DraftKings Soccer: EPL DFS Helper for 1/22/22

We've got three games on the main slate at 10 am Eastern on Saturday. Here they are, with odds via EPL odds:

Forwards to Target

Raphinha ($9,900): Raphinha has been perhaps the lone bright spot for Leeds this season. He has eight goals -- only three players in the Premier League have more. The goals are only a fraction of his value on DraftKings.

Raphinha has been one of the highest floor players in the league this season. He averages more than five crosses and three shots per 90 minutes. He only has two league games with fewer than 10 DK points, and one was a 7-0 whitewashing by Manchester City. This game is highly unlikely to follow that script.

Leeds will face Newcastle as short home favorites. This is a great matchup for Leeds, as Newcastle are the worst possession team and allow the third-most shots per game. Despite Leeds not being high in the table, they rank in the top five in both possession and shots per match.

Raphinha is a high-floor and high-ceiling option on this slate.

Cristiano Ronaldo ($8,000): It hasn’t been easy for Ronaldo and Manchester United of late. Both are on a prolonged run of mediocre form, with Ronaldo having scored just two goals in his last six Premier League games. There are still reasons for optimism for him this weekend.

Ronaldo’s 3.95 shots per 90 minutes rank among the best rates in the league. His anytime goal-scoring odds are the best on the slate. For just $8,000, he is a good value.

Manchester United play at home against West Ham. West Ham are having a good season but have been leaky of late. They’ve conceded multiple goals in five of their last six league games.

Raúl Jiménez ($6,000): Jiménez hasn’t been the same goalscorer that he was pre-injury, but his salary has dropped to a point where we can definitely consider him. He scored a goal last week and could do the same this week.

Jiménez has anytime goal odds of +150. He’ll face a Brentford side that has lost five of their last six league matches and has conceded the fifth-most goals. For just $6,000, he’s a fine goal-dependent tournament play.

Others to Consider: Ivan Toney ($8,600), Michail Antonio ($7,800), Chris Wood ($4,600)

Midfielders to Target

Bruno Fernandes ($8,700): We haven't seen the same consistency from Fernandes this season that we saw last year, but he has still put up solid performances. He has 12 goal contributions on the season, including four in the last two games.

Part of the reason that Fernandes has been more up and down for fantasy has been the sharing of set pieces. He's second in corner kicks for Manchester United behind Luke Shaw, and Alex Telles will take a share when he is playing instead of Shaw. Fernandes still leads the team with 87 crosses, so he can still produce fantasy points this way.

This slate doesn't include a lot of the high-floor midfield options we like to roster. That makes Bruno stand out as one of the better plays at the position, as not many players who are eligible in only the midfield can match his output.

Daniel James ($6,900): James has been more active in attack for Leeds in recent matches. He scored a goal against Burnley and had five shots against West Ham. He played as a true forward in that game against West Ham and may do so again.

This match between Leeds and Newcastle looks close based on the standings, but on the possession and shot metrics, Leeds clearly own the edge. That's why it makes some sense to have multiple Leeds pieces in your lineup, and James can definitely be one of them.

Mathias Jensen ($5,800): Jensen is part of the Danish contingent at Brentford. He had a great game against Manchester United on Wednesday, producing 15.7 DraftKings points without a goal or an assist. He has a path to producing a good amount of points without needing to contribute to a goal.

Jensen has taken the most set pieces for Brentford this season. This has allowed him to rack up 6.58 crosses per 90 minutes. He's been creating chances, as well, with 2.63 created per 90. He has just one assist on 24 total chances created, but you would expect that rate to get better as the season progresses.

Jensen is one of the best options in this salary range at midfield.

Others to Consider: Pablo Fornals ($6,600), João Moutinho ($5,000), Scott McTominay ($3,700)

Defenders to Target

Kieran Trippier ($6,000): Trippier returned to the Premier League last week and reminded everyone why he's such a valuable fantasy commodity. He immediately had a role on set pieces, put five crosses and totaled more than 10 DraftKings points.

We know Trippier is a defender who loves to get forward and is a threat over a dead ball, including on direct free kicks. While Leeds might have the possession advantage, they are still weak at the back. They've conceded the third-most goals in the league.

Trippier will give Newcastle a new avenue of attacking down the right side that they didn't have before. He's one of the best options at defender on this slate.

Alex Telles ($5,300): With Luke Shaw missing this game, Telles will likely step into his role at left-back. Telles gets a share of set pieces whenever he's in the lineup, including seven in Wednesday's game against Brentford.

Telles actually averages more fantasy points than Shaw this campaign and is the only one of the pair with a goal. Shaw has a salary of $5,900 on this slate, so getting Telles starting for $600 less is a nice bonus. He's a very solid option at defender, and when you compare him to the options at midfield and forward, you can reasonably slot him in at utility if necessary.

Mads Roerslev ($3,900): Roerslev is a decent option as a wing-back who has been getting starts for Brentford of late. He had a goal and an assist in a recent game against Aston Villa, and he has games of five and six crosses. For $3,900, he'll probably be the lowest-salaried wing back on the slate, so he's a decent value option.

Others to Consider: Rayan Aït-Nouri ($6,300), Ryan Fraser ($5,200), Paul Dummett ($3,300)

Goalkeepers to Target

José Sá ($4,900): Sá is having a terrific first season with Wolves. He's kept clean sheets in eight of 20 games this season. Only Manchester City have conceded fewer goals than Wolves have in the Premier League. This matchup against Brentford is not a scary one, and it's unlikely that he concedes more than one goal.

Martin Dúbravka ($4,300): Dúbravka is a great value option at keeper, and he has a recipe for a big game. He'll face Leeds, who are fifth in the league in shots per game but have scored just the 12th-most goals. Newcastle allow the third-most shots per game, so Dúbravka should have lots of chances to make saves. It's fine to play Dúbravka and Raphinha in the same lineup, because it's a small slate and also due to the nature of how the Leeds' forward gets points.

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.