RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers! Mid-week EPL continues as the league tries to get games in whenever they can with a lot of Covid outbreaks across the league. We have just two game Wednesday, but there is still some DFS goodness to be enjoyed. Be aware of possible late postponements of any of these games or some unexpected starters as more and more players get ruled out with Covid. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Wednesday's slate.
The very large majority of my DFS content will be EPL-related, however, there is more soccer than just what is being played in England. If you want to chop it up with myself and other RotoBaller writers about non-EPL leagues or other sports, consider becoming a premium member and joining our ever-growing community of DFS and fantasy sports enthusiasts!
In this article, I will be providing you with my English Premier League daily fantasy soccer lineup picks for FanDuel on 12/29/21 for the slate that locks at 2:30 pm ET. Be sure to also check out our other DFS lineup picks for other active sports. You can always find me on Twitter @vdray5 if you have any questions. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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EPL DFS Lineup Picks - Overview
Chelsea vs Brighton
We have two large favorites on this slate. The first of which is Chelsea (-230) at home against Brighton. Chelsea have dropped off slightly lately, but they're still within striking distance of the title just six points behind Manchester City. They got an important win on Boxing Day 2-1 against Aston Villa and will look to start a winning streak Wednesday against Brighton. Brighton have not been that good lately either but still remain in the top half of the table. They beat a sinking Brentford team 2-0 over the weekend. Chelsea will be one of the main spot to get exposure on this slate. The goal total over/under is 2.5.
Brentford vs Manchester City
Manchester City (-600) blew past Leicester 6-3 on Boxing Day and are now massive favorites again Wednesday. They have won nine straight league games and have scored over five goals per game on average in their last three games. They travel to take on a Brentford team that is falling down the table. Brentford's defense has been letting them down a little as of late which does not give me any confidence that they can contain City in this game. City exposure will be popular especially on this small slate. The goal total over/under is 3, 3.5.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
It's going to be all about getting Manchester City and Chelsea attackers on this slate. Let's start with trying to figure out who Pep Guardiola will start on Wednesday. Kevin de Bruyne ($22) should be in there to start the game. He has three goals in his last three games for City and is averaging 4.0 chances created per game in that span. He has a great floor/ceiling combination in any game but especially this game where City should control possession stats. Raheem Sterling ($19) is playing awfully well right now to be this cheap. He has five goals in his last four starts, and he's putting shots on goal and creating chances at a high rate as well to help boost his floor. These two are an awesome and relatively affordable one-two punch on this slate. If you want to jam in a third City attacker, that is totally viable with the way they have been scoring recently. They have scored 4+ goals in their last three league games, so you get someone like Phil Foden ($19), Riyad Mahrez ($18), or Jack Grealish ($17) in your lineup if you find some value elsewhere.
Romelu Lukaku ($20) looked sharp for Chelsea on Boxing Day coming on as a halftime substitute. He scored his first goal since September and drew a penalty that was converted for Chelsea's third goal. He should be in line for a start in this game as he returns to full fitness. He's facing a defense that has been strong this year, but he is the most likely anytime goal scorer in the game at +130.
I like pairing him with Callum Hudson-Odoi ($17) in a mini stack. He's been pretty solid attacking-wise for Chelsea lately and seems to have a nice connection with Lukaku who he assisted in Chelsea's last game. Jorginho ($16) is another viable mid-range play on this slate especially with his PK upside. He's been brilliant over the last year or so for club and country, and he has five goals in his last five league games.
Enock Mwepu ($9) is probably the one non-Chelsea/Manchester City attacker in my player pool in this slate. He's very cheap and can get enough defensive stats in this game to be valuable. His price allows you to get three attackers from the two favorites on this slate and still have some money for a defender.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
There will be a high demand for value at the defense position on this slate with attackers from two large favorites taking a lot of our salary.
All four of these sides give up combined defensive action at a pretty similar rate, but I'm going to be mostly targeting cheap defenders on the underdog teams. Dan Burn ($10) has three straight 12+ FanDuel point games in some pretty average matchups. Now he has a plus matchup against Chelsea where he will have to do a lot of defending. He's pretty reasonably priced on this slate and will be one of my go-to defenders. Tariq Lamptey ($8) always intrigues me for the fantasy game and can be used as a cheaper way to get some exposure to this nice matchup.
If you have the money, Joao Cancelo ($14) and Marcos Alonso ($14) are top-tier defenders to pay up for on this slate. They have good matchups to showcase some of their strong attacking upside.
Pontus Jansson ($12) is the last defender in my player pool on this slate. He has been playing very well lately and has seven consecutive double digit games. He is averaging 17.5 fantasy points in that stretch. He has a solid matchup against City where he should end right around his recent average.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Out of the all the teams this Matchday, these two goalkeepers have the best odds at keeping a clean sheet. Ederson ($14) has a 60% chance at keeping a clean sheet against Brentford. City's defense has been essentially as good as it was last season. They limit the number of chances that other teams get with how they control possession in their games. Brentford have not scored in their last ~180 minutes on the field, and they don't have great scoring prospects in this one. Ederson is expensive but is in line for both bonuses on this slate.
You can get Edouard Mendy ($12) for $2 cheaper than Ederson, and he still has a 54% chance at keeping a clean sheet in this game. Chelsea's defense has only allowed seven goals in nine home games this year. They're also defending well right now. Opposing teams have created just one goal of their own against Chelsea in their last four games (if you don't include a Reece James OG last game). Brighton have gotten shut out three times in their last six league games, and that could move to four in seven Wednesday. Mendy should be getting both bonuses here as well.
There is not a huge difference between how many shots on goal Brighton and Brentford get to differentiate possible save points between Mendy and Ederson, so I'll take the $2 savings with Mendy.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
