Yahoo DFS Soccer: Saturday Premier League Picks

Yahoo DFS Soccer: Saturday Premier League Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.

MATCHES (EDT)

10:00 a.m: Southampton v. Bournemouth
10:00 a.m: Burnley v. Brighton
10:00 a.m: Crystal Palace v. Leicester City
10:00 a.m: Huddersfield v. Everton
10:00 a.m: Newcastle v. West Brom
12:30 p.m: Swansea City v. Chelsea

Click here to play the Premier League £2K GPP

FORWARDS

Wilfried Zaha, CRY v. LEI (£23): There isn't one forward who's considered safe in this slate, but Zaha may have the most upside. His downfall was seen last match when he had 0.15 fantasy points with three fouls committed against Watford. Playing at home, his stat line should look more similar to the five matches prior to Watford when he reached at least five fantasy points. My hope is that he repeats performances against Brighton and Bournemouth when he had three shots on goal in each. When these teams met a few months ago, Zaha scored and Palace surprisingly won 3-0 at King Power Stadium. A similar result would be nice.

Ayoze Perez, NEW vs. WBA (£17): Instead of spending up on a forward who may or may not produce, Perez doesn't cost much and has at least one shot on target in his last five starts. Since Newcastle moved to a slightly different 4-4-1-1 formation (from 4-2-3-1), Perez has 24 shots in nine starts. That's almost one shot more per match than any other formation. His upside has been on display with three goals, two assists and 11 shots over his last four starts, and while West Brom haven't lost in their last three matches, that still doesn't make them a good team.

Salomon Rondon, WBA at NEW (£18): Speaking of West Brom, Rondon has reached double-digit points in five of his last seven starts, with a minimum of 5.80 in that period. Similar to Perez, he's getting shots on target in every match no matter the opponent, with five in the last two matches against Liverpool and Man United. The only worry for Rondon is that Newcastle are playing well at home and have won their last four at St. James' Park. Of course, West Brom already went to Old Trafford a couple weeks ago and won 1-0, so that shouldn't detract you from using Rondon.

MIDFIELDERS

Riyad Mahrez, LEI at CRY (£24): I'm going with Mahrez because I don't trust Chelsea and Eden Hazard (£26) on the road. There's also the chance Hazard doesn't start again. Mahrez's road stats are his biggest selling point because he's had at least five fantasy points in his last eight starts away from home. He's taking shots, getting crosses in and winning corners at a consistent rate, and that's why he's a good play against an unpredictable Palace side. He doesn't have a goal or assist in his last four matches, yet is averaging more than seven fantasy points in that period.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson, BRN v. BHA (£17): Gudmundsson is another guy to depend on because he often makes things happen in the Burnley attack. Since his return from injury, Gudmundsson has reached at least 6.55 fantasy points in all three matches and picked up where he left off, getting shots on target and converting crosses. Playing at home against a side that has given up seven goals in their last three road matches makes Gudmundsson close to a must on your roster.

Luka Milivojevic, CRY v. LEI (£18): For another reasonably cheap midfielder, Milivojevic continues to produce even though he often takes the backseat to Zaha and Andros Townsend (£17). In addition to being Palace's penalty taker, Milivojevic has been able to stick his nose around net and that's led to 10 goals for the season. Playing as a central midfielder, he doesn't match others in attacking stats like crosses, but he often succeeds through interceptions and the one or two shots he gets per match. Neither one of these sides have played consistent defense this season, but both get their share of looks on net and Milivojevic has a chance to reach double-digit fantasy points in five of six matches. For a slightly cheaper midfielder, Ryan Fraser (£16) is worth a look if he's in the starting XI at Southampton.

DEFENDERS

Victor Moses, CHE v. SWA (£16): With Marcos Alonso suspended, Moses is next in line for the top Chelsea defender, with Cesar Azpilicueta (£15) not far off. Swansea only want one point at a time and will likely slow this match down as much as possible. While Chelsea haven't had an away clean sheet since January, Moses provides more attacking value than Azpilicueta and averages more than one shot per start in addition to crosses.

Leighton Baines, EVE at HUD (£14): Everton's back line has turned things up to close the season, allowing one goal or fewer in five of their last six, with the outlier coming against Man City. In Baines' last two starts without a clean sheet, he's still scored at least six fantasy points due to successful crosses and interceptions. Huddersfield have struggled mightily of late and have only one goal from their last four home matches in all competitions.

Ryan Bertrand, SOU v. BOU (£15): Instead of listing a bunch of defenders from the same teams, I'm recommending four different squads (GK included) because none are hands-down automatic for a clean sheet. Bertrand doesn't have great clean sheet odds, but his assist potential is always a plus, especially against a side that have allowed 10 goals in their last four away matches. As for Bertrand, it's rare that he has fewer than three fantasy points, even more so when he plays weaker competition.

GOALKEEPER

Nick Pope, BRN v. BHA (£15): The best thing about Pope is that he rarely gets negative fantasy points because more often than not he makes at least two saves. With Burnley a slight favorite and the over/under set at two goals, Pope is in a good spot to perform. It also helps that Brighton are tied for the league-low with nine away goals this season.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Adam Zdroik plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: zdroik, DraftKings: rotozdroik, Yahoo: StreakMaster.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Zdroik
Adam, a 2019, 2018 and 2017 Finalist for FSWA's Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's soccer editor. He also runs RotoWire's Bracketology, as well as writes on other various college basketball content. He has previously worked at ESPN and Sporting Kansas City, and he is a former Streak for the Cash winner and Michigan State graduate.
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