English Premier League soccer continues Saturday with a three-game slate on DraftKings.
The first match of the day features Southampton and a Sheffield United side that will be desperate for all three points to keep their hopes of staying in the Premier League alive. Wolves host Aston Villa in the midday clash and Leicester City head to Brighton to wrap up the day.
The DraftKings main contest is a $15 entry with $5k going to first place.
Matches
10 a.m. ET: Sheffield United vs. Southampton
12:30 p.m. ET: Aston Villa vs. Wolves
3 p.m. ET: Brighton vs. Leicester City
Odds report
Sheffield (+260), Southampton (+100)
Total: 2.5; both teams to score: (+110)
Aston Villa (+137), Wolves (+210)
Total: 2.5; both teams to score: (-125)
Brighton (+155), Leicester (+180)
Total: 2.5; both teams to score: (-106)
Clean sheet
Southampton: 35%
Aston Villa: 32%
Brighton: 31%
Leicester: 27%
Wolves: 26%
Sheffield: 24%
Anytime goal odds (Top 10)
Danny Ings (+148)
Jamie Vardy (+170)
Neal Maupay (+185)
Ollie Watkins (+200)
Kelechi Iheanacho (+265)
Willian Jose (+280)
David McGoldrick (+285)
Danny Welbeck (+285)
Che Adams (+290)
Anwar El Ghazi (+295)
Set-piece/penalty takers
Sheffield:
Oliver Norwood
John Fleck
Penalty taker: Billy Sharp/John Lundstram
Southampton:
James Ward-Prowse
Penalty taker: Danny Ings
Aston Villa:
Anwar El Ghazi
Bertrand Traore
Penalty taker: Anwar El Ghazi
Wolves:
Pedro Neto
João Moutinho
Penalty taker: Ruben Neves
Brighton:
Pascal Gross
Penalty taker: Pascal Gross/Danny Welbeck
Leicester:
Youri Tielemans
Marc Albrighton
Penalty taker: Jamie Vardy/Youri Tielemans
Cash core
M/F: Pascal Gross ($9,600)
M/F: Pedro Neto ($8,300)
This core is based on the expected lineups, so this could change. I’ll be in the Discord prior to lock with an updated core if there are any surprises in the starting elevens.
Gross is averaging 15.8 floor points over his past three matches, which is incredible for a player on a team that struggles to score. He has full control on set-pieces, crosses a ton in open play, and is Brighton’s penalty taker. He missed his last penalty, so there is a chance that he has been taking off spot kicks moving forward.
Neto is a steal here at $8,300. He consistently hits double-digits with or without a goal or assist. He has a decent share of set-pieces and one of the best floors on the slate.
Outside of the two players that I just mentioned, there are three other top floor options this slate. Anwar El Ghazi ($10,300), James Ward-Prowse ($9,000) and Youri Tielemans ($8,100).
El Ghazi would be in a lock in the core if I knew that he would have a monopoly of set-pieces for Aston Villa. We won’t know that until lineups come out. So, if Ross Barkley ($6,200) and Bertrand Traore ($8,200) are both in with El Ghazi then it might be best to fade him since both players will eat into his set-piece share. If it’s just Traore that starts alongside him then throw him into your cash lineups.
Ward-Prowse doesn’t have the same goal upside as El Ghazi or Neto, but his floor and role on his team is similar to Gross. Unlike El Ghazi, Ward-Prowse will have a dominant role on set-pieces regardless of who starts with him.
Tielemans is another player who could have full control of deliveries from corners and free kicks for his side. This isn’t normally the case, but Leicester’s main set-piece taker, James Maddison has been sidelined with an injury, allowing Tielemans to take over that role.
The concern here is that Marc Albrighton ($6,800) has taken set-pieces over Tielemans in the past. We won’t know if Albrighton is in until later in the day, so it’s best to have some flexibility in your utility to pivot if you’re planning to roster one of these two.
There isn’t much to like in the defender pool, so don’t feel like you need to pay up, but if you have the funds then it’s fine. Ahmed El Mohamady ($5,100) and George Baldock ($4,200).
Cash player pool
Players in bold are midfield/forward eligible
Forward
Anwar El Ghazi ($10,300)
Pascal Gross ($9,600)
Pedro Neto ($8,300)
Leandro Trossard ($7,600) — He’ll be on sets if he starts without Gross. Don’t play him otherwise.
Adama Traore ($6,700)
Midfield
James Ward-Prowse ($9,000)
Youri Tielemans ($8,100)
Marc Albrighton ($6,800)
Ross Barkley ($6,200)
John McGinn ($5,400)
John Fleck ($5,100)
João Moutinho ($4,900)
Oliver Norwood ($4,500) — Monopoly of set-pieces without Fleck in the lineup.
Hamza Choudhury ($3,100)
Defender
Ahmed El Mohamady ($5,100)
George Baldock ($4,200)
Luke Thomas ($3,900)
Dan Burn ($3,400) — Only he starts at left-back/left wing-back.
Caglar Soyuncu ($2,700)
Wesley Fofana ($2,600)
Daniel Amartey ($2,600)
Mohammed Salisu ($2,600)
Goalkeeper considerations
Aaron Ramsdale ($4,200)
Rui Patrício ($4,400)
Kasper Schmeichel ($4,600)
I’ll be in the Discord chat prior to lineup lock to break down the starting lineups and to answer any questions you may have.