SOCCER

4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 3

Manchester United are the main slate's biggest favorite for their home match against Leicester. Does that make Romelu Lukaku a must-play at forward?

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 five matches.

Matchweek 3
Saturday, August 26th
Southampton at Huddersfield
Swansea City at Crystal Palace
Brighton at Watford
West Ham at Newcastle United
Leicester City at Manchester United


Let's get to it.

Forward

Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United

FanDuel Price: $12,000

Every game has a 0.5-goal spread except for Manchester United's home match against Leicester. The Red Devils are a 1.5-goal favorite with a slate-high 2.25-goal implied total, and they're clearly the team to target as far as attackers go.

We can build a couple different ways here. We can zero in on either of Manchester United's in-form midfielders -- Paul Pogba ($12,000) or Henrikh Mkhitaryan ($10,500) -- or we can put our eggs in the Lukaku basket. Either midfielder likely offers a safer floor due to their all-around contributions, but Lukaku's ceiling is massive.

He displayed that upside in Matchweek 1, bagging two goals in his Old Trafford debut and finishing with 50.75 FanDuel points. He followed that up with another goal and 23.5 fantasy points last week at Swansea.


The Red Devils have won by a 4-0 scoreline in each of their first two matches, and they have averaged 19 shots per game thus far. They should dominate the ball against a Leicester team who will likely be happy to sit back and play on the counter. Lukaku is fairly goal-dependent, but we can stomach that in a matchup this sweet.

Midfielder

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Crystal Palace

FanDuel Price: $8,000

As mentioned, Pogba and Mkhitaryan are the top midfielders, but we'll have a tough time stacking Lukaku with a United midfielder due to their salaries and the risk of overexposure to one team, although the upside is appealing for GPPs.

Loftus-Cheek is a great option who is in a juicy spot as the Eagles host a Swansea side allowing a league-high 23.0 shots per match -- including 29 shots allowed to Southampton in Matchweek 1 -- with a lowly 42.5% possession rate through two weeks. Palace is a 0.5-goal favorite with a 1.5-goal implied total.

On loan from Chelsea, RLC has been a vital kog for Palace through two games. He's put up 25.25 and 19.0 FanDuel points, respectively, in the Eagles' two fixtures, and he's done it without the aid of a goal. He leads Palace's outfield players in minutes (180), chances created (4), and pass success rate (89.3%).

Defender

Harry Maguire, Leicester

FanDuel Price: $7,500

A year ago, Maguire was a popular DFS play fairly often due to his defensive role on a Hull City side which found themselves absorbing a ton of pressure in a lot of matches. Leicester won't be in the bunker mentality quite as frequently as Hull were, but this weekend will be one of those times the Foxes should be under siege.

As we laid out earlier, Manchester United is flying high this year, scoring four times in each game, without allowing a goal. They look every bit the part of title contenders in Jose Mourinho's second season at Old Trafford, and they should have Leicester pinned back.

That means Maguire will have ample opportunity to rack up defensive actions. It could play out similarly to Leicester's season-opening match at Arsenal, one in which Maguire amassed 4 clearances, 3 blocks, and 2 tackles on his way to 27.75 FanDuel points.

Maguire does have an assist and a goal to his name thus far. While he's unlikely to do much attacking this weekend, he will be a vital aerial threat on any of Leicester's set pieces, giving him a dash of upside with his reliable floor.

Goalie

Wayne Hennessey, Crystal Palace

FanDuel Price: $5,500

We've had a dream start with our goalie picks, hitting on a clean sheet in each of the first two weeks. Things are a little murkier in Matchweek 3, however.

Manchester United's David de Gea ($4,500) has the best chance at a clean sheet, according to the oddsmakers, as Leicester is installed with a 0.75-goal implied total. But de Gea may not see enough save volume to rack up many fantasy points.

With Hennessey, we sacrifice a little bit of the clean sheet odds, but we add in more expected saves, making him a safer option who also has an attractive ceiling.

Palace is at home against Swansea. The Swans haven't scored a league goal this season while averaging a horrific 4.5 shots per match, the fewest in the league. That looks worse than it really is since they've started the season with a pair of tough matches at Southampton and versus Manchester United.

Swansea should be able to generate a little more in the attack against a Palace side which is giving up 16.0 shots per match, the fifth-most in the EPL, and has conceded four times through two matches. Palace's shaky defense should ensure that Hennessey is tested, but the Swans just don't pack much of a goal-scoring punch without Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has been sold to Everton, and they're now a lot less potent on set pieces.