Daily Fantasy Soccer Picks for the English Premier League - DraftKings 2/27/16

Editor's note: Welcome Rob Banner who'll be covering Soccer (Football to all you Non-Americans) for us. Really excited to have him on board and you can give him a Twitter follow @RobBanner_

The League Cup final takes place on Sunday which is why there are only eight Premier League matches going down this weekend and my attention is firmly focused on Saturday’s 3pm Premier League slate. As you all probably know, DraftKings has been in the United Kingdom for a couple of weeks now. Since its arrival, I’ve been working hard trying to find the formula for success and things have started well and hopefully I can keep the good run going this weekend. Finally I should note that injuries are common in soccer and team news is only released an hour before kick-off, therefore you should ensure that each player is starting for the best results.

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Goalkeeper

Jack Butland – DK 4,100
Opponent – Aston Villa
In this slate there’s only one goalkeeper that stands out and that’s England’s Jack Butland who’s had an excellent season in goal for Stoke City, averaging 8.1 points per game. The goalkeeping position is the only position that receives points for a victory, therefore it makes sense to go with Butland who faces the worst side in the League at home, Aston Villa. Furthermore, goalkeepers also receive points when they keep a clean sheet and Villa are very poor going forward, they’ve scored just 20 goals this campaign, that’s fewer than any other Premier League side.

Forwards

Jamie Vardy – DK 7,400
Opponent – Norwich City
Having saved some funds by purchasing budget defenders, I’m splashing out on the most expensive forward of this slate, Jamie Vardy. He’s averaged 15.2 points per game this campaign and that’s been down to some outstanding finishing. He’s played in 26 matches and has scored 19 goals and comes into this fixture in pretty good form having score four goals in his last four games. It should be noted that Vardy faces the worst defence in the League, Norwich, who have conceded 50 goals in their 26 matches this season and 21 of those goals have come in their last seven fixtures. Even if Vardy does fail to score, I’d expect him to score a fair amount of points given he’s assisted three goals this season and has averaged 3.3 shots per game.

Emmanuel Adebayor – DK 4,500
Opponent – West Brom
After signing on a free transfer in the January transfer window, Adebayor has made a good start to his Crystal Palace career and appears to be undervalued at $4,500. Admittedly, he’s only started two Premier League games so far but he’s looked lively and he scored against Watford earlier this month. Anybody that follows the Premier League will know that Adebayor is a class act, he’s scored 102 goals since moving to Arsenal in 2005 and he’s only started 200 games in that period of time. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be the goalscorer that Crystal Palace desperately need but he’s made a good start and looks a good play at $4,500 this weekend.

Midfielders

Marc Albrighton – DK 6,200
Opponent – Norwich City
Marc Albrighton has had an excellent season thus far for Leicester City and he’s consistently performed well in terms of DraftKing points averaging 13.4 points per game. He takes Leicester’s corners and has averaged 1.5 crosses per game this season and this has been the reason for consistently high points scoring. The Englishman has only got the one goal to his name this season, but he’s assisted six and he faces the worst defence in the Premier League on Saturday therefore there’s every chance that he’ll create a couple of good chance for his team mates.

Wilfried Zaha – DK 5,300
Opponent – West Brom
Wilfried Zaha is the ideal midfielder based on the scoring system, he’s a pacey winger who regularly crosses the ball and pops up with the odd goal. He’s averaged 9.1 points per game this season and is likely to be heavily involved against an organised West Brom defence. Zaha has scored five goals in 29 starts this season in all competitions and has averaged one cross a game although I suspect we’ll see more crosses from Zaha as West Brom are very difficult to break down.

Defenders

Martin Kelly – DK 2,000
Opponent – West Brom
At just $2,000, Martin Kelly is without a doubt a must have in your side this weekend. He’s so cheap because he hasn’t played much first team football as of late, but regular full back Souare is suspended which means Kelly is almost guaranteed to start. In midweek, Kelly started against Tottenham in the FA Cup and scored the only goal of the match, therefore he would’ve been a great point-scorer. Finally, like goalkeepers, defenders receive points for a clean sheet and Crystal Palace’s opponents, West Brom are very poor going forward, only Aston Villa have scored fewer goals than them in the League this season.

Phil Bardsley – DK 2,100
Opponent – Aston Villa
Spending wisely on your defenders allows you to increase your budget on the big points-scorers and this is crucial to success. Individuals who haven’t featured much this season are regularly undervalued and like Martin Kelly, that’s the case with Stoke City’s Phil Bardsley. Glen Johnson has been Stoke’s regular right back but he’s injured which means Bardsley is likely to replace him, thus making him a great addition to our sides. He’s a relatively attacking full back and he’s facing the worst side in the League, Aston Villa, therefore there’s a good chance he’ll be a good points-scorer on Saturday.

Baba Rahman – DK 2,200
Opponent – Southampton
With the absence of a second goalkeeping recommendation this weekend, I’ve opted to add a third defender. That third defender is Chelsea left back, Baba Rahman, but you should be warned that if John Terry returns from injury he may not start, therefore I’d advise you wait until team news before adding Rahman to your side. He’s a very attacking fullback and in the games he’s played 80 minutes or more in this season, he’s averaged 9.33 points per game. If Rahman does start, which he is likely to in my opinion, then Rahman is a superb purchase at just $2,200.

Utilities

Xherdan Shaqiri – DK 5,300
Opponent – Aston Villa
I’ve already included two Stoke City players in this slate largely because they face the worst team in the league, Aston Villa, but also because they offer good value. Xherdan Shaqiri joined Stoke in the summer from Inter Milan and he’s impressed thus far. When looking at the underlying numbers he definitely stands out as a potential high point-scorer. In the 19 matches Shaqiri has played, he’s scored two goals and assisted four others. Furthermore he’s averaged 1.6 shots per game and you’d expect him to have more when playing at home against Villa. Finally the Swiss international has crossed the ball 103 times in his 19 Premier League starts, therefore it’s not a surprise to see him averaging 10.8 points per game this season.

James McClean – DK 5,300
Opponent – Crystal Palace
My final recommendation for this week’s slate is James McClean who has averaged an impressive 10.7 points per game for West Brom this season. The Irishman has consistently scored 9+ points per match and has recently scored 17 and 21 points despite failing to score and assist in both games. McClean scores so many points because he loves to cross the ball into the box, this season he’s delivered 139 crosses in just 15 games. He’s scored two goals and recorded one assist in those games and has potential to be a huge point-scorer this weekend if he can get a goal or an assist against Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace.

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