DraftKings Daily Fantasy Football – Tips for the EPL Sweeper & Golden Boot (Week 32)
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 1-day fantasy format works, find out all you need to know by following the link below:
DraftKings Daily Fantasy Football Explained
$10,000 Premier League Sweeper and $8,000 Premier League Golden Boot!
Gameweek 32 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 Sweeper” gives you six fixtures to select your eight man fantasy team from, all for an entry fee of just $4 (deposits and withdrawals will be converted at a competitive rate). $4 entry can potentially scoop you a chunk of the $10,000 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. $27 is the entry for that competition, which has a $8,000 prize pool and a $1,250 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
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Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – Price: $10,200
Aguero seems to be getting back on track at Manchester City following his short-term replacement by the now-injured Gabriel Jesus. Aguero has scored one goal in four of his last five Premier League outings and even earned himself “Man of the Match” for his lively attacking display against Arsenal last weekend. Guardiola’s side have a very favourable match at home to Hull City this Saturday, who have conceded two goals or more in five of their last six on the road (D1 L5), so Aguero has ample opportunity to continue his strong form there.
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Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – Price: $8,900
Hazard scored both goals in Chelsea’s 2-1 win at home to Manchester City during the week, earning himself a huge 29 points when added to his four shots (three on goals), one cross and three fouls drawn. Hazard seems back to his best and has returned at least a goal or an assist in four of his last five Premier League outings, earning at least 11 points in each match over the same period. Not only do Chelsea have a “winnable” match on the road to Bournemouth this Saturday, who have conceded two goals or more in six of their last seven home outings, but Hazard’s $8,900 price tag is extremely decent value when compared to say Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson ($11,700).
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Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) – Price: $5,500
With this weekend’s Premier League fixtures looking set up for plenty of goals, there may not be too many clean sheets around for defenders. DraftKings scoring rewards attacking play and so defenders that are utilized in a very offensive wing-back role, such as, Chelsea’s Marcus Alonso, tend to grind out bigger point totals even when they fail to keep a clean sheet. Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine Premier League outings, a task they may find difficult to replicate once again on the road to Bournemouth this Saturday, but Alonso will will have the best potential to pick up some points through shots, crosses and fouls drawn.
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Manuel Lanzini (West Ham) – Price: $7,200
Lanzini has arguably been one of West Ham’s best players this season. The Argentinian’s recent performances have seen him exceed his season averages for crosses and shots taken per match and he’s scored 9 points or more in five of his last seven starts for the Hammers, over which he’s scored three goals. West Ham are another side who have a “winnable” match at home to strugglers Swansea this Saturday, who have conceded two goals or more in all but three of their fifteen Premier League away matches this season, so expect Lanzini to cause some trouble.
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Tom Heaton (Burnley) – Price: $4,500
It’s important to spend your budget where it matters in the DraftKings format and, simply put, goalkeepers have the lowest potential of all player types to take away high points scores. Hence, you should be using less of your budget on them. Burnley’s Tom Heaton is, for example, $1,100 cheaper than Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, but he holds a higher FPPG average for a reason. Burnley’s weaker back line means that Heaton will be forced to make more saves (+2 points per save), something the Englishman has proved he’s more than capable of doing, and thus grind out high tallies even when failing to hold onto the clean sheet bonus (+5 points).
Who to Avoid
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Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Diego Costa has failed to maintain the same momentum in front of goal in 2017 – Costa has tallied just three goals since the turn of the new year. The Spaniard continued to struggle in front of goal against Manchester City on Wednesday, where he registered just one shot (off target), and his three match goal-less run has seen him record a meager 7.3 FPPG (Fantasy Points Per Game) average. Chelsea’s goals seem to be coming from elsewhere and Costa’s weak returns make his $9,300 price tag an undesirable investment.
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Robert Snodgrass (West Ham)
Robert Snodgrass is another player whose price ($7,600) is simply too high given his recent form, especially alongside the availability of other more in-form midfielders at a similar price range, such as, Bournemouth’s Joshua King ($6,000). Snodgrass’ one assist from nine outings for the Hammers’ pales in comparison to his performances at Hull (7 goals and 3 assists over 20 appearances) and to make matters worse, his time on the pitch is frequently cut short with a substitution around the 70 minute mark.
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Hull City Players
Though Hull City are enjoying a run of top form in Premier League matches at the KCOM Stadium, the Tigers’ form on the road leaves a lot to be desired (W1 D2 L12). Hull City have failed to score in 60% of their Premier League away matches, while also conceding an average of over two goals per game; numbers that will be difficult not to replicate on the road to Manchester City this Saturday.
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Burnley Players
Simply put, Burnley players just don’t have enough potential when compared to other teams this Saturday. Not only are The Clarets in awful form on the road in the Premier League, taking just three points from their fifteen away matches so far (D3 L12) this season, but even though their scoring form is improving, they’ve still only scored two or more goals in one of these (7%). With goals spread thin and far between them, we’d avoid Sean Dyche’s side this weekend.
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Defensive Midfielders
Defensive midfielders are simply the lowest point earners in DraftKings fantasy. Though their cheaper price tag may be tempting, players whose sole responsibility is to reclaim possession and pass it onwards will earn you very few points. Any winger from a weaker side, such as, Swansea’s Wayne Routledge ($3,200), will often earn more points and be involved with more of the action than some of the best central midfielders, such as, Chelsea’s N’golo Kante ($3,300).