4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 36

As is the case when playing any sport on FanDuel, it’s imperative to hit on high-priced studs, the players in which you’ve made the biggest investment. This is especially true with strikers in soccer as goals are often the difference between winning and losing in DFS.

Let’s take a look at some high-priced players -- all across the pitch -- who, despite costing a good chunk of change, are worth the investment.

This article is geared toward FanDuel's main slate, which begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and features five matches, none of which include any of the top-six clubs.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Jamie Vardy, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: $9,600

Hull City and Leicester are tied as the slate's biggest favorites with each listed as a 1-goal favorite. Hull have been a favorite so rarely this season, it's hard to know how to proceed with them in this situation, but Leicester are a little more predictable.

In Premier League play, Vardy leads the Foxes -- who are home against Watford -- in goals (12) and is tied for the team lead in assists (4), with 8 of his 12 goals coming at the King Power Stadium. Vardy is in great form of late, making the net bulge seven times in his last nine EPL matches, including this goal at West Brom in his last appearance.

Watford is middle of the road defensively, allowing the seventh-most goals in the league, but with both teams safe from relegation, we could see an open affair. Bournemouth's Joshua King ($10,500) is also in a good spot playing at home against Stoke, but his price has skyrocketed thanks to his stunning form, allowing you to get Vardy -- another in-form striker playing at home -- for nearly $1,000 cheaper.

Midfielder

Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea City

FanDuel Price: $9,900

If Swansea City finds a way to avoid relegation, they're going to be indebted to Sigurdsson, because he's been a one-man show for the Swans. Per WhoScored.com's rating system, he's Swansea's highest-rated player by a significant margin, scoring 9 goals while passing out 12 assists, the latter of which is tied for second in the Premier League.

Sigurdsson was the main reason Swansea got a critical point out of last week's game at Old Trafford, banging home a splendid free kick.

He takes penalties, corners and free kicks, and the Swans' reliance on Sigurdsson has made him a DFS machine. Sigurdsson is averaging a sparkling 25.1 FanDuel points per game for the season, tops among all midfielders on this slate, and he's scored at least 19 FanDuel points in 13 of his last 15 matches.

Defender

Craig Dawson, West Brom

FanDuel Price: $6,200

Typically, we latch onto high-priced defenders on underdogs, but that's not an option this week as most of the defenders for Watford and Sunderland are cheaper plays while our usual Hull targets don't have an enticing game script. Admittedly, this is a good slate to pay down on defenders, but if we're looking for a decent option among the more expensive guys, Dawson isn't a bad play.

West Brom are in 8th place in the Premier League table while Burnley sit in 14th, but the two clubs are only separated by five points. As such, West Brom are a 0.5-goal underdog for this road clash at Turf Moor.

West Brom rank last in the league in possession, seeing just 40.9% of the ball per match. Burnley aren't exactly Barcelona, ranking 19th in possession, but the Clarets should do enough to keep Dawson busy. Dawson averages 4.1 clearances, 1.6 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per match for the season. Prior to his last two matches (in which he scored 11.75 and 10.75 FanDuel points), Dawson had a four-game run in which he averaged 25.69 fantasy points.

Goalie

Kasper Schmeichel, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: $6,900

You could make an argument for any of the four most expensive keepers. Schmeichel, Eldin Jakupovic (7,100), Artur Boruc ($7,500) and Tom Heaton ($7,500) are all home favorites, but Schmeichel (versus Watford) and Jakupovic (versus Sunderland) best combine shutout potential with possible volume, giving us the upside we crave. Both are in a great spot, and as a bonus, they are the two cheapest keepers of the foursome.

Leicester and Hull are 1-goal favorites in fixtures with 2.5-goal over/unders, meaning the implied total for their opponents is a lowly 0.75 goals. The defenses of the Foxes and Tigers rank in the top five in terms of most shots allowed per match, so despite being heavy favorites, both keepers should still be called into duty a decent amount.