SOCCER
FanDuel Soccer: EPL DFS Helper for 9/11/21

As always, we're covering FanDuel's main slate, and that kicks off at 10 a.m. EST on Saturday. All betting lines come from EPL odds, and they may change after the article is published.

Slate Overview

West Ham (+145) at Southampton (+185)
Over 2.5 Goals: -138 | Most Likely to Score: Antonio (+145)

Brighton (+170) at Brentford (+180)
Over 2.5 Goals: +146 | Most Likely to Score: Toney (+175)

Manchester City (-175) at Leicester City (+490)
Over 2.5 Goals: -144 | Most Likely to Score: Torres (+155)

Norwich (+550) at Arsenal (-210)
Over 2.5 Goals: -140 | Most Likely to Score: Lacazette/Aubameyang (+100)

Newcastle (+1300) at Manchester United (-550)
Over 2.5 Goals: -230 | Most Likely to Score: Ronaldo (-200)

Wolves (+130) at Watford (+240)
Over 2.5 Goals: +132 | Most Likely to Score: Silva (+210)

Aston Villa (+1000) at Chelsea (-350)
Over 2.5 Goals: -128 | Most Likely to Score: Lukaku (-150)

Positional Breakdown

Forwards/Midfielders

This is a really fun seven-match slate, and there is one clear standout side -- Manchester United.

United are -550 to beat Newcastle at Old Trafford. The Red Devils are -410 to score at least two goals and -130 to net three-plus. For reference, Chelsea have the second-best odds of scoring at least twice, and they're listed at -230 to do so while being +145 to score three-plus. Newcastle have shipped at least two goals in every EPL match this season, and they've played Southampton, West Ham and Villa. The Magpies are in a lot of trouble, and any starting attacker for United has to be on our radar.

You may have heard -- Cristiano Ronaldo ($23; -200 anytime goal odds) is back in the EPL. He's got a dream matchup for his return to Old Trafford, and he carries slate-best goal odds by a mile. On the negative, he'll surely be the most popular player on the slate and may not be on pens (although he probably will be).

United have several other appealing options if you want to pivot off CR7, including Mason Greenwood ($19; +100) and Bruno Fernandes ($22; +120). Bruno's normally elite floor/ceiling combination will take a hit if he does lose penalty and free-kick duties to Ronaldo. Greenwood is already pilfering corners from Fernandes.

Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City are also significant favorites, with Chelsea being in the best spot of the three.

At home versus Villa, Chelsea are -350 to win, so they're plenty stackable. As we laid out at the jump, the Blues are -230 to score at least two, and whenever they're in a nice matchup this year, you're going to want some Romelu Lukaku ($22; -150), assuming he's able to start after suffering a thigh injury over the international break. The Belgian striker has taken 10 total shots across his two matches with Chelsea and has the second-best goal odds on the slate.

Kai Havertz ($18; +150) and Timo Werner ($18; +150) are nice picks if they start. Mason Mount ($18; +320) doesn't have great goal odds but has taken a team-high six corners in league play this season.

Arsenal are -195 to score at least two goals, and they desperately need a win at Norwich. With the caveat that the Canaries have had a brutally difficult schedule so far this year, they've permitted 10 goals through three matchweeks and have been scored on at least twice in each outing.

Due to their horrid form and the delectable matchups for United and Chelsea, the Gunners might slip through the cracks a bit on this slate. I won't be stacking them, but I want some exposure -- likely through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ($20; +100) or Alexandre Lacazette ($18; +100), who share the best goal odds on the team. Bukayo Saka ($16; +310) and Martin Ødegaard ($16; +220) are nice options at modest salaries.

Rarely can you go to Manchester City to be contrarian. This slate should be one such time. The Sky Blues are in a difficult matchup versus Leicester, a side that has had some success against Man City. Still, oddsmakers have City at -175 to win and -180 to score at least twice. Ferran Torres ($18; +155) appears to be taking the number-nine role, and he's got the team-high goal odds to go with it. Kevin De Bruyne ($21; +250) isn't as appealing this weekend as some other high-salary studs are, but he's KDB. We know what he can do in DFS (as long as he's over his ankle ailment).

After those four teams, there are no squads better than +100 to score at least two goals. That doesn't mean you should ignore the rest of the sides, though.

The Southampton-West Ham fixture is a noteworthy -138 to go over 2.5 goals. West Have have netted 10 goals through three matches, and there hasn't been a clean sheet for either side in any of Southampton's three league matches. Michail Antonio ($21; +145) is the standout option from the game, but Jarrod Bowen ($17; +220), Che Adams ($17; +200) and James Ward-Prowse ($17; +290) are viable plays, as well.

Added time -- Jamie Vardy ($19; +195) has the pace to thrive on the counter when the Foxes don't have much of the ball. He's been a thorn in City's side before, getting a hat trick at the Etihad last season, and it looks like he won't have to face Ederson. Vardy is a fun tournament option. ... The Wolves-Watford and Brighton-Brentford matches have implied odds of lower than 45% to go over 2.5 goals. They're the matches I'm most willing to overlook when it comes to attackers. With that said, Wolves are a respectable +145 to score two-plus goals, so they're the side I'd turn to if I had to choose one of them to get a piece of.

Defenders

The full-backs from Manchester United and Chelsea offer gobs of attacking upside.

United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka ($11) and Luke Shaw ($12) should get forward a ton against Newcastle, and neither are that hard to get to at their salaries. Shaw is the better bet of the two. He's created five chances through three matches and is a great stacking partner with Ronaldo. He's taken nine corners this year, too.

Marcos Alonso ($15) will likely start at left-back for the Blues while Cesar Azpilicueta ($11) could be in at right-back for the suspended Reece James. It won't be easy to find the coin for Alonso with so many great high-salary attackers in the player pool, but he should be a priority. He'll spend a lot of the game in forward areas and is an eye-popping +450 to score, which is an excellent clip for a defender. He's also taken three corners and makes sense as a stacking partner for Lukaku.

Newcastle's Jamaal Lascelles ($9) and Fabian Schar ($10) are lower-salary ways to get a solid floor. They should be under siege at United. Villa's Ezri Konsa ($10) fits that mold, too. If he can't go, Villa may wind up giving us a really nice value center-back in his stead. The problem is the Villans-Blues match is the lone late kickoff, so we may not know Konsa's status when the rest of the slate locks at 10 a.m. EST.

Added time -- Wolves' Nelson Semedo ($9) and Marcal ($8) are easy to like at their salaries in a nice matchup with Watford. ... Kieran Tierney ($12) and Cedric Soares ($10) should do more in attack Saturday for Arsenal than they have so far this season. ... Ben White ($7) and Conor Coady ($6) are low-salary punts who can help you get the attackers you want. Both have decent clean-sheet chances.

Goalies

There's a clear top two at keeper in terms of win odds and clean-sheet odds -- Edouard Mendy ($13) and David de Gea ($14).

Mendy has the edge going by the numbers. He's a slate-best -130 to keep a clean sheet, and while de Gea sports better win odds, the Blues are still an overwhelming -350 favorite. Meanwhile, de Gea is -550 to win and -106 to keep a clean sheet. Both are stellar plays even if they'll be lacking save volume.

The Arsenal starter -- either Bernd Leno ($12) or Aaron Ramsdale ($12) -- is a sound pick, as well. While the Gunners are nearly impossible to trust right now, they are -210 to win and +124 to blank Norwich.

It looks like Scott Carson ($5) will be thrust into action for City, who are -175 to win and +148 to keep a clean sheet. He's definitely a step down in talent from the aforementioned goalies, but he's also $5, which is no small thing when we're trying to get to Chelsea's and United's star attackers.

Added time -- David Raya ($10) gets a date with Brighton, who was a dream matchup a year ago because they'd generate lots of shots but struggle to score. The Bees are +184 to notch a clean sheet, although the match is basically a 50-50 toss-up. ... Jose Sa ($11) is +166 to blank Watford as Wolves possess the best clean-sheet odds outside of City, Chelsea, United and Arsenal. He should see some save volume, too, giving him a nice ceiling.

Related News

Daily Fantasy Soccer: The Heat Check Podcast, Introduction to EPL DFS

Jim Sannes  --  Sep 9th, 2021

FanDuel Soccer Strategy: Does Stacking Work in EPL DFS?

Austan Kas  --  Sep 9th, 2021

An Introduction to FanDuel Research

Jim Sannes  --  Sep 9th, 2021