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Welcome back, RotoBallers! We have two more English Premier League games Friday before our first full slate on Saturday. Usually, we only get single game contests on Fridays, so this is our time to take advantage of a larger slate. These will be the first two games of Matchweek 30 out of 38.
This will only be a small 2-game slate meaning you will need to prioritize the better plays on the slate and make some sacrifices with value plays. That strategy worked for most on Wednesday while eating the Manchester City chalk as they were the only team to score on the slate. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Friday's slate.
I will be turning my focus to EPL now, and it appears as though FanDuel might be done with Bundesliga anyways (0dd decision considering there are still plenty of full slates left). If you want to chop it up with myself and other Rotoballer writers, 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 6/19/20 for the slate that locks at 1:00 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
Norwich City vs Southampton
The early game on Friday features two bottom-half teams that are struggling this season. Norwich City sits in dead last right now and are almost surely going to be relegated at the end of the season. The spread in this game is 0.0, but Southampton is the slight money line favorite at +120. Norwich have been dismal, but they are a significantly better fantasy team at home. Southampton also draws a good matchup here. Many eyes will jump to players in the late game on this slate with two popular teams in the States, however, this game should not be ignored. Vegas is also predicting more goals in this game for what it's worth.
Tottenham vs Manchester United
Even though Tottenham have fallen down to eighth on the table now, this is still a matchup of Big 6 clubs. Therefore, this game will dominate ownership on Friday. Now, whether or not it should be the targeted game is a question that will be addressed later. Manchester United still have a shot at a UCL qualification spot, and Tottenham can qualify for European football next season as well, so this game will be important for both. Like the first game, the spread here is also 0.0 with Manchester United (+140) favorited on the money line on the road. The goal total over/under is 2.5.
*A quick note: EPL scoring on FanDuel has stayed the same as it was pre-COVID. This means that chances created are back to being worth three points and crosses will not give you any points.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
The 3-month hiatus allowed Harry Kane ($23) to return to health. I do not think it is a good idea to dole out 23 dollars on a guy who hasn't played in a game in over six months. He likely will not play all 90 minutes, and he faces a team that doesn't allow many goals. Son Heung-Min ($20) is a far better deal. He will collect more peripheral stats than Kane, and his scoring upside is nearly equal at +190. Son is by far my favorite Tottenham play on Friday, and you can mix in some Tanguy Ndombele ($11) for some value.
Like Kane, Marcus Rashford ($22) is a risky use of $20+. He has not played a game in over six months either. United struggle to score on the road, and Tottenham have defended well at home only allowing 1.07 goals per game. With each team allotted five substitutes now, Rashford will be a big sub risk. Anthony Martial ($19) is a better way to get exposure to United's attack if don't trust Tottenham's defense. However, I don't think it's necessary to prioritize either of them when Bruno Fernandes ($17) is sitting there. He is cheaper, not coming off an injury, and was playing exceptionally well before COVID going for 20+ FDP in all five of his games. Paul Pogba ($16) is healthy now as well. He also likely will not be playing 90 minutes, but he can provide a nice floor with peripherals and he has a decent upside if he snags a goal or assist.
I believe many lineups will be overweight on the late game even when that will likely be the lower scoring of the two games. Do not sleep on the early game even if you don't recognize the names! The slate's two most likely scorers appear in the early game. Danny Ings ($18) is the slate's most likely goal scorer according to Vegas at -118. He was white-hot all season until only scoring one goal in Southampton's last seven matches. He has a stellar matchup this week against the league's 2nd worst defense. He is one of the best plays on the entire slate. Picking a secondary Southampton attacker has been brutal this season. All of them can score at similar rates, but none of them score often. They also don't have consistent floors. However, a matchup against Norwich has been an elite matchup for opposing attackers all season so taking a shot at Nathan Redmond ($13) or Stuart Armstrong ($14) is a viable GPP strategy.
Teemu Pukki ($17) has the second-best scoring odds on this slate at -110. He has scored 64% of his goals at home this season, and he gets a solid matchup here on Friday. Ondrej Duda ($15) and Emi Buendia ($14) are great ways to get more exposure to this game. They each have a ceiling over 20 FanDuel points based on peripherals alone.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
Sure, the Southampton defenders as a group have been steady DFS plays for over a season now. However, they're all overpriced on Friday. Additionally, this is not a great matchup, and none of them are playing exceptionally well right now. I don't see much of a reason to play anyone here.
The Norwich defenders have been about as inconsistent as it gets fantasy-wise this season. Grant Hanley ($14) has been ruled out for the remainder of this season with a leg injury. Christoph Zimmerman ($7) and Sam Byram ($8) are also on the shelf, which could force Timm Klose ($5) into action on Friday. He'd automatically become a good value play at minimum price. It's anyone's guess who will appear in Norwich's lineup on Friday, but Max Aarons ($11) should definitely be in there. He doesn't collect a ton of defensive stats, but he can provide a few chances created occasionally especially in this kind of matchup at home.
Manchester United hardly force any defensive action at all out of opposing defenders. That narrows down my Tottenham options to Ben Davies ($9) and Serge Aurier ($14) for some attacking upside. Aurier arguably has the highest ceiling for a defender on the slate, and Davies should be considered a top-tier value option at this position.
As a group, Manchester United defenders are in the best spot on the slate. Tottenham force more defensive action out of opposing defenders than most teams do. Aaron Wan-Bissaka ($14) and Harry Maguire ($13) should feast and were both playing well pre-COVID. Luke Shaw ($12) also boasts a strong floor considering he can collect almost every stat that scores on FanDuel. Seven out of Shaw's last eight games have been in double digits before the break.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Both Tim Krul ($8) and Alex McCarthy ($11) cannot be trusted to keep a clean sheet on this slate. Neither looks all that great for a win bonus either as these two teams are evenly matched, and Vegas actually has the draw odds pretty high at +250. It is admittedly difficult to decide how to approach them on Friday. In my mind, Krul is viable for a value GK to help you prioritize attacking stars on this small slate. Four out of Norwich's five wins this season have come at home. Krul always makes a good amount of saves which boosts his floor. Norwich, even without playing in front of home fans, should be fresh and ready for this winnable game.
The goalkeepers in the late game do not look much better either. David de Gea's ($13) is a little high here considering he'll be playing on the road against a top-tier team whose attacking group appears to be fit. Tottenham is scoring nearly two goals per game at home making it hard to trust de Gea here. Hugo Lloris ($9) on the other hand seems underpriced. He is facing a Manchester United team that has struggled to score all year especially on the road where they only average 1.07 goals per game. Lloris and company have been above average defensively at home this year too.
Since none of the goalkeeping options are clearly favorable on Friday, going with the value approach by using Krul or Lloris is my stance especially since they both have similar floors and ceilings to the two higher-priced options.
Thanks for reading my first EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
