A lifelong Birmingham City fan, Tom relocated to Germany for five years after graduating from university, where his interest in the Bundesliga developed. He began writing about and betting on German football for FST in 2016. He's also an avid fantasy football player and closely follows the Premier League and European competitions.
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 fantasy format works, find out all you need to know by following the link below:
DraftKings Daily Fantasy Football Explained
$20,000 Premier League Striker and $15,000 Premier League Golden Boot!
Gameweek 2 of the Premier League is almost upon us. DraftKings Premier League Striker gives you six fixtures to select your eight man fantasy team from, with an entry fee of just $3 – deposits will be converted at a competitive rate after depositing. $3 entry can potentially scoop you a huge chunk of the $20,000 prize pool, which has a $1000 top prize. DraftKings Premier League Golden Boot follows exactly the same format, just at a higher buy in. $27 is the entry for that competition, which has a $15,000 prize pool and a $2000 top prize. We have 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. Read more below!
Who to Buy
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Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)/Chelsea Defenders
Conte’s Chelsea saw both full backs regularly making their way forwards last weekend. Branislav Ivanovic was unlucky not to score from open play as he made a rather un-signature run, turn, and left foot shot into the bottom corner which was barely saved by West Ham’s Adrian. He not only creates chances, but gets himself forward for corners meaning he is frequently on the end of crosses for potential goals. Chelsea face Watford this weekend and should see this as a decent opportunity to also take away a win and a clean sheet.
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Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)/Liverpool Midfielders
Liverpool were all over Arsenal in the last third on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp’s extremely offensive combination of Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum, Adam Lallana, and Roberto Firminho proved way too much for a much weakened Arsenal defense. Coutinho left with the lion’s share of the points in their 4-3 win thanks to two fantastic goals: one signature top corner free-kick from distance, and another tricky finish from a driven cross. With Liverpool up against newly-promoted Burnley next weekend, we’d expect any of those mentioned to be worth bringing into your lineup.
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Eden Hazard (Chelsea)/Chelsea Midfielders
Eden Hazard was potentially the biggest single flop in the Premier League last year, but the 25 years old seems revitalized and has adapted well to Antonio Conte’s way of football. Hazard was dangerous throughout last match and deserved more than just a goal from the penalty spot, which is sure to only help his confidence going forward. We expect Chelsea will be all over Watford, who are a much weaker side than last weekend’s opponents West Ham, and Hazard, Oscar and Willian should be at the centre of it all.
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Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Though Arsenal were demolished at the back by Liverpool, they weren’t without their own threats going forward. Theo Walcott “made-up” for his early penalty miss by scoring Arsenal’s opener and putting them 1-0 ahead. He is listed as a midfielder/forward in DraftKings Fantasy, so he can be utilized in either position, useful if you want to play more of one position than the other. Arsenal face champions Leicester City next week, who were less than impressive defensively in their opening 2-1 defeat to Hull City, and we feel that Walcott is decent value to rack up more points next week against them.
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Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)
Cazorla failed to make the starting eleven for Arsenal in their opener against Liverpool. After being substituted on with thirty minutes left, however, he revitalized Arsenal’s creativity in the final third, assisting two goals and racking up even more points simply by creating chances. With Ramsey sidelined for a further three weeks, we expect Cazorla has done more than enough to earn his place in the lineup this time around. Arsenal were to blame for two of Leicester City’s three defeats in the 2015/2016 Premier League campaign, with 5-2 and 2-1 wins, and considering both sides made very few changes over the summer, we expect more of the same from the clash between them on Saturday.
Who to Avoid
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Andre Ayew (West Ham)/Sadio Mane (Liverpool)/ Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
All of the above picked up injuries in the opening games of the season, not an ideal start. Andre Ayew is the most crucial as he is out for approximately four months needing thigh surgery. Sadio Mane and Hugo Lloris are only expected to be out for a couple of weeks. Michel Vorm will be the stand in goalkeeper for Tottenham.
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Arsenal Defenders
Arsenal’s defense was a shambles in last weekend’s 4-3 defeat against Liverpool without centre backs Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, and it will definitely take some time to recover that confidence. Arsene Wenger has stated that he basically has no choice but to play Koscielny next weekend against champions Leicester, but we feel it’s better to avoid them during their cooling off period.
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Alberto Moreno (Liverpool)/Liverpool Defenders
Alberto Moreno was at the heart of Liverpool’s defense criticism in last Sunday’s 4-3 win at Arsenal. Moreno has been under fire for not only being responsible for giving away a penalty, but also for being at fault in Arsenal’s opening goal. Jurgen Klopp has defended the full-back and his decision to name him in the lineup, but we’ve seen the same situation time and time again from the young Spaniard. Clean sheets are the biggest point earners for goalkeepers and defenders and we feel Moreno is just too big of a risk, even against Burnley.
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Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Harry Kane seemed just a ghost of his former self over the summer and continued to be ineffective last weekend. His performances, or lack thereof, at the Euros have likely taken their toll on his confidence. Most of the Tottenham squad (Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose, and Hugo Lloris) haven’t had much time off to recover, thanks to international competition, and will likely require some weeks to get back into rhythm. He is the most expensive player available in DraftKings fantasy this weekend and he’s simply not worth one fifth of your budget given his current form.
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Defensive Midfielders
Defensive/central 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 Wayne Routledge from Swansea, will often earn more points than the best central midfielders, such as N’golo Kante or Eric Dier.
