Happy Soccer day everyone!. This week we get a very interesting 5 game slate without the always chalky Manchester City and Liverpool. Leicester is the biggest favorite on the slate going up against Burnley but you have to like the spot for teams like West Ham and Bournemouth as well. Tottenham is the late game and guys like Kane and Eriksen figure to draw some heavy ownership but this is not the easiest matchup for them against Crystal Palace. Here are my picks for this slate.
Forward
Top: Jamie Vardy $9,000
Last week I made Vardy my cover boy for the gpp article and he let us down. This week he gets a great matchup against Burnley and Leicester is the biggest favorite on the slate. Overall he is my favorite gpp forward on the slate and could be in for a big game here. Marko Arnautovic $9,300 going up against a leaky Huddersfield defense and Calum Wilson $8,100 facing Newcastle also make for really good gpp plays.
Mid: Danny Ings $6,600
Danny Ings is coming off a game against Manchester City where he scored a goal and finished with 20 fantasy points. This week he gets a Watford team that is coming off a loss to Newcastle and a few weeks ago gave up 4 goals to Bournemouth. His floor is around 4-5 points because he loves to shoot and if he finds the back of the net you could be looking at a 20 plus point game again. He will also have really low ownership considering all the other forward options on the slate. I also like Zaha $6,400 as a late game hammer against Tottenham.
Value: Isaac Success $6,000
I do not love the cheap tier of forwards this week but if you must play one it has to be Success. Watford should score in this game and he really has been playing well lately scoring 6 and 24 points in his last two games.
Midfielders
Top: Johann Berg Gudmundsson $7,500
If we get news that Brady is not in the starting 11 again this week then JBG becomes the lock of the slate. He would have set pieces and should be very active with Burnley expected to be trailing early in this one. If you are fading Kane in gpp I would also look at Erik Lamela $7,200 who could have a really nice game here and Junior Stanislas $7,000 who played great in his first game back in the starting 11 for Bournemouth.
Mid: Robert Snodgrass $6,300
Snodgrass has started the last three games for West Ham and has scored 6, 9 and 11 points including a 10 cross game against Burnley last week. Love him this week to have a big game and a stack of Snodgrass and Arny could be really juicy. Andros Townsend $6,100 is also a good play in this price range.
Value: Ki Sung-Yueng $3,400
If Ki gets the start we might be looking at lock numero dos of the slate. The price is just the perfect glue to fit in the studs you want on the slate. Also he would have some set pieces and could get involved in a goal or assist like he did last week against Watford.
Defense
Top: Jose Holebas $6,900
Holebas is my favorite high priced defender on the slate. Here are his crossing numbers for the last few games 11,15,18,14. Yes lock him in and move on. I prefer him over Trippier as well this week. Ben Chilwell $6,000 makes for an awesome play as well.
Mid: Chris Lowe $5,400
If you do not have the funds for Holebas you can look at Lowe for over a 1k discount. Lowe has been awesome the past few games scoring 12 and 14 points and in a game that they will probably be trailing he could find himself crossing a lot. I would love to pair Lowe with Holebas in my main lineup.
Value: Patrick Van Aanholt $3,900
I will probably will not play anyone on this range but if you need to punt defender I would look at PVA. He will not light the world on fire but has a knack of finding the back of the net from set pieces.
Goalkeeper
Lukasz Fabianski $5,000
Fabianski is my favorite goalie of the slate. I think the price is fair considering the odds for him to get a clean sheet and a win. Huddersfield fullbacks and Mounie should attack enough to provide some save upside as well. If you are fading Tottenham all together I would plug in Wayne Hennessey who might not get win or clean sheet points but could definitely rack up save points.
As always if you have any questions feel free to send me a message on slack or on twitter. I can’t wait to see all the screenshots after we dominate this week! Enjoy the slate and make sure to tune in to our slack when lineups come out since we usually drop a play or two in there as well.
Written by Jaime (Twitter: @jaimedurand1)
