English Premier League 12/6/20
Welcome back to Karma Nation’s EPL Soccer preview article. It was a great day for our cash lines Saturday. Let’s keep it rolling with another good 3 game slate! Once again it’s a 3 game staggered start for both FanDuel and DraftKings starting at 9:15am EST. Let’s jump right into the game by game break down.
Sheffield United vs. Leicester City (+100)
Tottenham (+100) vs. Arsenal
Liverpool (-200) vs. Wolves
Really interesting Sunday slate, two very slight favorites in Leicester on the road and Tottenham at home in the North London Derby then the last game features Liverpool as a sizeable favorite. With that being said, let’s dive into our Game by Game Breakdown for more info.
Sheffield United vs. Leicester City-
I don’t understand this spread at all. Leicester is finally getting healthy, as we saw Ricardo Pereira return midweek and Daniel Amartey returned to training Friday. Sheffield sits dead last in the league as the only team yet to have a victory on the season. They have 1 point from 10 games… for those scoring at home, that’s not a good way to stay up in the Premier League.
Sheffield:
Like normal, there isn’t much I love from the Sheffield side of things… their offense is dead last in the EPL with 4 goals scored in 10 games. That being said, John Fleck ($14) is finally back to full health and is in charge of most dead ball situations. Sander Berge ($12) has been on PK duty for the Blades this season but has a very low floor. Youngster Rhian Brewster ($10) could be finally in line for a start; he has shown flashes of brilliance from his time at Liverpool but just has not been given the chance to really find a rhythm. Defensively, sounds like John Egan ($9) might not be ready for Sunday, and if he is out Ethan Ampadu ($8) could be his replacement for cheap. Aaron Ramsdale ($7) has been pretty good considering how bad the Blades have been… he has allowed just 1 goal in 6 of the 10 games he started in.
Leicester:
The Foxes laid an absolute egg midweek in the UEL with their B squad lineup… I think they bounce back big time here. Jamie Vardy ($21) is always the man up top and he has PK duty which gives him a nice upside. He has not been below 17 FD fpts. since October 4th and has had a 63.9 fpt. day vs. Man City this year. James Maddison ($17) has not been the same this year since he has dealt with multiple injury setbacks but he is finally starting to find a little rhythm with 7 chances created over the last 3 games. I’m not sure that Harvey Barnes ($14) starts since he did so midweek but Youri Tielemans ($15) should be good to go and will give a decent floor to your lineup with upside in this matchup for value price. Christian Fuchs ($10) is still pretty cheap for this matchup after he put up near 20 points vs. Fulham. Kasper Schmeichel ($14) crushed me last week as he gave up 2 goals to Fulham but this is the best matchup you could have.
Prediction: Sheffield United 0 – Leicester City 2
Tottenham vs. Arsenal-
North London Derby is always a tightly contested affair and this one should be no different. There are a few injury concerns with Tottenham which could impact this game greatly.
Tottenham:
Harry Kane ($21) is questionable for the game but Mourinho made it sound like he is more probable than doubtful which is a huge boost is for the Coys. There was some skepticism that Hugo Lloris ($11) may not be available and Joe Hart ($5) would be in net again after his midweek horrible performance. I have yet to see any confirmation of this either way, so something to keep an eye on for sure. Heung-Min Son ($20) has been great this season as he has bagged 9 goals so far, and is an elite play vs. a relatively slow Arsenal back line. Not much else interests me from their offensive line, but defensively Serge Aurier ($14) and Sergio Reguilon ($13) are both great full backs and really strong plays. Eric Dier ($10) has been very solid in the back and is a good price for someone who should see a decent amount of work. Goalie is up in the air and if it’s Joe Hart he is a GPP play only as he is terrible but for $5 he’s worth a shot.
Arsenal:
This Arsenal squad is so hard to figure out, on paper they look great… but so far in the league they have been pretty pedestrian sitting 14th with just 4 wins on the season. If Joe Hart starts in goal I like them but if it’s Lloris I’m completely fading this squad. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ($18) is their best offensive player. Willian ($14) seems to be on a pitch count… he has been first sub more times than I can count so far, but he does take most free kicks and corners when he is on. Defensively, Gabriel Magalhaes ($12) and Rob Holding ($9) are both worth a mention since Tottenham should be threatening the Gunners goal all afternoon. Bernd Leno ($9) is a good keeper but that shaky defense makes him very risky.
Prediction: Tottenham 3 – Arsenal 1
Liverpool vs. Wolves-
Liverpool has seemed to have had a really rough start to the season but then you look up and they are sitting in 3rd place a mere 1 point behind current leaders Chelsea with a game in hand. They are also coming off a solid 1-0 hard fought victory vs. Ajax to clinch their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League. Wolves on the other hand have struggled a bit as they sit 10th but to boot they lost star striker Raul Jimenez to a very scary head injury last week (fractured skull).
Liverpool:
Mo Salah ($22) is the most expensive player on the slate, but he has PK duty for this squad and might even be on most set pieces due to injuries. His floor is solid as he has yet to score under 10 FD fpts in a game yet this season and his ceiling is sky high (74.6 vs. Leeds opening day). Diogo Jota ($19) has taken over the striker role and has been absolutely fantastic… this is also a revenge game for him since he transferred from Wolves right before the start of the season. He has 5 goals in the league already this year. Andy Robertson ($15) took a knock Tuesday but played through it… he was extremely hampered by it and his stats suffered greatly due to it being a foot injury. I don’t think he is worth the risk, especially since he’s in the late game. There should be some value defenders for pool though since everyone is hurt… Fabinho ($8) has been a solid makeshift CB a few times this season and Neco Williams ($7) is projected to be slotted into left back. Trent Alexander-Arnold ($14) did train Friday and could feature at some point in this match, which makes it risky to lock in such a cheap spot in your lineup. Goalie is in question as well, Alisson seems to be out Sunday again and Caoimhin Kelleher ($13) started for the Reds and put up a shutout on Tuesday, it seems he may be preferred to Adrian at the moment.
Wolves:
I’m not sure what this offense will look like without Jimenez, but Fabio Silva ($10) subbed on for him vs. Arsenal and put up 10.6 fpts., for dirt cheap he is definitely in play. Pedro Neto ($17) has been really good this season, back to back games with a goal, and should see more chances to shoot without Jimenez clogging up the middle. Connor Coady ($9) returned from Covid last week and put up 15.6 fpts. vs. Arsenal… he should be plenty busy with Jota, Salah and Mane running at him all game. Rui Patricio ($9) is a fine keeper but his defense has been shaky this season due to injuries and new players… I don’t see this match ending well for him.
Prediction: Liverpool 3- Wolves 1
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown and will join us on the DFSKarma discord channel and check out our core plays at https://dfskarma.com/shop/all/soccer/
-Ram (DFS Karma Soccer Lead)
