Soccer Props Preview: Premier League &#038; Champions League

Slate Overview & Odds – Sunday, May 25th

The upcoming schedule for the Premier League at time of writing:

Bournemouth vs. Leicester
Fulham vs. Man City
Ipswich vs. West Ham
Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace
Man United vs. Aston Villa
Newcastle vs. Everton
Nottingham vs. Chelsea
Southampton vs. Arsenal
Tottenham vs. Brighton
Wolves vs. Brentford

It’s the last Matchday of the EPL season! All games will start at 11 AM ET.

Since all teams will play, here’s a look at the leaders in total shot–creating actions heading into Sunday (via Football Reference):

Cole Palmer (200)
Bruno Fernandes (181)
Mohamed Salah (164)
Enzo Fernandez (146)
Bryan Mbeumo (141)
Eberechi Eze (133)
Bruno Guimaraes (129)
Dejan Kulusevski (128)
Antoine Semenyo (128)
Matheus Cunha (127)

And here are the top 10 in shot-creating actions per 90 minutes:

Kevin De Bruyne (5.99)
Bukayo Saka (5.93)
Cole Palmer (5.81)
Savio (5.71)
Bruno Fernandes (5.56)
Son Heung-min (4.99)
Dejan Kulusevski (4.82)
Martin Odegaard (4.80)
Andreas Pereira (4.75)
Eberechi Eze (4.74)

Both KDB and Saka dealt with injuries this season, which is why they don’t show on the first list. When on the pitch, their per 90 numbers have been strong.

Top EPL Plays

Who are we liking on an individual level?

Antoine Semenyo HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

Semenyo had nine goals and five assists to his name through 36 EPL appearances, while putting up 128 shot-creating actions and 13 goal-creating actions (Football Reference).

This is an excellent team situation for Bournemouth at home against a Leicester outfit that’s already been relegated.

Alexander Isak HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals

The Magpies are firmly favored in the soccer odds versus the Toffees, and Alexander Isak’s dominant attacking play is a big reason why.

The Swedish forward has 23 goals and six assists in 33 matches, and we like his chances of finding the back of the net against Everton.

Mohamed Salah HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

Mohamed Salah leads the Premier League in goal contributions (46) by a large margin. He’s totaled 28 goals and 18 assists in 37 EPL matches, a staggering return in the world’s most competitive league.

Will Liverpool end the season on a high? The Reds have already won the league, but they’ll still want to close out the year in style in front of the Anfield faithful.

Gabriel Martinelli HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

We originally had Bukayo Saka in here, but he’s not in the starting 11. We can look towards Martinelli’s projection as well, as this is a prime spot for the Gunners against league-worst Southampton.

We should expect multiple goals out of an Arsenal team that is far more talented across the pitch, even away from home.

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Slate Overview & Odds – Tuesday, May 20

The upcoming schedule for the Premier League and soccer odds at time of writing:

3:00 PM ET: Man City (-275) vs. Bournemouth (+650)
3:00 PM ET: Crystal Palace (+160) vs. Wolves (+180)

There are two more English Premier League matches on the schedule for Tuesday, and we’ll be breaking them down from a DFS and betting point of view.

Both games start at 3 PM ET, and it’s Man City that’s the biggest favorites of the day at right around -275 at home to Bournemouth. The encounter between Palace and Wolves looks much more evenly matched.

Top EPL Plays

Who are we liking on an individual level?

Erling Haaland

After recently returning from injury, Erling Haaland will hope to rediscover his scoring touch versus the Cherries.

Haaland missed weeks due to injury but was excellent before going down, scoring 21 goals to go with three assists in 29 EPL appearances.

While Bournemouth has shown some promise this season, this is a difficult ask against a more talented side at the Etihad. Haaland has a great chance to score on Tuesday.

Pick: HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals

Matheus Cunha

UPDATE: Cunha is not in the starting 11.

Fresh off a historic FA Cup Final win over Man City, Crystal Palace will try to keep the good times rolling against Matheus Cunha and Wolves.

We believe Cunha could be worth a serious look with your DFS and betting picks, as he’s been a force to be reckoned with this season. Through 31 Premier League matches he’s put up 15 goals and six assists, and his stellar play has attracted major interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Pick: HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

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Slate Overview & Odds – Monday, May 19

The upcoming schedule for the Premier League and soccer odds at time of writing:

3:00 PM ET: Brighton (+140) vs. Liverpool (+175)

The Reds, who have already won the English Premier League, are the underdogs in the soccer betting lines for Monday’s away match at Brighton.

We could see squad rotation from Liverpool here with not much to play for. Arne Slot’s starting 11 selection will certainly be of interest, but either way, it should be a tough challenge.

Brighton has been on a nice run, going unbeaten (two wins, one draw) across their last three EPL matches ahead of today’s match. The hosts are in ninth place in the league, with 14 wins, 13 draws and nine losses through 36 games.

Top EPL Plays

Who are we liking on an individual level?

Joao Pedro

Brighton’s Joao Pedro has had a strong year, totaling 10 goals and six assists in 27 English Premier League appearances. Funnily enough, he’s apparently become a top transfer target of Liverpool heading into next year.

The Brazilian attacker has finished his three-match ban, and if he makes the starting lineup, he’s worth considering with your soccer picks on Monday.

Pick: HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

Mohamed Salah

Salah hasn’t been at his most lethal to close out the season, but he’s still had an unreal campaign overall. The Egyptian has recorded 28 goals and 18 assists in 36 EPL matches.

Only Cole Palmer (200) and Bruno Fernandes (181) have more shot-creating actions than Salah (161) this season, per Football Reference.

Pick: HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

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Slate Overview & Odds – Sunday, May 18

The upcoming schedule for the Premier League and soccer odds at time of writing:

Everton (-240) vs. Southampton (+650)
West Ham (+180) vs. Nottingham (+150)
Brentford (+100) vs. Fulham (+245)
Leicester (+130) vs. Ipswich (+195)
Arsenal (+100) vs. Newcastle (+275)

We have five EPL matches on the schedule as we get set for an action-packed Sunday.

Top EPL Plays

Who are we liking on an individual level?

Dwight McNeil HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

McNeil had an injury-riddled season but is the team’s best playmaker when healthy. He has four goals and five assists in 19 EPL matches on the year, but the primary reason for the play is that this is a favorable matchup at home against league-worst Southampton.

Jamie Vardy HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals

Two teams already relegated will do battle in Leicester on Sunday, and we have interest in Foxes striker Jamie Vardy. The veteran has eight goals and four assists in 34 appearances.

Bukayo Saka HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

What a match this should be between Arsenal and Newcastle. At home, we expect Bukayo Saka to make his presence felt.

Though he’s had to deal with injury this season, Saka has averaged the second-most shot-creating actions per 90 minutes this season (Football Reference).

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Champions League Soccer Props – Player Picks & Analysis

For each major UCL slate, we will take a look at our favorite soccer props and DFS pick’em plays on sites like Underdog.

Slate Overview & Odds – Wednesday, May 7th

The upcoming schedule and odds for the Champions League:

3:00 PM ET: PSG (+120) vs. Arsenal (+215)

We have another amazing Champions League semi-final matchup on Wednesday, this time featuring PSG and Arsenal. The Parisiens are up 1-0 after an impressive first leg win over the Gunners in London and now return home for the decider.

For PSG, here are the leaders in Goal Contributions so far this UCL season (via Football Reference):

Ousmane Dembele (11)
Achraf Hakimi (7)
Bradley Barcola (6)
Nuno Mendes/Desire Doue (5)
Fabian Ruiz/Khvicha Kvaratskhelia/Goncalo Ramos (4)

Shot–Creating Actions:

Achraf Hakimi (71)
Ousmane Dembele (70)
Vitinha (50)
Bradley Barcola (47)
Joao Neves (44)

Here are the UCL Goal Contributions leaders for Arsenal so far:

Bukayo Saka (7)
Declan Rice (6)
Mikel Merino/Kai Havertz (5)
Martin Odegaard/Leandro Trossard (4)
Gabriel Martinelli (3)

Shot–Creating Actions:

Martin Odegaard (36)
Gabriel Martinelli (27)
Declan Rice/Leandro Trossard (25)
Bukayo Saka (23)
Mikel Merino (19)

Top UCL Picks

Important: Ousmane Dembele has been considered questionable due to a hamstring injury but has been training with the team and is expected to be available. He has been PSG’s most dangerous player domestically and in Europe, so that’s good news for the club.

We are more drawn to the Arsenal side in this matchup, however, as we think Mikel Arteta’s bunch will be up for this away challenge. The Gunners did beat Real Madrid 2-1 in Madrid in the quarter-finals not that long ago, so they could draw inspiration from that result.

Bukayo Saka in particular is of interest. He has six goals and 10 assists in 22 EPL matches and five goals and two assists across eight UCL appearances in an injury-hampered campaign. The positive news is Saka hasn’t suffered any kind of setback since returning. He played the full 90 against PSG in the first leg last week and 86 minutes against Bournemouth this past weekend.

When on the pitch and at full strength, Saka has been a constant threat to opposing defenses, and Arsenal will have to attack in hopes of overcoming the one-goal deficit.

Pick: Bukayo Saka HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists (Underdog)

Good luck and enjoy the match!

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Slate Overview & Odds – Tuesday, May 6th

The upcoming schedule and odds for the Champions League:

3:00 PM ET: Inter Milan (+165) vs. Barcelona (+150)

We had a mesmerizing 3-3 draw in the first leg between these two European giants, so get your popcorn ready for round two on Tuesday.

For Barcelona, here are the leaders in Goal Contributions so far this UCL season (via Football Reference):

Raphinha (20)
Robert Lewandowski (11)
Lamine Yamal (8)
Fermin Lopez/Ferran Torres (4)
Jules Kounde/Inigo Martinez (3)

Shot–Creating Actions:

Raphinha (67)
Pedri (56)
Lamine Yamal (54)
Dani Olmo (22)
Marc Casado (19)

Here are the UCL Goal Contributions leaders for Inter so far:

Lautaro Martinez (8)
Marcus Thuram (5)
Hakan Calhanoglu (5)
Denzel Dumfries/Mehdi Taremi (3)
Nicolo Barella/Carlos Augusto (2)

Shot–Creating Actions:

Nicolo Barella (33)
Marcus Thuram (28)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (26)
Hakan Calhanoglu/Federico Dimarco (24)
Lautaro Martinez (22)

Top UCL Picks

On the Barcelona side, Robert Lewandowski is expected to be in the squad but will not start in the second leg against Inter, leaving Ferran Torres as the likely target up front alongside Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.

For Inter, Lautaro Martinez looks to have avoided a major injury and should be in the starting 11 on Tuesday.

With our UCL picks, it’s hard to ignore the form Yamal and Raphinha have shown even on the brightest stages, and they caused so many problems for Inter defensively in the first leg.

Both players are extremely dangerous going forward and can fashion chances out of basically nothing.

If you look at all of the top five European leagues this season, Yamal (third; 163) and Raphinha (eighth; 151) are both in the top 10 in shot-creating actions, and as mentioned above, they’ve brought their best in the Champions League too. Raphinha in particular has shone throughout the UCL campaign, totaling 12 goals and eight assists in only 13 appearances.

Will they rise to the occasion and guide the Catalans to the Champions League Final?

Pick: Raphinha HIGHER Than 0.5 Goals + Assists

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