Duke’s EPL DFS Preview for Saturday’s three-game slate…
April 1st! There is no fooling about in this EPL DFS article, and my gosh is it good to be back. I have to ask, is COVID over? Vaccines are flowing like Chelsea dollars in the transfer market. I’m getting emails about whether I would attend Atlanta United games this spring or push my season tickets to 2022. My state, Georgia, is joining the ranks of states that are reducing social distancing and mask mandates. My point is, we are almost back to normal. Not a new normal. Normal normal. Can you imagine? At times, it felt like we’d never see the day. Obviously, tons of people have lost their lives, and the untold repercussions of alcoholism, suicide, etc. will never fully be known, but it’s impacted the sporting world, as well.
I just saw a stat that Manchester United make about $5-$6 million per home game. That’s revenue they just haven’t had hit the books for a year now. The landscape has changed for clubs throughout the world. The transfer season is well and truly upon us. The rumors are starting. Liverpool might be getting a new center back. Haaland is rumored to Man United, Chelsea and Man City. Spurs are trying to figure out what to do with Jose and Kane. There are storylines all over the place. Which teams will take a chance in the window ANTICIPATING fans back in the stands next season? Those will be the major winners in the short term.
How about for us? How does this help us? Have you enjoyed the split slates? I have not. Lol… I personally can’t wait to get back to 3-4 games starting at 10am EST and perhaps a 12:30pm game. Just look at this weekend’s games! 10:00am, 12:30pm and 3:00pm. Three games – five hours. It is what it is, and we’ve been crushing, so let’s stay positive and whoop some ass.
This is an absolute banger of a slate with four really good teams and Liverpool. I kid, I kid. Really, we have three games to pick players from and choose our own path to success. I feel as if we haven’t had a slate like that in forever.
To the desert…
VEGAS
EPL DFS GAME THOUGHTS
LEE/SHU
Captain Liam Cooper should be back. Bamford should be back. Leeds will be licking their chops with the bottom dwellers coming to town. Sure, the home form hasn’t been stellar, but one thing is for sure, they love putting it on the cellar of the table. Combined, they’ve beaten the bottom four teams all six games with 19 goals scored. The only match they didn’t score more than one goal was the away match against Sheffield. Things have considerably gone downhill from that match for Sheffield, which begs the question…
Who is healthy for Sheffield? The manager is gone. Their backline is decimated. Basham and Egan are likely going to miss. They’ve only scored one goal in their last six games. I don’t see how this season takes a positive spin from here. They are going to get relegated, and teams that are relegated typically don’t like playing against teams that try really hard. That’s Leeds’ mantra: effort.
Leeds win. By how many??
LEI/MCI
Harvey Barnes and James Maddison are still out. Pereira is likely to miss. Justin and Morgan are out. Under is a question mark that likely doesn’t make the grade. Those are big misses for a team that put five on this City squad the first time around. Leicester have been managing the injuries well and won their last two before the break, including a 5-0 dismantling of Sheffield Utd. The success is directly aligned with the form of Kelechi Iheanacho. Where did Iheanacho come from? Ding ding. Manchester City. REVENGE GAME!!! I’m kidding about the last part, but I’m sure he’ll want to continue playing well.
Few teams have a full complement of players to choose from, but Man City are one. The big news dropped this week that Sergio Aguero will leave Man City at the end of the year, confirming what I’d suspected for months. There isn’t much that can derail the borderline perfect season from Man City, but an international break always provides a funky break/downtime for a team that has everything rolling. There aren’t many teams better away than Man City. The only loss on their record is a 0-2 loss to Spurs. They simply control so much of the game that it’s hard to get the jump on them.
City have run away with the league, and Leicester are five points clear of fourth-place Chelsea and seven points clear of fifth place. Seeing City inside -200 was a bit shocking, considering the Maddison issue. The 5-2 scoreline from the first game was a ton of fun but perhaps a bit misleading about what we’ll see here. This isn’t an auto-over by any means, but I do expect goals.
ARS/LIV
This game. Thissssss game. Who the hell knows. Arsenal sit ninth, and Liverpool sit seventh in the table. Arsenal aren’t good. Liverpool aren’t good. BUT, neither team is bad. There is one major factor…Bukayo Saka.
For Arsenal, Saka is nursing a thigh injury. Arsenal need him to play. Pepe, Auba and Laca are fine, but Saka is the straw that stirs the drink. Odegaard has added a new wrinkle and dimension to this team. Frankly, I didn’t think he’d have the gumption to hang in the Prem, but he’s more than held his own. They’ve conceded in six straight matches but have been stellar on the attacking side of the pitch. Outsourcing Liverpool is going to be quite the task.
For Liverpool, the injury list rolls on. Henderson is getting closer to a return, but it still looks like mid-April before we’ll see him again. Firmino and Origi are closer to back, but Jota should likely lead the line. He scored again for Portugal on Tuesday. The guy is so much better than I thought he’d be. I’m not 100% sure how Liverpool approach the rest of the season. Technically, they could still work their way back into the top 4 race, but the priority should be Champions League. They have Real Madrid next Tuesday. What does the team news look like for Saturday with the biggest game of the year just four days later?
There are so many question marks with this game that I’m thankful it’s the last one on the slate.
EPL DFS PLAYS
FORWARDS
- Mahrez – MCI – $9.5k – Cash and GPP
- Raphinha – LEE – $10k – Cash and GPP
- Jota – LIV – $7.2k – GPP
- Salah – LIV – $7.7k – Cash and GPP
- Bamford – LEE – $8k – GPP
- Iheanacho – LEI – $7.5k – GPP
- Aubameyang – ARS – $7k – GPP
- Vardy – LEI – $6.6k – GPP
- Jesus – MCI – $7.1k – GPP
- Mane – LIV – $7.8k – GPP
- Pepe – ARS – $8.2k – Cash and GPP
- Sterling – MCI – $7.6k – GPP
- B Silva – MCI – $5.4k – Cash and GPP
MIDFIELDERS
- De Bruyne – MCI – $10.5k – Cash and GPP
- Tielemans – LEI – $6.3k – Cash and GPP
- Odegaard – ARS – $6.7k – GPP
- Gundogan – MCI – $7.1k – GPP
- Ndidi – LEI – $4.2k – GPP
- Harrison – LEE – $6.4k – GPP
- Lundstrum – SHU – $3.7k – GPP
- Dallas – LEE – $5.2k – GPP
- Partey – ARS – $3k – GPP
DEFENDERS
- Alexander-Arnold – LIV – $6.6k – Cash and GPP
- Tierney – ARS – $5.4k – GPP
- Robertson – LIV – $5.8k – GPP
- Ayling – LEE – $5k – GPP
- Cancelo – MCI – $5.3k – Cash and GPP
- Stones – MCI – $4.3k – GPP
- Mendy/Zinchenko – MCI – $3.6k/$4.7k – Cash and GPP
GOALKEEPERS
- Leno – ARS – $4.5k – Cash and GPP
- Schmeichel – LEI – $4.1k – GPP
- Meslier – LEE – $5.5k – Cash and GPP
- Alisson – LIV – $5.1k – GPP
CASH STRATEGY
It’s really hard to fade Leeds in a situation against a lame duck. I like Rapinha/Bamford/Harrison/Ayling as options, but it’s hard to trust the others outside of Rap. Tielemans is a near must-play, assuming Maddison is out. KDB is a walking 2x, but defender kind of sucks, and I do want TAA to sneak into my lineup. We’ll need value to pop up on game day.
Good luck!! New to DFS Soccer? Here’s an intro with Duke’s Rules & Strategies!
