RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers! I hope you all had a safe and restful holiday and are ready to get back to some EPL after a week full of European competition. Matchday 11 begins Saturday with a normal slate. I have another full breakdown for you all. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Saturday'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 12/5/20 for the slate that locks at 10:00 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
Manchester City vs Fulham
For the second weekend in a row, Manchester City (-925) will be heavy favorites. They demolished a Burnley side last weekend by a score of 5-0, and they look ready to roll over Fulham on Saturday at the Etihad. Fulham have been very poor defensively with the most goals allowed in the league up to this point. The Cityzens should dominate all facets of this match. The goal total over/under is 3.5.
West Ham vs Manchester United
The middle game on Saturday will likely be the most closely contested match of the day. Manchester United (+105) travel to London to take on a strong West Ham side. The Hammers held tough through a difficult opening schedule, and now they have rattled off three consecutive league wins. Likewise, Manchester United look to be getting over their early-season bumps as they also have won three straight PL games. Although likely the lowest-scoring game on the slate, this game should have no shortage of intensity and drama. The goal total over/under is a slate-low 2.5.
Chelsea vs Leeds United
The late game on Saturday features another significantly favored home squad in Chelsea (-185). Lampard's men have had a bright start to their EPL and UCL campaigns. A draw last weekend against first-place Tottenham have them sitting in 3rd on the table. Chelsea are level with Liverpool in goal scored per game in league play this year, and they should have an advantage over a leaky Leeds defense. Chelsea are coming off a great 4-0 win over Sevilla on Wednesday in which they were able to rest many of their normal starters. They should be raring to go in this one. The goal total over/under is 3.0.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
The amount of top-tier attackers available for selection on this slate is enormous. It is a good slate to get multiple lineups out there with various strategies.
The first - and most obvious - strategy on this slate is a Manchester City stack. City could start four players in this match who have minus odds to score. The first is Raheem Sterling ($17). This is a great matchup for him, but his goalscoring record this season is concerning. He is scoreless in the league dating back to October, and his form has been so poor that he was held out of last week's game against Burnley. He has not been productive from a peripherals standpoint either. The same goes for Gabriel Jesus ($19). With the number of better plays in this price range, Jesus and Sterling are hard to recommend. Still, this is an elite matchup for them both, but if you decide to play them you must be aware of the risk.
Someone who is not hard to recommend, however, is Kevin de Bruyne ($23). No one should need much persuasion to play KDB on Saturday. Fulham's defense is allowing 1.9 goals per game and plenty of important peripherals like SOGs and chances created of which KDB feeds off. He has a strong goal upside as well at -110.
If Riyad Mahrez ($20) gets back into the starting lineup, he's a great guy to pair with KDB. They both have very good floors in this matchup, and Mahrez has the same anytime scoring odds at -110.
Ferran Torres ($16) is the third City piece that interests me on this slate with his ability to score.
Ilkay Gundogan ($10) is an easy value play from City that can help save you some salary as well.
The other team I am looking to get some attacking exposure to on this slate is Chelsea. They face a Leeds defense that is allowing 1.7 goals per game this year. Chelsea - tied for the highest-scoring team in the league right now - are scoring 2.2 goals per game in league play. They are also scoring 2.6 goals per game within their UCL group. After rattling off seven goals in a five-game stretch, Timo Werner ($21) has cooled off significantly with zero goals in his last four Chelsea starts. He does have the best odds to score in this game at -140, but his price tag and form are both inhibitory.
Hakim Ziyech ($17) is in a goal drought now too having not scored for Chelsea since Halloween (although he did have three goals in two games for Morocco recently). He, too, was rested some on Wednesday and should be locked in for another full game. Ziyech can have a productive fantasy game even without scoring, which boosts his appeal on this slate in this plus matchup. Mason Mount ($15) continuously goes overlooked in Chelsea stacks. His strong ability to create for his teammates will be valuable in this game. He is a cheap, low-owned way to get some Chelsea exposure.
Chelsea's depth creates a bit of uncertainty when trying to predict who will start the game for them, and an injury to Tammy Abraham ($17) makes things even muddier. While his injury appeared to be minor, we could still see him start on the bench Saturday especially with the return of Christian Pulisic ($14). If Abraham starts, he is a strong play. He has produced well when called upon this season with four goals and two assists. He is -110 to score his fifth goal in this game. Pulsic - on the other hand - played 67 minutes on Wednesday and might not be ready for another long game yet.
Olivier Giroud ($12) must be mentioned after his four-goal game against Sevilla on Wednesday. He has earned more playing time at striker for Chelsea. It would make sense he starts on Saturday with his form and to give Werner a break. Get him in if he does.
West Ham's defense is only giving up 1.1 goals per game in the league this season with four clean sheets. That is good enough to keep me off most United attackers not named Bruno Fernandes ($22) - who is matchup-proof at this point. Edinson Cavani ($17) has started scoring some as his playing time has increased. He's a nice GPP option on Saturday.
Chelsea's defense has been strong too which limits my interest in Leeds attackers especially since they were not priced down for this matchup outside of Patrick Bamford ($17). The form really is not there for me to go for Bamford with one goal in four games, and the likes of Jack Harrison ($15) and Mateusz Klich ($14) are a little too expensive.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
I loved Joao Cancelo ($15) in last week's matchup against Burnley, and unfortunately, he was rested on the bench for that one. The good news is that he has another tremendous matchup in this game at home against Fulham. City should be able to dominate this game in their own attacking-third which will translate to Cancelo getting involved in the attack often. He is a great source of chances created by a defender. He has not scored less than 17 fantasy points in the league this season, and that appears to be his floor on this slate.
Reece James ($12) continues to have attacking upside, and his price drop has made him even more enticing. Leeds will keep Chelsea's backline busy which gives James a nice floor on Saturday. He should also be able to get in on the attacking end and create a few chances or provide an assist.
Chelsea force a lot of defensive action out of opposing defenders, and our two Leeds centerbacks have been getting those peripheral stats at a good rate recently. Both Liam Cooper ($11) and Robin Koch ($10) have only two single-digit games each this season. Cooper and Koch will be busy tracking down Chelsea's attackers in this game, and it could be played very openly, which will result in successful fantasy days for them.
Joachim Andersen ($7) is one of the best value plays on this entire slate. He gets a good matchup against City where defensive peripherals should come early and often. Andersen has also been sneaky good this year with 3/4 of his games being 11+ point games. That is not something you will find often for this low of a price.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Ederson ($14) is the safest way to go after both goalkeeper bonuses on this slate. City are enormous home favorites, and they are taking on a Fulham team that has struggled scoring goals this season. City will absolutely dominate ball possession in this game and limit the number of chances Fulham will even have to score. For that reason, a clean sheet bonus looks very likely. However, for the same reason, Ederson's ceiling is not much higher than the low-20s as he won't be needed to make many saves.
Edouard Mendy ($13) has more upside for $1 cheaper. Leeds have shown above-average attacking ability as a team this year even on the road. However, they only scored three goals in four games during the month of November. Mendy and Chelsea's backline have been great. They have kept a clean sheet in eight of their last 10 games in all competitions, having only allowed two goals in those games. Leeds should be able to generate some shots forcing Mendy to make saves, which puts his ceiling higher than Ederson's.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
