4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 2

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. EST Saturday and features six matches.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Jamie Vardy, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: $10,000

Liverpool is the slate's biggest favorite (-1.5), with Bournemouth and Leicester installed as 0.5-goal home favorites. We're going to be zeroing in on the star power of both Leicester and Liverpool, and we can go a few different ways here depending on which players you want as each side offers enticing attacking options.

We don't want to invest too heavily in one team, so if you go with Vardy up top, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane make sense in midfield. On the contrary, if you prefer midfielder Riyad Mahrez to be your Leicester investment, you can roll with the Reds' Roberto Firmino in a forward spot.

I side with rostering one of Liverpool's two top midfielders, so that means Vardy is the high-priced forward play.

Vardy was superb in Matchweek 1, scoring twice at Arsenal and generally doing what Vardy does when he's at his best -- namely using his top-end pace to get behind defenses and playing like a pest for 90 minutes.

His brace resulted in 42.75 FanDuel points last week. Obviously, we can't expect that kind of production each time out, but with a home match against newly promoted Brighton, Vardy could again be in for a nice day.

Midfielder

Sadio Mane, Liverpool

FanDuel Price: $11,000

With Philippe Coutinho expected to remain out as the Barca rumors persist, Mane becomes even more of a focal point for the Reds.

The dude has simply been a monster since coming to Liverpool. He scored 13 goals with 5 assists in 26 appearances last season, and he netted a goal at Watford last week.

With a match at Anfield against a Crystal Palace side that was just thrashed 3-0 on their own pitch by newly-promoted Huddersfield, Liverpool's status as a 1.5-goal favorite this weekend is pretty straightforward.

Palace allowed the seventh-most goals in the EPL last season (63 in 38 matches), and the Reds scored the fourth-most goals (78). The two teams were also at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of possession in 2016-17, with Liverpool (58.3%) ranking 2nd in the league and Palace (46.8%) sitting 15th.

As we saw with Chelsea losing at home to Burnley last weekend, it's the Premier League, so you never know, but Liverpool should control this one, putting Mane, Firmino and Salah in a sweet spot.

Defender

Joel Ward, Crystal Palace

FanDuel Price: $5,500

We got 24.25 FanDuel points by targeting Lewis Dunk last week as we chose a defender on a team likely to be under siege. We can go that same route with Ward in Matchweek 2.

As we just detailed, Palace should be in a world of trouble at Liverpool on Saturday, so Ward and the rest of the Eagles' back line will likely be quite busy. Ward totaled 6 tackles, 3 interceptions and 1 clearance in a 14.75-FanDuel-point outing at home against Huddersfield last week, and that was with him losing 5 points for scoring an own goal.

Ward should be under considerably more duress at Anfield, giving him a great floor in Matchweek 2.

Goalie

Kasper Schmeichel, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: $5,000

As always, we're looking for the perfect blend of expected save volume with a good shot at a clean sheet. In Matchweek 2, Schmeichel blends those two things together better than any other keeper, at least on paper.

Brighton are tied for the week's lowest implied total (1.0), and they're travelling to the King Power Stadium after getting blanked by Manchester City. The Seagulls managed just two shots on goal in that defeat, but Leicester won't be able to dominate possession the way Pep Guardiola's bunch did, meaning Brighton should keep Schmeichel busy.

Schmeichel was bombarded in Matchweek 1 as Arsenal put 10 shots on goal. Even though the Gunners scored 4, Schmeichel's 6 saves helped him amass a sturdy 15.75 FanDuel points. Obviously, Brighton will not test the Foxes' defense like Arsenal did, but Leicester should be leaky enough defensively to give Schmeichel a decent floor but not bad enough that he can't keep a clean sheet.