RADIO
Welcome back, RotoBallers! We finally have some English Premier League action returning to our lives this week! Four teams - Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Sheffield United - all have a game in hand, so they will get started with a midweek slate before the rest of the league hits the pitch this weekend.
This will only be a small 2-game slate meaning you will need to prioritize the better plays (Manchester City attackers) on the slate and make some sacrifices with value plays. Most lineups will revolve around a core of City players with some value players from the other three teams. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Sunday's slate.
I will be turning my focus to EPL now, but there will still be some Bundesliga content here on RotoBaller. If you want to chop it up with myself and other Rotoballer writers, consider becoming a premium member and joining our ever-growing community of DFS and fantasy sports enthusiasts! In this article, I will be providing you with my English Premier League daily fantasy soccer lineup picks for FanDuel on 6/17/20 for the slate that locks at 1:00 pm ET. Be sure to also check out our other DFS lineup picks for other active sports. You can always find me on Twitter @vdray5 if you have any questions. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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EPL DFS Lineup Picks - Overview
Manchester City vs Arsenal
Manchester City (-1.5) are the largest favorite on this slate. They are the highest-scoring team in the league, and they already beat Arsenal 3-0 on the road this season. City will control this game as much as they will control ownership on this slate. The goal total over/under is 3.5 which is significantly higher than the other game on Wednesday. A game stack here makes a ton of sense with the majority of the goals and peripheral stats on this slate likely happening in Manchester.
Aston Villa vs Sheffield United
Sheffield (+125 on the money line) are only slight favorites in Vegas. However, they have been far, far better than Aston Villa this season. If you're a bettor, hammer that Sheffield ML. From a fantasy standpoint, Sheffield have been difficult to get right. However, Aston Villa give up plenty of goals, assists, and other meaningful stats. If you want to create some separation if your lineup, a Sheffield attacker or two will be the way to do that and move off of the City chalk. Keep in mind that the goal total over/under here is only 2.0.
*A quick note: EPL scoring on FanDuel has stayed the same as it was pre-COVID. This means that chances created are back to being worth three points and crosses will not give you any points.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
Sergio Aguero ($21) leads the slate in anytime scoring odds at -175. He is an elite play on Wednesday against a leaky Arsenal defense. City already rolled over Arsenal 3-0 on the road. This is another game where they can bag 3+ goals, and Aguero will almost surely be involved. Kevin de Bruyne ($22) is another elite play. He has been on another level fantasy-wise this season. He scored two of his eight goals in the first matchup against Arsenal. KDB also leads the league in chances created, of which Arsenal give up plenty. You can try to jam both of these guys into a lineup, but at the very least, you should start your lineup with one of them.
Riyad Mahrez ($18) is the perfect player to use in combination with Aguero/de Bruyne. He has significant goal upside with +130 scoring odds, but he also does well with meaningful attacking peripherals like chances created and shots on target. Ilkay Gundogan ($11) will be the preferred City value piece on this slate.
With the way City have defended at home this season (0.92 goals allowed per game) and the way Arsenal have struggled on the road (1.08 goals scored per game), it's not recommended to play Arsenal attackers in this spot.
A similar story rings true for Aston Villa attackers facing a top-tier Sheffield defense. It makes much more sense to fill your FWD/MID spots with Manchester City and Sheffield United attackers.
Aston Villa have statistically the worst defense in the league as they allow 2.0 goals per game. Sure, Sheffield don't score many goals on the road, but we can still target them to fill out a City-heavy roster. Billy Sharp ($15) leads the way as their most likely starter to score at +170. It's hard to take recent form into account with a 3-month break, but he had scored two goals in three games before games were postponed. He doesn't have much of a floor at all, but Oliver McBurnie ($17) does. McBurnie also just barely trails Sharp in scoring odds at +188. John Fleck ($9) played through the fall/winter months well, but has cooled off significantly since February. Maybe he had time to re-focus over the last few months so he can return to his earlier form. He's a good value attacker on Wednesday.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
Arsenal defenders are in a prime spot against City. They will have to do a ton of defending which should lead to great peripheral output. David Luiz ($11) is fairly priced and should rack of plenty of stats. However, Pablo Mari ($6) is crazy-cheap for this matchup. He made his first EPL start just before the break and turned in 18 fantasy points off eight clearances. In a game like this, Mari has potential to repeat that performance for a near-minimum price.
Chris Basham ($14) has been good fantasy-wise for Sheffield, but he costs a lot on a small slate where you should be prioritizing attackers. John Egan ($8) and Jack O'Connell ($7) are a better way to get value on defense. They both spread around their defensive stats well which should give them a good floor. They also have a decent shot at a clean sheet bonus on Wednesday.
Benjamin Mendy ($14) is the one defender on this slate that I would consider paying up for. He should have plenty of opportunities to join his teammates in their attacking third. He has several games with 3+ chances created this season. That is a possibility on this slate too. If he can get a few extra defensive stats - and possibly a clean sheet bonus - he could be the slate's highest-scoring defender. However, I still prefer the value defender route especially on a slate like this.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Ederson ($14) is the easy goalkeeper play on Wednesday. He has a good floor with a win bonus likely coming his way. Arsenal will also be able to force him into making some saves. He has potential into the upper-2os if City keep Arsenal out of the net in their first game back.
Dean Henderson ($11) is the other GK worth considering on this slate. He has been a DFS darling all season with ten clean sheets (2nd on the league). Even though Vegas thinks it will be close, Sheffield should win this game. Their defense has been stellar against top-tier teams this season, and they have no business conceding against Villa even on the road.
Thanks for reading my first EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller, and good luck!
