The biggest and best league in the world is back with games almost every day for the next few weeks. That makes this a perfect time to get to grips with daily Premier League fantasy football – honestly, who can even remember who they picked at the start of the season for their other team?
Read More: 5 Pro-Tips for Playing Premier League Daily Fantasy
If you want a breakdown of scoring it’s available here – goals are still king, but a few more stats matter in daily fantasy over the season-long games.
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Wednesday brings a five-game main slate to Paddy Power Fantasy – and you can enter a special £1,000 free contest for it here.
A quick look at the odds from PaddyPower.com on each of the games can tell us which teams we should stock up on and who to steer clear of:
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S FANTASY SLATE
Wolves (8/15) v Bournemouth (11/2)
Norwich (11/4) v Everton (10/11)
Man United (2/5) v Sheffield United (15/2)
Newcastle (13/10) v Aston Villa (11/5)
Liverpool (1/5) v Crystal Palace (12/1)
Liverpool, United and Wolves all odds-on on favourites, so we’ll let that guide us in our selections.
Forwards/Midfielders
I’m not going to spend too much time on the Reds. They are the late game, so make sure you leave yourself a little wiggle room in your lineup. You know who their big guns are, and everyone in their starting lineup will be an appealing play. I do want to mention Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gini Wijnaldum as cheap and likely lower-owned ways to get exposure to the Reds if they’re in the starting XI.
Wolves and Man United are the other two sides that are installed as a hefty favs, though both matches have ugly odds to go over 2.5 goals.
For Wolves, Raúl Jiménez and João Moutinho are great options, and both should be popular. I like the idea of pivoting to Diogo Jota, who created two chances and put two shots on goal last weekend.
If Jota doesn’t start, Pedro Neto would probably take his place, and he’d be a smashing value-for-money option. Adama Traoré was a one-man wrecking crew in a substitute appearance this past weekend, and if you stack Wolves, Traoré’s crossing prowess makes him an ideal stacking partner if he’s back in the starting lineup.
With Manchester United, we were all wondering who would be on penalties for them now that they’re operating with a full deck of cards. That got answered in their first game back — *raised hands emoji* — as Bruno Fernandes took a spot-kick when both Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford were on the pitch. That cements Fernandes as one of the best daily fantasy plays in the Premier League as he adds pen duties to his other set-piece work. Oh, and he’s lighting it up in open play too.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 27: Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg match between Manchester United and Club Brugge at Old Trafford on February 27, 2020 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Anthony Martial could be a savvy play as a contrarian pivot if Bruno and Rashford are heavily owned in contests. Martial started in a number-nine role in United’s first game back and nearly scored a goal. The Red Devils get a boost in their matchup with Sheffield United as Blades keeper Dean Henderson – on loan from Man United – can’t play against his parent club.
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Lastly, I want to touch on Everton, who are playing at a Norwich side that was in shambles at the back last weekend versus Southampton and has been a great team to pick on in fantasy most of the season. This could be a fantasy-friendly fixture, and it has the second-best odds to go over 2.5 goals of these five games, at 4/5.
With Man United, Liverpool and Wolves likely to hog ownership, the Toffees may slip through the cracks despite being in a favourable spot. I’ll be taking a long look at Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Defenders
Among all players on the slate, Trent Alexander-Arnold is fifth in points per game. He should bomb in crosses like usual in a cushy matchup with Palace. He’ll be widely-owned, but it’s better having those points than not.
Lucas Digne is in a smash spot against Norwich. He’s been credited with at least two chances created in four of his past seven matches, and he’s gone for at least 14 PPF points five times in that span. The floor is nice, and he can post a ceiling game in this dream matchup.
Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Sheffield United offer us high-floor plays defensively. All three sides are sizable underdogs, so their backlines will be busy. If any of these teams start a cheap centre-back, that defender needs to be on our radar.
Sheffield United looks like they’ll be a great source of value with John Egan suspended and Jack O’Connell doubtful.
Jonny should be in store for another solid outing for Wolves too. He’s gone for 14.7, 19.0, 22.3 and 20.6 PPF points over his last four games. I’m not sure why he’s so cheap, and the salary is awfully handy on this slate.
Goalies
The three most expensive goalies are the keepers for the three favourites — Alisson, David De Gea and Rui Patricio. You can make a strong case for any of them. I’d lean Alisson just because I’m thinking a lot of people won’t have the coin to pay up for him, and he’s got a really nice shot at a clean-sheet win.
Jordan Pickford will probably see a good amount of ownership as a cheap goalie with good win odds. While this Everton squad is capable of a clunker, they’re coming off a good defensive display in a clean sheet against Liverpool.
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