SOCCER

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for 2/13/21

After a few slates where we got some games that started at the same time, we are back to three games with staggered start times. Be sure to check your lineups an hour before the kickoff, and good luck.

Here are the games, with odds from Soccer odd:

HomeDrawAway
Crystal Palace (+135)+210Burnley (+230)
Manchester City (-320)+480Tottenham (+800)
Brighton (+180)+240Aston Villa (+150)

Forwards to Target

Raheem Sterling ($9,500): Sterling started off the season slowly but has been on a roll of late. In all competitions, he has goals in four straight games and five in his last six matches. With Sergio Agüero injured for most of the season and Gabriel Jesus in and out of the lineup, Sterling is more relied on to score goals for Manchester City. City are once again big favorites after winning their 15th straight match on Wednesday in the FA Cup, so we'll want to get pieces of them. The matchup against Tottenham looks difficult on paper, as Spurs have conceded the second fewest goals in the league. However, Jose Mourinho's style of defending should allow Sterling to get some peripheral stats. Tottenham have allowed the third most crosses per game and the seventh most shots per game, according to WhoScored.com. Sterling should be able to threaten Spurs throughout the game, and his goal streak could continue.

Eberechi Eze ($8,200): Without Wilfried Zaha in the lineup, Eze has been Crystal Palace's best attacking player. Normally that isn't something that's too appealing, but a home matchup against Burnley makes it look better. Eze has been on set-piece duty for Palace, taking all of them in their last two matches, according to Rotowire. He has at least 9.9 DraftKings points in four straight games. This game against Burnley should set up well for him, because Burnley tend to get caved into their own half and don't have the ball much. Their possession rate is the third worst in the league, and they allow the sixth most crosses per game. Eze will provide a good floor, making him a quality option at forward.

Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson ($4,800): Those of us who played Guðmundsson last week got paid off with a goal. It was lucky as we didn't expect him to score, but he provided fantasy points in other ways that would have made him a fine play either way. This week, his salary is up to $4,800, but he's still in play. It's a better matchup for him against Crystal Palace, who allow the fourth most crosses per game. He's the forward with the lowest salary who has somewhat of a floor, so he is in consideration.

Also consider: Riyad Mahrez ($7,900), Bertrand Traoré ($7,500), Gabriel Jesus ($6,800)

Midfielders to Target

Jack Grealish ($9,100): Grealish is one of the most fun players to watch and to roster in the Premier League. He's by far the best in the league in drawing fouls, getting fouled on average 4.6 times per match. His other floor statistics have been great, as well -- creating 3.56 chances, crossing 3.39 times and getting 2.19 shots per 90 minutes. He's added more goal production than he had last season, as he already has just two fewer goals than all of the last campaign but already has four more assists. Aston Villa will face a Brighton team that is tougher defensively than their position in the league would suggest, but Grealish is still a solid play in this game. With Kevin De Bruyne not fit for Manchester City's game and Bruno Fernandes not on this slate, Grealish has the highest floor/ceiling combination of any player.

Phil Foden ($8,600): Foden put on a show on Sunday against Liverpool. He had a goal and assist and looked like the best player in the game on a pitch full of talent. Foden has gotten at least a share of set pieces in most games since De Bruyne has been out. We saw his salary get all the way up to $10,100 earlier this season, so this $8,600 is a bargain. Foden is third on the team with five league goals and has also been crossing and creating chances. With how Tottenham are likely to defend, Man City could be firing crosses toward the box all game long. That would make Foden perhaps the best play for City, and since they are the main side we want to get a piece of, it makes him a priority player on the slate.

Erik Pieters ($3,700): Another Burnley bargain-bin option is Pieters. He actually plays left-back but is listed as a midfielder on DraftKings. He was able to get 11 fantasy points last game without a goal or an assist. There should be opportunities for him to cross against Crystal Palace. He's really one of the only players in the salary range we can rely on for some points, so he's one of the better ways to save salary at the position.

Also consider: İlkay Gündoğan ($8,500), Trézéguet ($4,900)

Defenders to Target

Matthew Cash ($4,700): Defender is not great on this slate, so Matty Cash would be an option in the upper-mid salary range if you're looking there. He leads all defenders on this slate in crosses with 64, the 11th most among full backs in the league. He likes to get forward, and with Ollie Watkins or Anwar El Ghazi up front, he'll have someone to aim his crosses towards. He's a pretty good play at a position that doesn't have many of them.

Nathaniel Clyne ($3,300): Clyne is a full back at a low salary who is somewhat active. If we think that Crystal Palace can get forward and cross against Burnley, Clyne is a way to gain access to that while not using a ton of salary. He's fine play on this slate as the opportunity cost at this position isn't much.

Aymeric Laporte ($2,800): If Laporte is starting at center-back for Man City, he's in play for this low salary. If he has a game like he did against Burnley, when he had six points basically just through passes and the clean-sheet bonus, that's worth $2,800. The same is true for Eric García ($2,700) if he is in the lineup.

Also consider: Oleksandr Zinchenko ($4,800), Joël Veltman ($4,100)

Goalkeepers to Target

Ederson ($5,900): Ederson finally conceded a goal last time out against Liverpool, ending a streak of eight straight clean-sheet victories. City are still -108 favorites to keep a clean sheet in this game against Tottenham, so he stands out as the best option at goalkeeper. There was also talk that Ederson could be the solution to Man City's penalty woes of late. If he was to score a penalty, he would obviously be extremely likely to be the highest-scoring keeper by a wide margin.

Nick Pope ($4,500): Nick Pope makes sense as the lower-salaried keeper in what should be the lowest-scoring match. Crystal Palace doesn't offer much in an attack without Zaha, so if you want to take one of the keepers at a discount from Ederson, Pope is likely the best way to go.



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.