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Welcome back, RotoBallers! We had a successful Matchday 1 here at RotoBaller for our EPL picks. The 2020-21 campaign continues for the 20 EPL teams this weekend! Games remain more spread out than they have been in the past, which leaves us with some smaller slates where games all kickoff at different times. Saturday's main slate is three games, but you can get up early for the all-day slate if you want a fourth game available. Let's take a look at the main EPL slate this Saturday. 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 9/19/20 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!
EPL DFS Lineup Picks - Overview
Leeds United vs Fulham
Leeds (-0.5, -1.0) hosts one of their Championship counterparts from the last few seasons on Saturday. Leeds won the league and earned an outright promotion last year while Fulham gained their pass to the top flight via the Promotion Playoff. Since 2014 in the League Championship, Fulham is 3-5-2 against Leeds (they split last season). However, Leeds will be the favorite in this match with a solid showing last weekend against Liverpool. Fulham, on the other hand, took a 0-3 defeat to Arsenal. The other two games on this slate are pretty juicy, so this game will take a back seat on Saturday. However, there will be a handful of solid GPP dart throws here. The goal total over/under is 2.5.
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
After their extra week of rest, Manchester United (-1.5) will take the field for the first time in their 2020-21 season. They are the slate's largest favorite even against a Palace team that got a nice 1-0 win against Southampton last week. United was stellar during Project Restart at the end of last season, and there is not much that would signal they cannot continue that form. Palace's defense is good, but they do struggle on the road, so United attackers are undeniably in a good spot. The goal total over/under is 2.5,3.
Arsenal vs West Ham
Arsenal (-1.0) trails Manchester United as the slate's other significant favorite. They were firing on all cylinders at the end of last season and they continue to be playing great football this season already with a 3-0 win against Fulham. They have another good matchup here at home against an iffy West Ham defense. Arsenal attackers will be at a premium here, but so will West Ham defenders with the way Arsenal have allowed peripherals in past seasons. The goal total over/under is 2.5,3.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
Let's just start with my favorite play on the slate. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ($22) is coming off a goal and a 33 FDP game in Arsenal's season opener last weekend. He draws another good matchup this weekend at home against West Ham. West Ham was in the bottom five of goals allowed last season, and they conceded two in their first game against Newcastle. Aubameyang is by far the slate's most likely scorer at -200. He's viable in all formats. Willian ($19) was great in Arsenal's first game as well. He and Alexandre Lacazette ($18) are a nice GPP pairing if you decide to fade Aubameyang.
Sticking with the theme of top attacking studs on Saturday, Bruno Fernandes ($18) is underpriced for this matchup. United should control this game and Fernandes should have plenty of opportunities to make things happen and rack up fantasy points. He has been one of the best fantasy EPL players since joining United last winter. He's going to be a priority on Saturday. Anthony Martial ($22) or Marcus Rashford ($21) can also be used here. However, they both rely more on goals than Fernandes which makes them slightly riskier. They also cost a few bucks more than Fernandes, but that money you save with Fernandes can be used elsewhere.
The entire mid-tier section of attackers for me is going to be dominated by Leeds players. They came out firing last weekend and netted three goals against Liverpool on the road, which makes them only the 2nd team to do that in league play in the last calendar year (Chelsea is the other). Now they get a weak Fulham defense at home. Patrick Bamford ($16) is the Leeds guy most people will know. He led the team in goals last season and opened his scoring campaign last weekend with a goal. He's a little expensive and risky given he only played 62 minutes last game, but he can score in an hour on the field in this matchup. He also leads the game in anytime scoring odds at +140. Jack Harrison ($14) is more affordable and still has +300 scoring odds. He had six goals and eight assists last season, plus he's already on an EPL scoresheet with a goal last week. Pablo Hernandez ($13) was second on Leeds in points last year (9G, 9A), but was the invisible man for Leeds last weekend. You could catch the winger at low ownership this week after people see last week's dud game.
The value attacker section here is rough. Tomas Soucek ($13) and Delcan Rice ($12) are both worthy of consideration with good projected floors in this game against Arsenal. So is Josh Onomah ($5) if he starts. For that cheap, he needs only a few defensive stats to be worth a roster spot if it helps you get your studs.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
The lack of defender studs to pay up for on this slate is extremely disappointing. There could be enough value with cheap players like Onomah and Henderson (coming up) that making a lineup with two defensive studs is very manageable. However, this range is uninteresting for a variety of reasons including limited upside (Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka), poor matchup (Ryan Fredericks, Pascal Strujik), or being overpriced (Denis Odoi, Gabriel Magalhaes).
Ainsley Maitland-Niles ($13) sparks my interest some. He's an attacking defender who can help Arsenal exploit this matchup. He did not pick up any attacking stats in game one, however, that will likely change on Saturday. It is good to know, though, that he has a safe floor with defensive stats and a definite possibility of a clean sheet. Hector Bellerin ($11) has some appeal as another Arsenal attacking wingback for slightly cheaper.
Luke Shaw ($12) is a solid play. He can get peripherals stats from anywhere on the field both defensive and attacking. Manchester United could control possession in this game which will allow Shaw to get involved in the attack. Plus, United defenders have a solid chance at a clean sheet bonus.
Normally, I do not try to prioritize defenders facing Manchester United. However, it is hard to ignore Tyrick Mitchell ($6). He had a very nice 16.7 point game last weekend which included a clean sheet bonus. While that likely won't happen again, he should still get enough defensive stats to put him in double digits.
In past seasons, opposing defenders against Arsenal have been good fantasy plays. I expected Fulham defenders to score much better in this matchup than they did last week. It makes me a little skeptical to target West Ham defenders, but Angelo Ogbonna ($11) is still worth a shot at this price against Arsenal.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
It is still unknown whether David de Gea ($14) or new signee Dean Henderson ($6) will start in the net for Manchester United on Saturday. Both are in a good spot at home against a weak attacking group like Cyrstal Palace. Obviously, for the sake of lineup construction, we all want Henderson to start to avoid paying big bucks for a GK. However, I won't shy away from DDG if he gets the start. Last season, United allowed the 4th fewest goals at home and Palace scored the 4th least goals on the road.
Illan Meslier ($11) is another good option. Leeds had the Championship's best defense last year, and although they conceded four times to Liverpool a week ago, Fulham won't be doing that this week. Many people will see that -1 score from last week and immediately look the other way. However, I like Meslier this week as a home favorite against a team that could struggle to score all season. Fulham was held scoreless last week, and they were only able to generate five total shots (only two on target).
The play here is Henderson if he starts. However, David de Gea is a good play if he starts. If DDG is in goal and you don't want to pay that, Meslier is the next best option.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
