DraftKings Daily Fantasy Football – Tips for the EPL Striker & Clean Sheet (Week 12)

DraftKings are daily fantasy sports giants in the US and they’ve now launched in the UK for the new Premier League season!

For those who don’t know how the DraftKings 1-day fantasy format works, find out all you need to know by following the link below:

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Football Explained

$22,000 Premier League Striker and $25,000 Premier League Golden Boot!

Gameweek 12 of the Premier League is almost upon us and DraftKings have plenty of competitions for those who like a quick return on investment through a 1-day fantasy format.

DraftKings “Premier League Striker” gives you seven fixtures to select your eight man fantasy team from, all for an entry fee of just $3 (deposits and withdrawals will be converted at a competitive rate). $3 entry can potentially scoop you a huge chunk of the $22,000 prize pool, which has a $1,000 top prize!

DraftKings “Premier League Golden Boot” follows exactly the same format, just at a higher buy in. $33 is the entry for that competition, which also has a $25,000 prize pool and a $5,000 top prize!

We’ve put together the following article to help give you an edge over the rest of the field when deciding who should make the cut in your team. See our lineup and read more below!

Who to Buy

1. Sergio Aguero or Manchester City Players

   Sergio Aguero earns himself a mention after his key role in Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at home to Middlesborough last time out. He dominated in City’s attack as Boro sat back defensively allowing him to rack up a huge 21 points from a high number of shots (8 shots and 4 shots on goal) and a goal (assisted by Kevin De Bruyne). Aguero has scored three in his last two Premier League matches and though he’s the joint most expensive player available in the DraftKings fantasy this Saturday at $9,200, he should have plenty of opportunities to earn more points after the international break against Crystal Palace. The same applies for any of Manchester City’s players, particularly Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling in the final third.

   Gundogan, meanwhile, though “unproven” in terms of Premier League game time, is extremely decent value for a Manchester City midfielder at $5,100. His form (4 goals and 2 assists over his last 4 appearances for club and country) makes him a hugely tempting player to take for just a small fraction of your budget.

2. Tottenham Players

   Tottenham remain the only side unbeaten in the Premier League and though they’ve drawn four consecutive matches, they host London rivals West Ham on Saturday, who aren’t in the best of form. Forward Harry Kane ($7,900) came back with a bang and scored on his first match back from injury away to Arsenal earning him a decent 17 points. He has scored three over his last four appearances for Tottenham and is definitely one of the better value strikers available this weekend considering his price tag.

   Son Heung-Min ($7,300) or attacking midfielders Christian Eriksen ($7,900) have both been quiet in recent weeks for Tottenham. However, Eriksen scored two for Denmark during the international break and is also very reasonably priced for Tottenham’s most consistent point earner. At the back, Danny Rose ($5,600) is the standout performer under the DraftKings scoring system with a 10.9 FPPG (fantasy points per match) average when compared with Kyle Walker ($5,300), who has just a 7.2 FPPG average. For wing-backs such as Rose and Walker, their involvement in play going forward still earns them substantial points, even when Spurs fail to keep a clean sheet.

3. Liverpool Midfielders/Forwards

   Jurgen Klopp is spoiled for choice when it comes to attacking midfielders at Liverpool. Roberto Firmino ($8,700), Coutinho ($9,200), Mane ($8,500), and Lallana ($7,700) are all decent selections for the DraftKings format. Countinho (15.8 FPPG) has the highest average FPPG from the above and has earnt around 20 points or more in six of his last ten appearances. Mane scored two for a 28 point haul in Liverpool’s 6-1 win at home to Watford last time out. Firmino, who is utilised in a false nine role, is another who sees his tally regularly hit double figures with his goal and two assists being worth 32 points last time out.

   Liverpool’s midfielders thrive in the DraftKings format under Klopp’s style of play. Even a central midfielder like Emre Can ($4,000) has gotten on the scoresheet once in each of the last two matches. As such, any one, or multiple, of the above should prove to be valuable additions to any DraftKings team, regardless of your budget.

4. Stoke Players

   Stoke City are well on the road to recover after their 1-1 draw away to West Ham extended their streak to six matches unbeaten. Stoke have a “winnable” fixture against Bournemouth, who have lost both of their last two matches against the struggling Middlesborough and Sunderland, ahead of them this Saturday.

   For just $6,400 of your budget, a less popular striker, such as, Wilfried Bony, could prove to be a decent investment. He scored 2 goals against his former club, Swansea, the match before last which was enough to earn him his first double digit haul of the season (28 points). When compared with his displays for Manchester City last season, Bony has much more potential as he is seeing much more of the ball in the opposition’s box, averaging a much higher number of touches per match and creating almost double the number of chances.

   Regarding other players going forward, Marko Arnautovic ($6,600) has seen his value plummet over a series of disappointing performances. However, he has been grinding out a modest 8.7 FPPG average from plenty of points for shots, crosses, fouls drawn, and tackles won despite not scoring or assisting in a few matches.

5. Artur Boruc (Bournemouth)

   Even though we fancy Stoke’s chances against Bournemouth, Artur Boruc ($4,600) makes it onto our list because of how goalkeepers score points under the DraftKings Fantasy format – not just for a clean sheet but also two points per save. Even when Bournemouth lost 4-0 to Man City earlier this season, Boruc took away 6 points for his efforts (almost as much as a clean sheet) for his 7 saves. Goalkeepers have the lowest FPPG averages of all players so it’s smart to use the least amount of your budget on them.

Who to Avoid

1. West Ham Players

   Though West Ham have tightened up their back four and conceded fewer in recent weeks, the Hammers have been struggling for a consistent flow of goals since midfielder Michail Antonio (5 goals in 10 appearances) ended his streak. New singing Simone Zaza is yet to score or assist since joining them just before gameweek 4 and Andy Carroll has been absent due to injury since gameweek 2. While fan favourite Dimitri Payet has been maintaining a strong 17.3 FPPG average, he is the 4th most expensive player available this weekend at $8,900 and West Ham are facing the unbeaten Tottenham without being at their best.

2. Swansea Players

   Swansea’s change of managers certainly had an immediate affect on the side who managed to score 2 goals away to Arsenal. However, Swansea have scored just two goals since and Everton are difficult opponents for Saturday. The main reason for the exclusion of Swansea players is simply a question of “where are the points going to come from?”. Gylfi Sigurdsson is the obvious choice with his constant involvement in the final third and set pieces, but he’s also in the same price tier as Tottenham’s Christian Erikson and Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino. Whether he’s worth around 1/6th of your budget over similar players from the more inform sides is a balance of risk versus reward.

   Meanwhile, though Leroy Fer has had also had decent run of form earlier this season, he has scored in just 1 of his last six appearances and has taken away a maximum of 7 points when he’s failed to convert. Swansea have conceded 9 in their last four matches so we can’t realistically look ahead and imagine they’ll hold a clean sheet either, ruling out bonus points for their defenders.

3. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

   Vardy ($6,800) didn’t make the starting 11 for a second time in the last three Premier League matches, although both times have come directly after a mid-week Champions League match. Vardy has simply not been in the same form that he had under Leicester’s title winning momentum last season and he is without a goal in 12 matches across all competitions. He may well find himself back in the lineup after the international break, however, Watford have been in decent form at the back against “struggling” sides – three clean sheets from their last four matches – and there are simply much better choices available for forwards this weekend.

4. Defensive Midfielders

   Defensive midfielders are simply the lowest point earners in DraftKings fantasy. Though their cheaper price tag may be tempting, players who’s sole responsibility is to reclaim possession and pass it onwards will earn you very few points. Any winger from a weaker side, such as Robert Snodgrass from Hull City, will often earn more points and be involved with more of the action than some of the best central midfielders, such as N’golo Kante.