Daily Fantasy Premier League 2015: EPL Week 28 DraftKings Matchups to Exploit
The Premier League's quick turnaround with Week 28 action on Tuesday and Wednesday means Daily Fantasy contests on DraftKings are up for the fourth time in five days. But with an EPL-less weekend looming, it's the last opportunity to play until Champions League matches this time next week.
There's an obvious disclaimer during midweek matchdays to wait to finalize your lineup, since some notable fantasy studs are sure to be rested after the short turnaround. But with the race for the top four increasingly tight and 11 matches remaining, there's little reason for these clubs to be passive.
DK lineup picks for Tuesday's matches dropped Monday, but most of the EPL's best won't take the pitch until Wednesday. Here's a closer look at the best matchups to exploit for Wednesday's seven matches.
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Arsenal F Danny Welbeck: $7,600 (at QPR)
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger should be expected to keep his lineup pretty similar after finding success Sunday against Everton. But common logic would indicate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will return to the bench for Danny Welbeck rather than to start two league matches in four days' time.
A favorable matchup against Queens Park Rangers has forwards Alexis Sanchez ($9,600) and Olivier Giroud ($9,300) commanding a heap of salary. Meanwhile, Welbeck will have space on the wing against a QPR back line reeling with injuries.
QPR concede the second-most shots per game (16) of any squad in the league, and attention focused upon Sanchez and Giroud will open up options for Welbeck.
Manchester United M Ander Herrera: $6,000 (at Newcastle)
Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has not only been one of the Red Devils' most consistent producers as of late, but he has also turned in his best performances on the road. That's a good sign as United gear up for a trip to face Newcastle.
Herrera scored a goal in United's most recent road EPL fixture at Swansea in a 16-point fantasy performance. Newcastle's Week 27 win brought them up to 10th in the league form guide after some big-time struggles, but facing a world-class lineup Wednesday should have Newcastle conceding two or more as they did against Manchester City the matchday before that.
Chelsea M Willian: $5,500 OR Chelsea M Oscar: $7,200 (at West Ham)
Predicting what Jose Mourinho might do regarding his starting XI on any given matchday is an impossible conundrum. But one thing not tough to figure out is that the Blues—despite winning their first silverware of the season over the weekend—should jump all over a West Ham squad that just fell 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace.
Oscar has started one game since the first week of February, and shortly before that he saw a span of three goals and an assist in two starts. But he may be picked over for Willian, who is less rested after starting in the 2-0 Capital One Cup final win over Tottenham on Sunday but is cheaper at $5,500 and could feature again after some strong performances of late.
Given the fact that West Ham are reeling and rank just 15th in tackles per game, whichever attacking midfielder features should have a productive evening.
Manchester City D Pablo Zabaleta: $4,500 (vs. Leicester City)
Manchester City suffered a crushing 2-1 defeat to Liverpool over the weekend, but defender Pablo Zabaleta was a small bright spot. He finished with the top rating of any City player and fifth among all players in the match.
Zabaleta had four crosses Sunday against Liverpool to make for a decent fantasy outing, and he should play a part offensively. Leicester City have the least amount of goals on the season out of any of the clubs playing Wednesday, so Zabaleta could also get a few points for a clean sheet.
Arsenal GK David Ospina: $5,200 (at QPR)
David Ospina's inspiring play in net has been a driving force of Arsenal's push to second in the EPL club form guide, and he looks nowhere ready to concede his starting spot after a clean sheet Sunday against Everton.
The 26-year-old's stellar performance Sunday included two strong saves from Romelu Lukaku, but he won't go up against the same sort of attack Wednesday. QPR are winless in their last four at home, and they have dropped three straight to the Gunners in all competitions.
The Colombian's only poor performance on DK since taking the starting job was in last week's Champions League defeat to Monaco, but he bounced back big against Everton and claims his club is ready, per Press Association via Daily Mail:
"We were not nervous, we were sad after the Monaco result, but in football you have to pick yourselves up quickly. Obviously it was a tough night on Wednesday, but you have always got to bounce back and this result was a great way to show that we had done that... Now we are already thinking about the next one, which is QPR.
"
Ospina isn't a clean-sheet extraordinaire like Ben Foster or Fraser Forster, but he makes enough saves in each contest to spike his fantasy value. He has 29 saves in his last 10 outings on DK and should keep his stellar play in the EPL going Wednesday.
Advanced stats are courtesy of WhoScored.com unless otherwise noted. Injury news courtesy of PhysioRoom.com.
Steven Cook covers Daily Fantasy world football for Bleacher Report. Follow and interact with him on Twitter.
