Richard Masana 
It’s finally time for the return of the English Premier League season! The opening main slate is far from overwhelming with four matches starting at main lock and a late game on FanDuel only. Below we have match odds “Obtained from DraftKings sportsbook as of the time of writing”, Top Plays, and Top Bets. Let’s dig in!
Saturday 8/6 EPL
Match Odds
Aston Villa (+105) at Bournemouth (+275)
Wolves (+220) at Leeds United (+130)
Nottingham Forest (+450) at Newcastle (-150)
Southampton (+800) at Tottenham (-285)
Chelsea (-155) at Everton (+450) “FanDuel only“
8/6 EPL Top Plays
DraftKings/FanDuel Forward
Son Heung-Min – Tottenham – $11,900/$22 – On a four-game slate, Son stands out on both sites. Tottenham is easily the biggest favorite on the slate. They also have a tasty home matchup against defensively deficient Southampton. On DraftKings, he is forward eligible and the price is the only concern. For cash games, you should find a way to fit him in but you can pivot in tournaments to Harry Kane, Callum Wilson, or others. He is also the best midfielder on the slate, but with his forward eligibility, that is where you should slot him in on DraftKings.
Pivots: Harry Kane – Tottenham – $11,200/$21, Callum Wilson – Newcastle – $7,800/$18, Pedro Neto – Wolves – $7,400/$16, Patrick Bamford – Leeds United – $6,200/$16
DraftKings/FanDuel Midfielder
Ryan Fraser – Newcastle – $6,900/$12 – Super chalk and a cash game staple, this is a very fair DraftKings price for Fraser assuming a majority of set pieces and an attacking role. On FanDuel, the price is even better even if set pieces don’t play as well with the scoring format as he’s near punt price. Newcastle at home, are -150 money line favorites and the second biggest favorite on the slate so a combo of exposure to them along with Tottenham will likely be the most popular route to go.
Pivots: Mason Mount – Chelsea – $20 “FanDuel Only”, Brendan Aaronson – Leeds United – $7,200/$15, Dejan Kulusevski – Tottenham – $9,200/$17, Jesse Lingard – Nottingham Forest – $4,700 “Pass on FanDuel”
DraftKings Defender
Lucas Digne – Aston Villa – $5,800 – On DraftKings, set pieces are king and so I will pass on Kieran Trippier in the very high end given his unclear role relative to Fraser for Newcastle. Instead, let’s turn to an old “he’s not that old but has been killing it for a while” DFS favorite. Lucas Digne seems to at least get his fair share for Villa and sends in plenty of open field crosses as well.
Pivot: Rayan Ait-Nouri – Wolves – $5,200
FanDuel Defender
Ben Chilwell/Reece James -Chelsea – $15 – Normally I prefer punting defense on FanDuel. However, these guys are monsters so without two/three studs to jam in and savings from Fraser, they’re certainly in play.
Pivot: Eric Dier – Tottenham – $9
DraftKings/FanDuel Goalie
Nick Pope – Newcastle – $5,600/$13 – England goalie and former Burnley OG/constant low-end DK chalk, Nick Pope has switched squads. Nottingham is generally not an offensively aggressive team so he will get a great matchup to kick off his magpie career with.
Pivot: Jose Sa – Wolves – $4,600 “DraftKings, Emiliano Martinez – Aston Villa – $11 “FanDuel”
EPL Top Bets
Bet One – Newcastle ML (-155) – DraftKings Sportsbook – Newcastle was rolling mid-season after all of their new acquisitions and some of those players should play a big role in this one. Clearly, Ryan Fraser is a favorite on the DFS slate but expect a somewhat tactical effort here against promoted Nottingham Forest who is undergoing a transition with 11 new starters.
Bet Two – Chelsea ML (-155) – DraftKings Sportsbook – Chelsea had a lot of injury issues last season but come in with full health including a 100% Ben Chilwell as well as the addition of Raheem Sterling from Man City. On the flip side, Everton lost a key player in Richarlison, striker Dominic Calvert Lewin will likely be out as well as Andros Townsend so a very watered-down Everton here. I think Chelsea is a bit too much for the Toffees considering the -155 maybe more a -170 “I think Bet MGM they’re a -175”.
Bet Three – Parlay – Liverpool ML (–370), Newcastle Draw No Bet (-425), Chelsea Draw No Bet (-425)
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