SOCCER

Premier League: 4 FanDuel Value Plays for Matchweek 25

Douglas Smith  —  @DFresh39 Feb 10th, 2017
Michail Antonio is back to being a focal point for West Ham and is one of the top value plays of the week.

A seven-game FanDuel slate awaits players on Saturday. Unfortunately the Arsenal versus Hull City match did not make the slate, as Hull's recent form and Arsenal's explosive offense could provide the most interesting and value-filled match up of the day. Regardless, there are plenty of options around the grounds in the Premier League.

Three of the seven games are between teams in the top half of the table. Stoke City, Manchester United, and Everton are the heaviest favorites. However, the majority of the value plays this week come from the matches that are more up in the air.

Forward

Peter Crouch, Stoke City

FanDuel Price: $7,500

Crouch was the pick a few weeks ago and started a string of beneficial value picks at the forward position. Crouch is the only player on this list coming from a team that is heavily favored, but any team playing Crystal Palace has a great chance to score in bunches.


Only Romelu Lukaku has had more shots inside the box over the last six matchweeks. Crouch has four goals and an assist in his last six Premier League games. Last week was the only match in the last seven across all competitions that Crouch did not complete the entire game.

Stoke have been on great form at home, losing just one of their last 10 Premier League matches. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have given up at least three goals in three games over their last six across all competitions. Palace lost 4-0 to fellow relegation contender Sunderland last week. The Palace defense only gave up 10 shots, but three of the four goals were scored from inside the 18-yard box, showing that Palace are giving up great chances no matter the competition.

Midfield

Michail Antonio, West Ham

FanDuel Price: $7,400

Antonio was a hot commodity at the beginning of the year, but his position continued to change and the scoring outburst came to a halt. Now that Dimitri Payet is gone, Antonio has become a vital player for West Ham again.

Antonio has been involved in 66% of his club's goals on home turf and has moved back up front to partner with Andy Carroll. He has 14 goal attempts over the last six weeks, which is tied with Carroll for the most on the team. Nine of those have come from inside the box.

Antonio has played the full match in each of the last three weeks and recorded three assists against Crystal Palace last month.


Antonio and West Ham will host West Brom, which has recorded just one clean sheet on the road all season. Antonio scored in the reverse fixture earlier in the year.

There is a chance that Carroll will not be fit this weekend. Currently, he is expected to play, but may not be able to carry on for an entire match. That puts more pressure on Antonio to produce.

Defender

Lamine Kone, Sunderland

FanDuel Price: $5,500

Kone is a pick based mainly on form with Sunderland hosting Southampton on Saturday. Kone has scored 42 and 24 points, respectively, over his last two matches. The 42-point outburst was due in part to Kone's first goal of the season.

There is no reason to expect another goal, but his defensive work rate has been high enough to expect a good point total through defensive actions.


Kone is averaging 10 defensive actions per match and is winning over 60% of his duels. He has made one defensive error in 19 appearances. Kone has recorded 25 clearances over the last two matches. He has recorded at least eight clearances in eight matches. His defensive diligence has led Kone to be the second-highest ranked Sunderland player according to Squawka's performance score.

Southampton have created 266 chances this season, which is more than Chelsea. Kone and the Sunderland back line should have plenty of chances to rack up clearances, blocks, and interceptions.

Keeper

Darren Randolph, West Ham

FanDuel Price: $6,300

Back to West Ham for the keeper, as those between the sticks are tightly priced. That is not news to anyone who has been playing on FanDuel over the last five weeks.

West Ham have three clean sheets in their last five home matches. Randolph had six saves last weekend and allowed just one goal. He will have to replicate that performance if West Brom can find the same attacking prowess they had in the reverse fixture with six shots on target.

Of course, West Brom's current form suggests that they will not score four goals this time out. West Brom have failed to score in three of their last five on the road, so Randolph has a chance at clean sheet points.