4 FanDuel Premier League Players to Avoid for Matchweek 29

The main slate for Matchweek 29 features six Saturday matches, which includes only one of the top five clubs, Chelsea, and unfortunately does not include Matchweek 29’s marquee match between Manchester City and Liverpool.

As with any sport, it is imperative to have your players, especially the high-priced studs, live up to their price tag. When making an investment into any player, it is important to determine which players will likely contribute in FanDuel's emphasized areas (goals, assists, and shots on target). It's also just as important not to overspend on players in bad matchups.

We should look to take advantage of the teams -- and players -- who play especially well either home or away while also looking at Vegas favorites and over/under totals. DFS players, as always, should look at injury reports and confirmed starting XI's, when they become available.

Let's take a look at four players, across the entire pitch, who should be avoided in the upcoming matches.

Forward

Andy Carroll, West Ham

FanDuel Price: $8,200

Carroll is the fifth-highest priced forward for Matchweek 29, and he has averaged 15.95 FanDuel points in 14 matches this season. Carroll has struggled in his last two matches, averaging 8.13 FanDuel points in that span while scoring under 11 FanDuel points in three of his last four matches.

Carroll and West Ham host Leicester City at London Stadium. The Irons average 13.4 shots per match while maintaining 50.7% of the possession on their home pitch. West Ham enter Saturday’s match as the favorite and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals.

The Foxes have conceded 27 goals while allowing 15.8 shots per match away from King Power Stadium. Despite their struggles this season, the Foxes have seemed to regain their form from last since the firing of Claudio Ranieri but will face their first road test under their new manager, Craig Shakespeare. The Foxes have conceded 18 goals and 7 assists to forwards this season, but they have been stingy in their last five matches, allowing two goals and one assist to forwards in that span.

The Foxes are only three points shy of the drop zone but will be competing in the quarterfinals of the Champions League after seemingly being rejuvenated by the firing of their manager. Carroll has scored over 25 FanDuel points three times this season, but he has scored less than 12 Fanuel points seven times. DFS players should avoid Carroll against a Leicester squad that seems to have regained their championship form and look at other options with perceived better matchups, such as Bournemouth’s Josh King.

Midfielder

N’Golo Kante, Chelsea

FanDuel Price: $8,500

Kante is the fourth-highest priced midfielder for Matchweek 29, and he has averaged 18.02 FanDuel points this season. Kante has been in good form on the pitch recently, but that good form has not translated to high scoring FanDuel performances. Kante has only scored over 20 FanDuel points once in his last nine matches, when the midfielder made 14 tackles against Liverpool.

Kante and Chelsea travel to bet365 Stadium to face Stoke City. The Blues average 17.7 tackles away from Stamford Bridge, ninth-best in the Premier League, while controlling 53.6% of the possession. They enter Saturday’s match as a large favorite, and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals.

Most of Kante’s FanDuel points are produced by defensive statistics as Kante has taken zero shots on target and created two chances while averaging 15.38 FanDuel points in his last seven league matches. He has scored only one goal while taking six shots on target this season in Premier League fixtures.

The Potters are the league’s seventh-worst club at maintaining possession on their home pitch, controlling 49.5% of the possession while allowing 12.9 shots per match. The Potters are one of the league’s best squads at limiting defensive statistics against opposing midfielders. They have allowed the eighth-fewest tackles (83), sixth-fewest clearances (71), fifth-fewest blocked shots (10) and second-fewest interceptions (51) to midfielders this season.

Kante’s best performances have mostly come when the midfielder produces a high number of defensive statistics, and the Potters do not concede enough defensive stats for DFS players to justify their investment into the fourth-highest priced midfielder on Saturday’s slate.

Defender

Steve Cook, Bournemouth

FanDuel Price: $6,500

Cook is the top-priced defender for Matchweek 29, and he has averaged 20.73 FanDuel points this season. Cook has performed well over his last three matches, averaging 23.75 FanDuel points, making 30 clearances and taking 6 shots with 1 on target in that span.

Cook and Bournemouth host Swansea City at Dean Court. On their home pitch, the Cherries maintain the league’s eighth-best possession percentage (51.8%) and make the fourth-fewest tackles (16.1).

The Swans are currently three points shy of the drop zone and have earned 10 points in 14 away matches. The Swans are not a good matchup for central defenders, ranking among the bottom half of the table in allowing all relevant defensive statistics -- interceptions, tackles, clearances and blocked shots -- and they have given up the sixth-fewest shots (8) this season to central defenders.

DFS players can find better value than Cook and save a little money by not investing in the top-priced defender on the slate. Cook has made 10 or more clearances in four of his last seven matches but now faces a Swans club that does not concede many defensive actions, making Cook a risky investment.

Keeper

Artur Boruc, Bournemouth

FanDuel Price: $7,100

Boruc is the top-price keeper for Matchweek 29, and he has averaged 11.23 FanDuel points this season. Boruc has scored over his season average in two straight matches while making more than five saves in both of his previous two matches.

Clean sheets and saves are extremely important for keeper scoring on FanDuel. Boruc has kept five clean sheets this season, four coming on his home pitch, but he has not kept a clean sheet since the end of December against Swansea. The Cherries enter Saturday’s match as the favorite, and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals.

Boruc has a poor matchup for DFS players, as he faces the Premier League’s fifth-worst squad, the Swans, who are fighting to stay up. The Swans average 9.1 shots per match, the fourth-worst average in away matches. Despite conceding seven clean sheets this season, the Swans have scored in all seven of their previous matches, including three matches against top clubs.

Swansea produce middle-of-the-table numbers in shots on target and saves forced, making Boruc’s price hard to justify. The Swans’ recent form makes investing in a Boruc clean sheet extremely risky, and DFS players should look to save money by investing in another keeper.