SOCCER

4 FanDuel Premier League Players to Avoid in Matchweek 5

Even though Liverpool is favored, defender Joel Matip has a tough positional matchup against Burnley. What other players should we avoid in Matchweek 5?

The main slate for Matchweek 5 features six Saturday matches, including every club – except Chelsea – that is currently in the top half of the table.

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

We should try 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 check out 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

Javier Hernandez, West Ham

FanDuel Price: $10,500

Four of the five highest priced forwards for Matchweek 5 have perceived great matchups, with Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino seemingly in the best position playing on their home pitch. The other forward in the top 5, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, may struggle against a Baggies squad who has been stingy against that position in their first four matches this season.

Chicharito and West Ham travel to The Hawthorns to face West Brom. The Baggies enter Saturday’s match as a 0.5-goal favorite, and the Hammers have an implied team total of 1 goal.

Chicharito has averaged 20.94 FanDuel points this season, but two of his four performances have produced fewer than 10 FanDuel points. Although both squads struggle with possessing the ball, the Hammers should control possession against West Brom, as the Baggies tend to relinquish possession to their opponent.

Despite not having the ball often, the Baggies have been extremely stingy this season against opposing forwards, allowing a single assist and no goals. They have allowed the third-fewest chances created (1), the fewest shots (7), and the fewest shots on target (1) to forwards this season.

If DFS players are looking to spend up at the forward position, they should look to invest in the other top 4 options, as Chicharito may struggle against a tough Baggies’ back line.

Midfielder

Abdoulaye Doucoure, Watford

FanDuel Price: $8,500

Doucoure is the 12th-highest priced midfielder for Matchweek 5. This season, he's averaged 22.62 FanDuel points, and has already scored 2 goals, doubling his effort from last season and almost matching his output over the last two seasons combined (3 goals).

Doucoure, however, is not heavily involved in the Hornets’ attack. He has only produced 2 shots on target this season -- scoring on both -- while totaling 4 shots. In the two matches where he failed to score a goal, Doucoure averaged 12.5 FanDuel points, with the majority of those points coming from defensive actions.

The Citizens are a 1.5-goal favorite over the Hornets and have an implied team total of 2.25 goals. Doucoure seems to be in a matchup that would favor picking up defensive actions, especially if he plays as a defensive midfielder as he did in Matchweek 4. However, the Citizens are not a great matchup for opposing center-midfielders/defensive-midfielders. They have allowed the 11th-fewest blocked shots (3), the 8th-fewest tackles (17), the 5th-most interceptions (16), and the 4th-most clearances (14) while allowing 5 crosses (third-fewest), 1 shot on target, and no stats on the score sheet to center-midfielders/defensive-midfielders this season.

Doucoure will have opportunities to pick up defensive actions -- seemingly not tournament winning numbers -- but there are other midfielders within his price range who are similar to Doucoure, and should have higher upside in their match. Huddersfield’s Aaron Mooy -- another defensive-midfielder -- faces a Leicester squad that relinquishes similar defensive actions to midfielders but allows a large number of attack statistics. And Mooy is highly involved in the Terriers’s attack.

Defender

Joel Matip, Liverpool

FanDuel Price: $6,500

Matip is tied with seven other defenders as the 7th-highest priced defender for Matchweek 5. He has averaged 17.31 FanDuel points this season.

The Reds are a 1.5-goal favorite over Burnley, with an implied team total of 2.25 goals. The Reds should dominate the possession, as the Clarets maintain only 39% of the possession away Turf Moor.

The Clarets have not been a good matchup for center-defenders this season. They have allowed the 7th-fewest clearances (49), the 2nd-fewest blocked shots (4), the 2nd-fewest tackles (2), and the 7th-most interceptions (15) to that position this season.

Matip has averaged 4 clearances, 3 interceptions, 2 tackles, and no blocked shots in his four matches this season. However, in Matchweek 2 against Crystal Palace, the Reds dominated possession -- a likely scenario against the Clarets -- and Matip produced a stat line of 3 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 clearance. Matip may push a bit further up the pitch against the Clarets (if it is a close match), as he created his only chance of the season against the Eagles, but that match was closer than expected and the Reds should dominate on their home pitch against the Clarets.

Goalkeeper

Jonas Lossl, Huddersfield

FanDuel Price: $5,000

Lossl is tied with three other keepers as the 3rd-highest priced net-minder for Matchweek 5. He has averaged 18.75 FanDuel points this season, which includes 2 clean sheets.

The Terriers -- on their home pitch -- are a slight underdog against the Foxes, and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals.

The Foxes have not been a great opponent for keepers this season, allowing 1 clean sheet -- Matchweek 3 against Manchester United -- and producing only 7 saves this season.

Huddersfield should be able to win the possession battle against Leicester, as the Foxes have struggled in that category. Even with their issues maintaining the ball, the Foxes have scored the 8th-most goals this season. Lossl, in this match, is very dependent on a clean sheet to produce fantasy points, as the Foxes have shown the ability to find the back of the net on an extremely limited number of shots, making his a risky fantasy option.