kai Havertz ($18; +140) has started slowly in his two EPL outings as Chelsea figure out how to best utilize him, but he bagged a hat trick midweek in cup action. Lastly, Jorginho ($14; +300) and Mason Mount ($16; +270) are worth a shout. Neither should be as popular as Werner or Havertz, and they carry decent goal odds. Jorginho's value stems mostly from his penalty duties. Mount takes some free kicks.

Neither of the other two matches look like they'll be fantasy-friendly clashes as both have worse than 50% implied odds to go over 2.5 goals. But on a three-game slate, we don't have a choice.

Of the non-Chelsea players, Danny Ings ($20; +115) has the best goal odds. After pouring in 22 goals last season, he's already got two goals in two league matches. But I also like Chris Wood ($15; +150) on the other side of that game. The goal odds are solid, and Wood should be the focal point of Burnley's attack with Jay Rodriguez looking iffy. Southampton have allowed eight goals across three matches in all competitions this year -- though five came last time out against Spurs -- so the matchup is there for Wood.

And we have to talk about Everton. Man, what a start to the season it's been for the Toffees. New signings have hit the ground running as Everton have taken the maximum points through two games.

James Rodriguez ($16; +310) has looked like 2014 World Cup James, totaling 34.3 and 21.5 FanDuel points in his first two Everton matches. He's created seven total chances, including a whopping five against Spurs, and has a goal and an assist. Dominic Calvert-Lewin ($20; +130) has the best goal odds in the Palace-Everton fixture.

Added time -- With Jay Rodriguez exiting early midweek, Matej Vydra ($11; +200) could start alongside Wood for the Clarets. He is a way to get access to decent goal odds at a low salary, and he's perfect for lineups that load up on Chelsea's high-salary stars. ... James Ward-Prowse ($16; +330) is on free kicks and corners for Southampton. As long as he starts in a midfield role, he's worth a look. ... Wilfried Zaha ($19: +310) has been immense so far this season with three goals in two games, but that should drive up his roster percentage. If I get exposure to Palace, I'll pivot to Jordan Ayew ($15; +240), who has better goal odds and scored more than twice as many goals -- nine to four -- as Zaha a season ago.

Defenders

Reece James ($15) and Marcos Alonso ($14) are great stacking pieces for Chelsea, and both should get forward plenty against West Brom. I like Alonso better of the two. His +390 goal odds are pretty great for a defender, and he takes some free kicks, too.

West Brom will offer us some high-floor defenders, and they don't have any defenders with a salary higher than $11. Darnell Furlong ($8) and Dara O'Shea ($9) are listed as expected starters, and the matchup with the Blues should keep both busy.

Lucas Digne ($14) could slip through the cracks if the masses who spend up at defender opt to go for Chelsea's full-backs. In addition to what he does going forward, Digne handles some free kicks and corners, boosting his floor and ceiling. He's averaging 24.8 FanDuel points through two matches, creating six total chances and notching one assist.

Added time -- Ryan Bertrand ($10) is a low-salary way to get exposure to a full-back who is decent in attack. ... The same can be said for Charlie Taylor ($9), who created two chances in his only start of the season.

Goalies

This is a pretty funky slate for keepers. Normally I'd assume the goalie for the slate's only big favorite would be a popular pick, but that might not be the case given the struggles of Kepa Arrizabalaga ($13).

It's not going to feel good to roster Kepa, but he has the best win odds in addition to the best clean-sheet chances as Chelsea are -104 to keep a clean sheet. I feel fine about going here, and I'd also be cool with rostering Willy Caballero ($11) if he starts over Kepa.

Everton have the second-best clean-sheet odds (+142), so if Kepa terrifies you, Jordan Pickford ($11) is a fine alternative.

Alex McCarthy ($12) could go under-rostered since he's priced in an awkward spot between Pickford and Kepa. Southampton are favored -- though it's just +130 -- and they're +176 to keep a clean sheet. A McCarthy-Ings stack makes some sense as attacker-goalie stacks are one of the more viable stacking routes in EPL DFS.

Added time -- Nick Pope ($10) is a bet-on-talent play. He's got an easy-to-like salary, and while Burnley are underdogs, it's not like Southampton are a brutal matchup. Burnley's clean-sheet odds are only +235, but Pope should be busy with the Clarets' back line banged up.