RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers! There's another full weekend of EPL action coming up until we get a week off with our first international break of the season. We have six games on the main slate on FanDuel, and you can play the all day slate if you're looking to play some Manchester City attackers. I have another full breakdown for you all here. 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 8/28/21 for the slate that locks at 10:00 am 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
Aston Villa vs Brentford
Brentford have had a nice start to their first EPL season ever with no losses yet in their first two games. They get a more difficult matchup this weekend, however, against Aston Villa (+100) on the road. Villa bounced back from their disappointing week 1 loss with a strong 2-0 win over Newcastle. They'll look to start a winning streak at home this week. The goal total over/under is 2.5.
Brighton vs Everton
Although they have taken on two of the weaker teams in the league, Brighton (+140) have started their campaign with two straight wins and are now favored at home against Everton. Everton have a draw and win this year and will be in for a challenging match this weekend. The goal total over/under is 2, 2.5 with the under actually favored at -115.
Newcastle vs Southampton
Neither of these clubs have won a game yet this season. Newcastle (+155) is very slightly favored on the money line with a spread of 0.0 in this game. It's going to be a fairly even match with solid low-owned plays on both sides. The goal total over/under is 2.5 with the over fairly likely at -120.
Norwich vs Leicester
Norwich continues their extremely difficult start to this season when they host Leicester (-115) this weekend. They have suffered losses to Liverpool 3-0 and to Manchester City 5-0 so far this year. Even at home, Leicester is another tough matchup for them. Leicester won week one, but got beat handily by West Ham on Monday 4-1. Three of the goals they conceded were after Ayoze Perez's red card, but they're in a great spot to bounce back against Norwich here. The goal total over/under is a slate-high 2.5, 3.
West Ham vs Crystal Palace
I just touched on West Ham's big 4-1 win over Leicester last Monday. They have started the season in awesome form with another four goals in their opening week win against Newcastle. They sit atop the table right now and lead the league in goals scored with eight through two games. They have another good matchup at home against Palace who have not looked very good this year at all yet. West Ham (-175) will be a popular team to target after their performances so far this season. The goal total over/under is 2.5.
Liverpool vs Chelsea
In the late game Saturday, we have a huge early-season matchup against title contenders. Both Liverpool (+155) and Chelsea have won their first two games scoring five goals and conceding zero. Both teams have title expectations this season and a win here will go a long way in doing that. This should be a firecracker of a match. The goal total over/under is 2.5.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
It should be second nature to play opposing strikers against Norwich, so let's just throw Jamie Vardy ($22) down as a great play on this slate and move on. You can easily pair him with another one - or even two - Leicester attackers in a matchup like this. Kelechi Iheanacho ($18) will likely get his first start of the season with Perez suspended. He was on fire near the end of last season and has a prime matchup to open his scoring account this year. Youri Tielemans ($15) is still a few bucks too cheap, and he and Harvey Barnes ($14) can be used to get some cheaper exposure to Leicester's attack on Saturday.
Michail Antonio ($21) had the entire EPL media talking about him on Monday after he scored twice against Leicester and became West Ham's all-time leading goal scorer. When healthy, he's a very good goal scorer, and he has a good matchup at home against Palace. West Ham lead the league in goals scored so far having scored four goals in both of their first two matchups. They face Palace this weekend who are coming off a clean sheet against Brentford, but they did allow three goals to Chelsea. Antonio is +120 to score in this game. West Ham is also a stackable team like Leicester with Said Benrahma ($18) and Pablo Fornals ($17) also in my player pool on this slate.
These two teams will be the chalk on this slate, but there are a few other names like Romelu Lukaku ($20), Diogo Jota ($20), Danny Ings ($20), and Callum Wilson ($18) to consider as pivots as well.
In the mid-tier range, James Ward-Prowse ($16) has a good matchup to take advantage of on Saturday. Newcastle are allowing three goals, 14 shots, and 10 chances created per game already. JWP will likely go overlooked and under-owned on this slate.
Pascall Gross ($16) is another mid-range midfielder firmly in my player pool. He's been in good form to start this season with an assist in each game. He's averaging 24.3 fantasy points per game and is at home on Saturday facing a leaky Everton defense.
There are tons of good high-end and mid-range attackers on this slate, but the value is not ideal. I'm still on Solly March ($12) for the price. Also, Allan ($9) and James McArthur ($8) have been scoring well enough in their first two games to try and ride them now until they get price increases.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
The lack of value at the FWD/MID position on this slate is going to make it essential to find the right value at DEF, so let's start there.
Unless we get some value in the starting lineups, Yerry Mina ($7) will be the cheapest available starting defender. He's actually a good play on this slate regardless of his price. Mina did not start Everton's first game but came in as a substitute and only got one stat. That really drags down his points-per-game average at this stage of the season which is why he's underpriced. He started Everton's most recent game and scored 13 fantasy points. He has a good matchup here against Brighton who allows more defensive stats than you might think. They currently sit in the top eight in blocks, interceptions, and clearances allowed. Sure, it's early in the season, but Brighton allowed similar defensive stats last season.
If you have a few extra dollars, Joel Ward ($10) and Valentino Livramento ($10) area appealing. I had a few names I liked at $11 as well, but if you are paying that for a defender it should be Vladimir Coufal ($11). He's a great attacking wingback. He has 16+ points in both games this year and now he has his best matchup of the season so far.
If you find value you are comfortable with at attacking positions and want to pay up for a defender on this slate, there are a good number of solid plays up top. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold ($15) and Marcos Alonso ($15) have been absolutely stellar to begin the season. However, they both have a tougher matchup this week, so more ceiling games are less likely. Still, it's easy to see that both of these defenders have clear roles in their teams' attacking unit and have goal/assist upside in any game.
I'm also interested in Matt Ritchie ($14) for a third straight week. He has two straight 18+ point games and now he gets his best matchup of the season at home against Southampton. He should be in for another 18+ point game here with his chances created and defensive stats.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Both goalkeepers in the Chelsea @ Liverpool game intrigue me as high-risk, high-reward GPP plays. They both have difficult matchups against each other as both teams are good attacking teams. However, they both have very strong defenses and are yet to concede this season. Alisson ($11) gets the edge here as the home keeper, but he's also $2 more expensive than Edouard Mendy ($9). Depending on how you build your lineup, both of these GKs can fit well. They have solid floors with saves and big ceilings if they can keep the other team out of the back of the net.
Lukasz Fabianski ($12) is the other GK in my player pool on this slate. He gets a good matchup against Crystal Palace who have not scored a goal in either of their first two games this year. Their xG/90 is only 0.43 right now, and they rank bottom two in chances created and SOG/90. West Ham have been solid defensively so far, and they should be able to keep Palace scoreless. Fabianski also has a good shot at a win bonus with his team -175 (the biggest favorite on the slate).
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
