DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for 1/26/21

The weird scheduling of the season and the FA cup has taken away some Premier League slates from us, but we’ve got a nice four-game slate on Tuesday. Here are the games with odds from FanDuel Sportsbook:

Forwards to Target

Raphina ($8,000): Leeds will take on Newcastle, a team they dominated just over a month ago and beat 5-2. Raphina didn’t have a goal or an assist in that game but managed to get 14.7 DraftKings points. That’s the reason why we’re interested in him in most games, and this game especially. His floor has been very high, as he averages over six crosses, two shots, and two chances created per 90 minutes, according to Rotowire.

Leeds are one the most attacking teams in the Premier League, because of manager Marcelo Bielsa's style. They are the third-best possession team, and they average the fourth-most shots and second-most crosses per game, according to WhoScored.com. That matches up very well against Newcastle, who are the worst possession team in the league and allow the second-most shots per game. This should mean a lot of peripheral stats for Raphina, and even if he can't contribute to a goal in this game, he should be able to make up for that with the other ways he accumulates fantasy points.

Riyad Mahrez ($7,600): It's clear that Manchester City are a team that we want to target on this slate, being the biggest favorites by a wide margin. The player we usually turn to on Man City, Kevin De Bryune, will miss this game and looks to be out for at least a few weeks. Mahrez was the player who benefitted most from De Bruyne's absence, as he took over the corner kicks. He is second on the team in corners behind KDB, so it looks like he should at least get a share again in this game.

Mahrez and Man City will face one of the worst teams in the Premier League in West Brom. City are playing their normal style, leading the league in shots per game and second in possession. West Brom really struggle defensively, allowing the most goals and the most shots per game. Mahrez is only $7,600 in this juicy matchup when we've seen him at $10,000 earlier in the season. Take advantage of this discount in a great matchup and get him in your lineup.

Gabriel Jesus ($6,300): Another Man City player that is grossly under-salaried on this slate is Gabriel Jesus. His salary could be held down due to missing time recently, but he should be good to go in this game. Going up against the worst defense in the league, and on one of the best attacks in the league, Jesus stands out as an obvious play. His any-time goal-scoring odds are -140, the best on the slate. He hasn't been too good at scoring goals, but we've seen West Brom be the antidote to many teams' goal-scoring woes this season. At $6,300, it's very difficult to fade Jesus in this spot if he is in the starting 11.

Midfielders to Target

Jack Harrison ($7,700): Harrison had a big game the last time Leeds played Newcastle. He had a goal and an assist, and also four-shot assists and nine crosses, which was good for 29.8 DraftKings points. While Raphina has been a great floor player for Leeds, so has Harrison. He leads the club with 95 crosses this season. We know that Leeds are in a great spot again against Newcastle, and they, along with Man City, are the teams that it makes sense to target players from. Harrison is the best midfield-only option on the team, and you could play him and Raphina together to get a lot of fantasy points from Leeds. Whatever strategy you decide to use, Harrison is certainly an option to consider.

James Ward-Prowse ($6,500): Ward-Prowse's salary continues to fall, despite mostly being the same player all season. He still ranks sixth in the league in crosses and is tied for first in the league with 69 corners taken. He's had tough matchups of late and hasn't been able to add goals or assists to the crosses he normally gets. There has also been an element of bad luck and randomness, such as last week when the five fouls he committed hurt his fantasy point total when he has never averaged over two fouls per 90 minutes in his career. We should be buying the dip on him as he still should have a safe floor and this appears to be a blip on the radar. He'll face Arsenal in this game, and just over a month ago he had 13 crosses against the Gunners. Hopefully, for those of us that want to roster JWP, others are scared off by some bad games of late. Let's take advantage of that and put him in our lineups.

Pablo Fornals ($4,500): Fornals is a player you can take a shot on if you need some value. He is a player who gets in attacking positions for West Ham but never seems to do much that produces fantasy points. He did have a recent stretch of at least 6.1 DK points in three straight starts, so for $4,500, that shouldn't kill your lineup. So as somewhat of a punt, Fornals can be used on this slate.

Defenders to Target

Aaron Cresswell ($6,500): A more reliable option for West Ham than Fornals would be Aaron Cresswell. He has the fourth-most crosses in the Premier League, despite playing center back for a portion of the season. With that period looking to be a thing of the past, he now has five crosses in six straight matches. The matchup for him is a good one, as Crystal Palace allow the fifth-most crosses in the league and have the fourth-worst possession rate in the league. This should allow Cresswell to get forward and get crosses in. As the only defender on this slate who regularly gets set pieces, Cresswell is in his own tier at the position.

Héctor Bellerín ($3,900): At a defender position that doesn't have many great plays, Héctor Bellerín stands out as at least being affordable. He can push forward faster than most players at the position, and it allows him to be in and around the penalty area more than most full backs. He's coming off two solid performances the last times he played 90 minutes, with 7.6 and 10 fantasy points, respectively. If you were able to lock in 7.6 points from any defender besides Cresswell, you'd take it on this slate, so it makes Bellerín a good value.

Goalkeepers to Target

Kiko Casilla ($5,300): Normally, just playing the biggest favorite keeper if spending up at the position is advisable, but given the salary difference and the matchup, going down to Casilla makes sense. Newcastle don't offer much of a threat, scoring just 18 goals in 19 league matches. They also take the second-fewest shots per game in the league. Saving $600 by playing Casilla instead of Ederson may be the way to go, as goalkeeper is usually a position that we like to spend as little as possible.

Alex McCarthy ($4,600): McCarthy and Southampton may be underdogs in this game, but a lot of numbers point in their favor. They are two points above Arsenal in the table with a game in hand. They've also been pretty good defensively, conceding just 21 goals. Meanwhile, Arsenal have scored just 23 goals, the 12th-most in the league. McCarthy has kept 7 clean sheets in 17 league games, and for being an underdog keeper, doesn't have as much blow-up risk as others, making him a fairly safe play.

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.