SOCCER

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for Matchweek 6

Dwight McNeil has a lot of appeal this week in a date with Norwich City. Who else is worth plugging in on this four-match slate?

A smaller four-game slate is what Matchweek 6 brings us, and unlike the few before it, includes the 12:30 p.m. Eastern time game as well as three games at 10 a.m.

This slate will feel familiar, as Manchester City are once again massive favorites. The six most expensive players on DraftKings all play for Man City. Getting them in your lineup will be what you want to do. But who else can you play to be able to afford them?

Forwards to Target

Sergio Agüero ($11,900): Agüero was rested for Wednesday's Champions League game in Ukraine, but he should be a full go here. He has at least one goal in every Premier League game this season, leading the league with seven. The Argentine striker also is tied for the most shots in the league with 19 and is a -290 favorite to score, according to Soccer odd. I could go on, but by now you should realize, Agüero is a great play.

Dwight McNeil ($7,700): McNeil is someone you want to be targeting in cash games due to how often he is crossing, something that's generally hard to find at the forward position. McNeil is tied for sixth in crosses this season and is playing at home against Norwich City. Norwich shocked the world with their victory over Manchester City last week, but they have conceded the most goals in the league with 12. They also have allowed the most crosses per game, according to WhoScored.com.

Joelinton ($5,700): Joelinton has had some tough matchups to start the season, already having to face Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool. Now he gets a home game against Brighton, a much friendlier spot. Newcastle are the favored side in this game, and Joelinton should be leading their forward line. He is a cheap bet to get a goal and is worth putting in a tournament lineup.

Midfielders to Target

Kevin De Bruyne ($11,400): De Bruyne might sit this game out after playing on Wednesday in the Champions League. If he is in the starting XI, KDB is a fairly obvious play in this spot. He leads the league in crosses with 44, including 13 in just 33 minutes last week against Norwich. If he were to sit out, Riyad Mahrez ($10,700), Bernardo Silva ($9,100) and İlkay Gündoğan ($7,100) would all receive a boost in value because they would get a share of the set-piece duty left behind by De Bruyne.

Christian Atsu ($5,200): Atsu is a player who has taken over a bigger role at Newcastle since Matt Ritchie got injured. Ritchie is the only player who has more crosses on the team than Atsu does, and he will be missing this game. Atsu has at least nine DraftKings points in the three games he's started this season. He's had three shot assists in every game, and that has turned into two actual assists. If Newcastle play well in this game at home, Atsu could be at the heart of it when it comes to creating chances and is likely to pay off his $5,200 price tag.

John Fleck ($4,600): Fleck returned from injury last week and had a great fantasy game. He split the corner kicks with Oliver Norwood, each taking six. All told, Fleck ended with nine crosses, took five shots and had three shot assists. For $4,600, it's hard to find a player who can accumulate stats like that and put up 15.5 fantasy points without scoring a goal or getting an assist. On a slate where we want to pay up for City's stars, Fleck is a great source of cap relief.

Defenders to Target

Lucas Digne ($7,400): If you have the money to spend up, Lucas Digne would easily be the highest projected defender in terms of just raw fantasy points. Digne paced the Premier League in crosses last season. Everton are at home as -150 favorites, so the opportunity to put crosses in for Digne should be there if the match plays out like oddsmakers expect. When looking at the price tag, you can look at the similarly priced forward or midfield options since there are no defenders priced around Digne. Digne is probably a safer play than most of those players and would get three bonus points if Everton kept a clean sheet.

Matthew Lowton ($4,600): Lowton is a player who can add a little bit in every category to get fantasy points. He is fairly adept at winning tackles and making interceptions as well as getting crosses. We know that facing Norwich is the best matchup for racking up crosses in the league, and crossing toward a tall center forward like Ashley Barnes is usually a big part of Burnley's game plan.

George Baldock ($4,300): Baldock has shown his willingness to get forward from his wing-back position, with 19 crosses in five games in the Premier League. Sheffield United's strategy seems to be to get balls into the box via the cross, as they rank only behind Liverpool in crosses per game this season. Baldock is at an affordable price so he won't need too many crosses to pay off his salary.

Goalkeepers to Target

Ederson ($5,900): The goalkeeper on the biggest favorite on any soccer slate is usually $5,900. The next biggest favorite's keeper is usually a few hundred dollars less, and this doesn't quite make sense in all cases. Manchester City are -1050, and the next biggest favorite is Everton at -150. Despite the huge gap in implied chance to win given the odds, Jordan Pickford is just $300 dollars cheaper than Ederson. If I'm paying up at keeper, I'd like the safety of Ederson.

Mat Ryan ($4,600): Despite liking a few of their players in this match, Newcastle's attack is just not one that scares me overall. They have just four goals on the season, and even if they do win, the Magpies are unlikely to score three or four goals to completely sink Ryan if you decide to play him. Brighton aren't too big of underdogs at +200, so a win for Ryan isn't out of the question.


Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.