Premier League Draft Kings Pick: Week 14

Goalies

Jordan Pickford ($4,500)- Sunderland are home against Leicester this weekend, in what appears to be an interesting matchup. Sunderland have played really well the past few games, while Leicester haven’t come close to looking like the team that won the title last year. Pickford’s price makes him one of the cheaper goalkeepers, and with a home match against a mediocre team I love him for Saturday. Sunderland have a real chance at picking up a win in this one, and the hope is that Pickford can grace us with multiple saves.

Hugo Lloris (5,800)- Not many goalkeepers’ standout in Saturday’s game. Usually I like to target a keeper at home against an elite team. This type of matchup isn’t in the cards Saturday, so it might be a smart strategy to play things safe. Tottenham are at home against Swansea, and I wouldn’t expect a match like Swansea had last Saturday. Tottenham possess one of the stingiest defenses in the Premier League, and have the best chance at a clean sheet. The only drawback is the fact that Lloris’ ceiling is probably within the 12-14 point range, and I would not expect him to face a ton of shots.

Defense

Daryl Janmaat ($4,600)- Watford are away against West Brom this Saturday in a match that should be rather forgettable. That doesn’t mean that we should shy away from targeting players in this one though, and Janmaat is one of the best options. High scoring defenders are really difficult to come by in the Premier League compared to Champion’s league play, and if you look at Janmaat’s stats he’s been one of the more consistent performers this season. He’s an offensive minded defender that also has a decent shot at a clean sheet against a West Brom team that doesn’t score for fun. Janmaat’s price is another reason he’s the best defender in the slate.

Patrick Van Aanholt ($5,000)- Van Aanholt is another defender that consistently puts up decent performances every game. He’s a rare commodity in that he takes a ton of set pieces as a defender, and has the ability to bag goals and assists. The fact that he has one of the highest floors of any defender, and can score goals, makes him a safe pick almost every match. Couple that with the fact that he actually has a good matchup against Leicester, and Sunderland should possess more of the ball than usual. This means that Van Aanholt should be bombing forward on the flanks putting in plenty of crosses.

Scott Dann ($3,500)- Crystal Palace are at home against Southhampton. This is actually a fairly intriguing matchup between two decent sides. Unlike the other two picks, Dann is a center back and has a really low floor. That being said he probably has the best goal scoring ability, from set pieces, in terms of defenders. He’s a cheap guy to plug into a lineup without completely punting. Worst case scenario; you play him and he doesn’t score but you save a ton of money for better plays. Best case scenario is that he scores and really makes your lineup a threat.

Midfield:

Xherdan Shaqiri ($7,800)- One of the more underrated guys in the Premier League, Shaqiri faces a great matchup at home against Burnley. I think Stoke will continue to improve as they get healthier and Bony starts to find the net more. Shaqiri is Stoke’s guy when it comes to set pieces and just in general the offense tends to run through him. He also has the ability to score multiple goals, which is always a good option to have with guys that have high floors like Shaq. Stoke should control the game, and if they score a few goals there is a good chance Shaqiri will have either assisted or scored them.

Deli Alli ($7,800)- People will likely be all over Tottenham players in Saturday’s slate. Most of the big boys are not featured in the Draftkings slate, and Tottenham are far and away the biggest favorites. Expect guys like Kane, Eriksen, and Hueng-Min to be heavily owned. I think Alli may be a bit under owned because everyone will be so high on Eriksen and Kane, who both recently scored. Alli hasn’t been on the same scoring tirade that he was on last season, but he has still performed relatively well this season. I think he’s a sneaky pick to make, and has huge upside in such a favorable matchup.

Nacer Chadli ($7,500)- The former Spur has had a great start to his career in West Brom, and should be in line for a big performance against Watford. He recently returned from a knee injury, having played 11 minutes as a sub last week. While I could see this being a very low scoring game, if it does break out with some goals I really think Chadli will be a big part of this. He’s been West Brom’s best player so far, and I think his price is high enough that it might scare some people away. He’s definitely not the safest pick, but if you want to win a big tournament sometimes you have to stray from the safer picks. Chadli is the kind of guy that can put up monster stats, and have a low ownership.

Forward:

Harry Kane ($8,700)- He’s just too good to ignore on Saturday. Once again Tottenham are the biggest favorites to win, and the goals will likely come from their big striker. Kane is also on penalties for the Spurs, which is definitely an added bonus. I don’t think there’s too much to say here. He will definitely garner high ownership, but for a reason. Expect goals from him, and worry about getting fancy with your picks in other areas.

Jermain Defoe ($6,500)- I’ve been really high on Defoe all season for a number of reasons. His price range is almost always in the 6,000s, which makes him a good guy to plug into the lineup and save some cash on your forwards. At the same time, he also has the ability to score a brace against a fair amount of opponents. I would say at home against Leicester is a really good matchup for Defoe, and a two goal game really isn’t out of the equation. If you’re thinking about percentage owned by players I do think most guys will be high on him, but that shouldn’t totally scare you away. At least a goal is a reasonable expectation for Sunderland’s striker.

Wilfried Bony ($6,400)- A smart pivot from Defoe is Bony. He has the better matchup by far, at home against Burnley, and he plays on the better team. Bony hasn’t performed at the same level as Defoe, but he has proven in the past that he is capable of it. The only issue is that Stoke seem to spread the goals out more diversely than Sunderland, but he is still the only striker in a game against a poor Burnley side. Bony can get hot at any time, and I would expect a much low ownership than Defoe.