SOCCER

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for 3/13/21

Lucas Digne is a defender we can rely on in fantasy, which has been rare in recent weeks. Which other players should we target on Saturday's EPL slate?

We have our typical three-game slate with the games starting at all different times. It's not ideal for daily fantasy, but it's what we have to deal with for this season. Here are the games, with odds from Soccer odd:

HomeDrawAway
Crystal Palace (+125)+210West Brom (+250)
Everton (-115)+240Burnley (+350)
Fulham (+850)+400Man City (-300)

Forwards to Target

Raheem Sterling ($8,200): It's going to be one of those slates where you try to get a lot of Manchester City players. We'll start with Sterling at forward. With Sergio Agüero not seeing much game time and Gabriel Jesus not banging in the goals, Sterling is relied upon to score goals. He's done a decent job of that, scoring nine goals in the league. That's tied with Riyad Mahrez for the most among the forward-eligible City players, but you can get nearly a $2000 discount by playing Sterling. The reason Mahrez has a much higher salary is because of his set pieces, but he's unlikely to take them with Kevin De Bruyne back on the team. Sterling also has much better goal-scoring odds than Mahrez, and with the other pieces we are going to want, the savings will go a long way when building lineups. We usually have to spend a lot more salary to get a forward like Sterling on the biggest favorites on the slate, so grab this discount and put him in your lineup.

Dwight McNeil ($7,200): McNeil is a guy we look to on Burnley because the way he plays suits DraftKings scoring very well. He's more of a classic winger than a forward, but the forward eligibility makes him more playable. He is tied for fifth in the Premier League in crosses with 161. While his opponents Everton are experiencing a solid season, they aren't really locking things down defensively. They've allowed an above-average number of shots and goals while also being below average in possession rate. Crucially for McNeil, they allow the seventh-most crosses per game, according to WhoScored.com. McNeil may lack upside, but his floor is definitely good enough to consider rostering him in this game.

Eberechi Eze ($5,900): Eze has seen a sharp decline in his salary over the past month. We saw him get all the way up to $9,400 in February after a few rough games. Now, he gets to face West Brom at a much lower salary. This matchup is the perfect one to get him out of his funk, as West Brom allow the most shots and crosses per game in the league. He may have lost some set pieces to someone we'll talk about later, but he's still getting some and should have more value from open play in this match than in any others.

Also Consider: Wilfreid Zaha ($7,400), Dominic Calvert-Lewin ($6,600), Chris Wood ($4,900)

Midfielders to Target

Kevin De Bruyne ($10,600): De Bruyne has shown his range over the last two games. In a losing effort against Manchester United, he racked up 20 points without a goal or an assist. Then, on Wednesday against Southampton, he had two goals but fewer peripheral stats and finished with 28.7 points. That is what makes him one of the best players for DFS in the Premier League. He can accumulate points through crosses and shot assists or through contributing to goals. He's second in the league with 11 assists despite having missed six games. In this match against Fulham, Manchester City should dominate the ball and create lots of chances. This would set up nicely for De Bruyne to score lots of points without even having to score a goal. If he does pick up a goal or a couple of assists, he'll become necessary to win any money on this slate. There aren't many options who can match his fantasy output, so fading KDB doesn't seem like an optimal strategy.

Ashley Westwood ($5,200): Westwood shares corner kicks with McNeil for Burnley. He gets lots of crosses from this, with the 11th-most in the Premier League this season. He has been a decent floor player this season but has also shown the ability to get double-digit points. There aren't many players around this salary range who have floors that we can count on, so Westwood is definitely an option we can look to roster. Everton are a good team but haven't been overwhelmingly dominant, so Burnley players are certainly in play.

Luka Milivojević ($4,000): I thought I was done with Milivojević after he disappointed for most of the season, but now that he's back taking set pieces, I'm back in on him. He took four out of six for Crystal Palace in their last match against Tottenham. Now, he gets to face the worst defense in the Premier League in West Brom. We also don't know the hierarchy for penalties at Palace if Milivojević is on the pitch. Wilfreid Zaha has taken Palace's only two penalties this season, and Milivojević was not on the pitch for either of them. Milivojević was always the taker in previous seasons, as he led the team each of the past three years in penalty goals. If Palace are able to win a penalty in this game, it could be the Serbian midfielder who steps up to take it.

Also Consider: Matheus Pereira ($9,100), İlkay Gündoğan ($7,800), Matt Phillips ($3,900)

Defenders to Target

Lucas Digne ($6,800): We finally have a defender worth spending your salary on in a Premier League slate. Digne continues to be one of the best fantasy defenders in the league, as he has the eighth-most crosses despite only playing in 19 games. He is the only defender on this slate who will regularly take set pieces, so spending the extra $700 in salary to get Digne instead of João Cancelo is well worth it. When comparing Digne to the midfielders around his salary, the French full back is the one who will likely have a better floor. Against a Burnley side that allow the eighth-most crosses per game, we should see him be able to get balls into the box in this match. He's definitely a priority on this slate at defender.

Darnell Furlong ($4,300): After Digne, the defender position starts to get ugly. We can look at Furlong of West Brom as an option who is better than some of the rest. He has at least five DraftKings points in three of his last four matches. He is a player who will cross if given the opportunity. He could get that opportunity against Crystal Palace, as they allow the third-most crosses per game in the league. He's someone to take a shot on as a defender to fill out your lineup.

Also Consider: Oleksandr Zinchencko ($5,200), John Stones ($4,100), Joel Ward ($3,700)

Goalkeepers to Target

Ederson ($5,900): Shockingly, Ederson has conceded two goals in consecutive games and hasn't kept a clean sheet in his last four league games. He should get back on track against Fulham, though, who have scored just 22 goals all season. Manchester City have clean sheet odds of -118 in this game, so the minimum of 10 points you get from a clean sheet and win has a good chance of happening for Ederson. He's definitely the choice keeper if you have enough salary to get up to him.

Sam Johnstone ($4,300): Johnstone is certainly a great option if you want to allocate less of your salary to the goalkeeper position. He has kept clean sheets in three of his last four matches, something that rarely happens for a team in the relegation zone. Crystal Palace are 13th in the league in goals, so they aren't a matchup to be too afraid of for Johnstone. He also leads the league in saves, and given how many shots West Brom allow, he should make some in this game.


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.