Jaime’s EPL punts and pivots

Week two of EPL kicks off Saturday with a 5 game slate that features some really good close games and a big time match up to finish out the slate between Arsenal and Chelsea. Last week we hit greens in both Draftkings and Fanduel and this slate looks even better than the first one. The biggest decision this week will be to play or not to play Harry Kane. I personally will be fading him in gpp’s not just because he is known to struggle in August but because he did not look a 100 percent to me and that is a big price to play for someone that is not truly healthy. I do like Tottenham in this spot but I will be playing other players from that game. Everton, Leicester and West Ham are also in good spots and feature some of my favorite players from the entire slate. Arsenal against Chelsea could provide us with a nice late game hammer as well. Here are my picks for this week.

Forwards

West Ham United: Marko Arnautovic $6,600

Arny is one of my favorite gpp plays this weekend. It also helps that he had a pretty horrid game last week which will definitely lower his ownership. Add the fact that he reportedly has some injury concerns and you are looking at some really suppressed ownership. He gets a really good matchup against Bournemouth and I like his chances to find the back of the net on this one. Arny had a great preseason and will get back on track this week against a much softer opponent than he faced last week. Fire him up in gpp’s.

Also, consider Everton’s Cenk Tosun $6,300 who was close to being my top gpp forward on the slate going up against Southampton. Love his chances to get on the scoresheet here and with Richarlison stealing the show last week not many people will be on Tosun. If you are looking for a late game hammer you can look at Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang $7,000who has a tough matchup against Chelsea but if Arsenal gets a goal or two I expect Aubameyang to be involved.

Midfielders

Everton: Gylfi Sigurdsson $7,100

Gylfi was my favorite midfielder last week and he disappointed by getting subbed out early due to probably the worst tactical move ever after a red card was given to Phil Jagielka. Seriously he could have subbed anyone else out and left his best player in!. Yes, I am still a little bitter about it. However I am going right back to Gylfi here and he will not disappoint us again. He is a lock for ten plus points without a goal and has the upside to get twenty plus if he finds the back of the net or gets credited with an assist.

Also, consider Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli $7,700 who is playing for the biggest favorites on the slate and should not have a problem reaching value. Christian Eriksen $10,100 carries a much safer floor and a higher ceiling but the price makes it very hard to fit all the other players I like on the slate. However if you can afford him I would not have an argument against him. Leicester’s Demarai Gray $5,600 had an awesome game last week scoring 13 points without netting a goal or an assist and gets a pretty good matchup against wolves where he could have an even better game.

Defenders

Fulham: Cyrus Christie $4,500

Cyrus had a really good first game against Crystal Palace however he gets a much tougher opponent in Tottenham this week. We are not playing Cyrus for his goal upside we are playing him for his peripherals. He had a total of 12 crosses last week leading to a 13 point outing. Fulham should be trailing the entire game forcing Christie to push up and cross in bunches.

Also, consider Everton’s Yerry Mina $3,200 if he cracks the starting 11. We loved playing Mina in the world cup and I will be locking him into my lineups if he does play on Saturday. He is always a threat to score from set pieces.

Goalkeeper

Everton: Jordan Pickford $5,400

Everton should have a very good shot at a clean sheet and win here. Pickford could be looking at ten plus points with the upside for more with saves. I can see Pickford being the best goalie of the slate but I can see a case made for paying up all the way up to Lloris $5,900 for the almost guaranteed clean sheet and win. I would rather take the savings and go Pickford because I believe he will be tested more giving him a higher upside but also riskier which makes him a gpp play in my opinion. If you want to live on the wild side you can pay minimum price for Fulham’s Fabri $3,800 who could face an avalanche of shots from Kane and company and rack up saves. He will not get you the clean sheet or win but he did not give us neither of those last week and still finished with 12 points due to 8 saves.

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)