RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers! The 2021-22 EPL season officially kicked off Friday with Brentford hosting Arsenal, and we had an awesome six-game main slate yesterday. The Premier League has returned to their usual scheduling of games. That means larger 5-6 game slates on most Saturdays with only 2-3 games on Sundays now. Therefore, lots of the Sunday slates will return to smaller sizes like the two-game main slate we have this week. I have another full breakdown for you. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Sunday'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 8/15/21 for the slate that locks at 9:00 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
Newcastle vs West Ham
The early game on Sunday has Newcastle hosting West Ham (+120). West Ham had a good season last year vying for a UCL spot all season but eventually finishing sixth. Newcastle had a decent mid-table finish despite spending a lot of time near relegation. West Ham definitely have the advantage in this game even on the road, but Newcastle won't go down easy. There will be some solid plays from both teams here, and you can't avoid the game with only one other game on the slate. The goal total over/under is 2.5.
Tottenham vs Manchester City
The marquee game on the slate comes as the last game played out of the 10 matches. Two teams with title aspirations face off as Tottenham hosts current title holders Manchester City (-155). This is always a firey matchup and there should be some good intensity in this one as both teams look to start their season off with a win. Manchester City are deservedly the favorites on the road. This game will garner a ton of ownership. The goal total over/under is 2.5 with the over at -120.
Set Piece Takers
| Team | PKs | Free Kicks | Corners |
| Manchester City | Mahrez, De Bruyne, Gundogan | De Bruyne, Mahrez | De Bruyne, Foden, Mahrez |
| Team | PKs | Free Kicks | Corners |
| Newcastle United | Wilson | Shelvey, Murphy | Fraser, Shelvey, Ritchie |
| Team | PKs | Free Kicks | Corners |
| Tottenham | Kane, Son | Kane, Dier, Son | Son |
| Team | PKs | Free Kicks | Corners |
| West Ham United | Noble, Rice, Antonio | Cresswell, Benrahma, Rice | Cresswell, Bowen, Benrahma |
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
It's unfortunate that we might be seeing this Manchester City at Tottenham game without each of the club's biggest stars. Kevin de Bruyne ($22) is still nursing an ankle injury from the Euros, and Harry Kane ($21) is still just getting his Tottenham training going since he got some extended rest after he led England to the Euro Final.
Riyad Mahrez ($21) had an awesome set of preseason games for Manchester City scoring two goals and adding in an assist as well. He has also had a ton of time to train with the squad since (obviously) Algeria was not a part of the Euros. City will be without KDB which means they will rely just a tad more on Mahrez's attacking ability. He's a fantastic way to start your lineup on Sunday.
Getting a more Manchester City exposure is a good strategy with their juggernaut attacking group combined with the fact that they're the largest favorites on the slate. Raheem Sterling ($20) had a solid Euros and can be used. Jack Grealish ($15) is City's big signing of the summer and is pretty cheap here. He'll definitely have the ball more in this game without KDB and Phil Foden ($18).
Son Heung-Min ($18) is my favorite Tottenham attacker especially if Kane does not start. He has the ability to get essentially any stat that counts on FanDuel which gives him a strong floor especially in a game environment like this.
With lots of Manchester City and Tottenham players taking up a good deal of salary, we'll need some mid-range or value attackers from the early game to make things work. Tomas Soucek ($15) and Pablo Fornals ($14) are the first two guys I'll be looking at to fill those spots. Both have good floors with their peripherals stats. Soucek has more goal upside with seven last year compared to three from Fornals. Soucek is also up there in terms for anytime scoring odds in this game at +285. Fornals, however, creates more chances if you're looking for that.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ($10) is my go-to value play on this slate. He racks up a ton of defensive peripherals in his role in the midfield and will be in a good game environment against City to pick up plenty of stats on Sunday.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
Some of these prices are a joke. Vladimir Coufal ($12) could easily be $15 if FanDuel wanted to make him that expensive. He was one of the best wingbacks in the league last season both in the real game and in fantasy. He was a massive reason why West Ham competed for a UCL spot. He has a lot of attacking upside and can get defensive stats on top of that. He's an awesome play on this slate.
Matt Ritchie ($6) is also too cheap for his role as a wingback. Newcastle struggled attacking last year, but Ritchie was still scoring alright fantasy-wise. At home, Ritchie should be able to show us some attacking upside even if the matchup against WHU isn't ideal. Either way, $6 is a bargain for a player of his caliber who has a role on set pieces.
Jacob Murphy ($12) and John Stones ($11) are two other defenders in my player pool on this slate.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
You can justify playing any of these four goalkeepers on Sunday depending on how you built the rest of your lineup.
Ederson ($13) costs quite a bit for a guy playing on the road against another top club. However, if Harry Kane is indeed out, you can easily fade Son and other Tottenham attackers and Ederson makes sense. He's the most likely to get a win bonus and should make some saves as well boosting his floor.
Neither Lukasz Fabianski ($11) or Freddy Woodman ($9) look very enticing on Sunday. The most likely result according to Vegas is a 1-1 draw (+500) which means no bonus for either keeper and their scoring would rely solely on save points. However, they're still viable if you fade the right attackers and think one team pulls out a win.
Hugo Lloris ($8) is absolutely in a tough spot against City. However, he's so cheap for the amount of saves he will have to make. Plus, Tottenham's defense was good at home last year and City will be without KDB. I would not be all that surprised if Tottenham keeps City out of the net on Sunday which would result in a massive game for Lloris.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
