DraftKings only has three games on Saturday, March 16 — not a busy slate for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. How are you prepping? Irish Coffee? A nice stout? Irish Car Bomb? (Oops, I meant b-b-b-bombadier.) Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The three matches on Saturday’s slate are not laden with the usual high-priced studs; almost all players are under $9, 000, with Ryan Fraser topping the list at $9,000. You should be able to roster two or three of the best players. I favor Jaime Vardy, who has scored four goals the past three games and will play on his own pitch against Burnley. Callum Wilson’s return improved Fraser’s value, and since returning Wilson has scored double-digit fantasy points. Ricardo Pereira is the highest-priced defender, but Ben Chilwell cost $600 less and has the potential to score as many points as Pereira.
The standard lineup at DraftKings consists of two forwards, two midfielders, two defenders, one goalkeeper, and one utility player. Saturday’s fixtures are below. The Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) comes from the Fantasy Premier League website. The rating is from 1-5 with one being the lowest difficulty rating and five being the highest difficulty rating (higher the rating, better the team).
Fixtures for March 16, 2019
| Home Team | FDR | Away Team | FDR |
| Newcastle | 2 | Bournemouth | 2 |
| Leicester | 3 | Burnley | 3 |
| West Ham | 3 | Huddersfield | 2 |
West Ham, D, Aaron Cresswell ($5,200): I’m looking to West Ham to get a clean sheet since Huddersfield only has 15 goals this season. Add in five crosses and he’s earned his worth.
Leicester, M, Wilfred Ndidi ($4,400): The Nigerian middie only has two goals this season so the ceiling is low. The points will mostly come from shots and tackles. However, don’t lose hope for a goal. Burnley has given up the most shots and the second-most goals. A solid performance at a low price will help squeeze in that third goal scorer.
Follow Elaine on Twitter @ElaineC_Speaks.
