Chelsea: Pay any price for Eden Hazard in FanDuel EPL Toe Poke

This week’s fantasy line-up is tough to predict, mostly because a lot of the bigger teams played mid-week. Eden Hazard is worth the cost, even at the expense of some FanDuel regulars and his Chelsea teammates.

Chelsea have to face Liverpool twice in four days because of the Magic of the Carabao Cup. The first match didn’t go the way I expected, which means the Saturday morning meeting will be just as confusing. The tough part is predicting how the managers will rotate their squads. What team puts more emphasis on EFL Cups than the league itself?

FWD: Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal: 9,500

Alexandre Lacazette has been in outstanding form over the last three matches, slightly better average in points than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang over that span. Arsenal are up against a Watford side that is hard to figure out. Yes, they sit in fourth, but in their last three they beat Tottenham in Watford, lost to a traveling Manchester United, then drew with Fulham on the road. If you prefer Aubameyang more, it would be hard to argue. But with similar output in fantasy stats I take Lacazette, the cheaper one, and parlay the savings into another player.

FWD: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham: 9,000

The Fulham striker may be flying under the radar a bit, or as much as he can. With five goals in six matches, the price is outstanding. One of the more productive forwards up for selection, yet cheaper than Olivier Giroud, Cenk Tosun, and Jamie Vardy. Get him at this price while its worth it. I can’t see him staying this cheap over the next few weeks, especially if he scores again against Everton.

MID: Eden Hazard, Chelsea: 11,500

I broke my cardinal rule of “If Aguero is available, you select him” in order to select Eden Hazard. I didn’t think this was possible, but goodness me Eden Hazard might be more dangerous coming off the bench. In no way am I advocating Sarri sit him every match and let him loose around the hour mark, but Hazard was incredibly energized and focused.

He clearly had one thing in mind when he stepped foot on the pitch, and that was to score. He was possessed. The goal he scored midweek against Liverpool was simply magnificent. He was by far the shining light for Chelsea. If the Belgian wonder decides to play with that attitude and determination, I feel bad for Jordan Henderson, who couldn’t slow him down and was visibly frustrated trying to deal with him.

MID: Leroy Sane, Manchester City: 8,000

The next two picks are steals in my eyes. Sure Sane hasn’t quite come up to speed, but with a goal and an assist in his last two he is trending in the right direction. FanDuel is very tactical with their prices for players, and the reason Sane is listed at 8,000 is because FanDuel knows – like I do – that Sane will start producing at a higher level. Here’s to this weekend being the moment Sane breaks out and reminds everyone why he was Young Player of the Year last season.

MID: Richarlison, Everton: 8,000

The Everton midfielder is the second player at a steal of a price. Richarlson hasn’t done much in his last two matches, and that is precisely why I fancy him so much this match. Expect a motivated Richarlison to get back to scoring and dominating defenders in the final third. The Brazilian started the season on fire for his new club with three goals and an assist in his first three, and nothing since. The goals will begin to flow again against a Fulham team that has given up two goals in all but one of their Premier League matches.

DEF: Jonjoe Kenny, Everton: 4,500

Averaging right around 16 points in his last two and only 4,500. It’s hard for me to pass up such a productive player for such a cheap price. The positive of selecting cheap defenders is that you can stack your forwards and midfielders. Defenders hardly ever put up the numbers that make it worth splurging 5,000+ on them, the exceptions being Benjamin Mendy and Marcos Alonso. Take the value play and run with it.

DEF: DeAndre Yedlin, Newcastle United: 4,500

In three out of the five matches the American started he has put up 20+ points three times. Again, I can’t stress how important it is to get points from such value. Of course, if you save on defenders you still have to select the right players at midfielder and forward to make it worth it. But Yedlin and Newcastle play Leicester City, who has one clean sheet in the Premier League this season. An assist and defensive work is a fair expectation.

GK: Rui Patricio, Wolverhampton: 5,000

The best bet for a clean sheet this week goes to Rui Patricio and the Wolves against the slightly improved from last season Southampton Saints. I have no confidence in anything Southampton do, while Wolverhampton have been very impressive this season, only losing once and drawing with both Manchesters.

Wolves’ attack will be too much for Southampton, who won’t have much time on the ball to do anything with it.