SOCCER

4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 10

The prices for Manchester City's players have shot up across the board. That gives us a chance to get other top-level stars who are in great spots -- like Alexis Sanchez at home versus Swansea -- at modest prices and possibly lower ownership than usual.

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.

Matchweek 10
Saturday, October 28th
Huddersfield at Liverpool
West Ham at Crystal Palace
Manchester City at West Brom
Swansea City at Arsenal
Stoke City at Watford
Chelsea at Bournemouth


Let's get to it.

Forward

Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal

FanDuel Price: $10,500

There are three favorites -- Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool -- that will hog ownership. Liverpool and Arsenal are both 2.0-goal home favorites, and City are a 1.5-goal favorite on the road. City being City and being in the form they're in, they're going to be popular, and that could allow us to get the Reds' and Gunners' stars at smaller ownership than usual considering their sweet situations.

You could argue both Sanchez and fellow Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette ($9,500) are both a bit underpriced for a home date with Swansea City, one of the Premier League's lesser teams.

Sanchez has been in fine form of late, scoring at least 48 FanDuel points in each of his past two outings.

Opponent Goals Assists Chances Created Shots on Goal FanDuel Points
Brighton 0 1 6 3 48.75
Everton 1 1 4 3 52.75


On the road, Swansea have allowed the third-most shots per game (15.4) while recording the fifth-fewest possession (53.8%). Arsenal's 2.5-goal implied total puts both Sanchez and Lacazette in play, but Sanchez has the higher ceiling of the two.

Midfielder

Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool

FanDuel Price: $9,500

The Manchester City effect is so real. Under manager Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have been pretty darn great at home, and they are hefty favorites in an Anfield clash with Huddersfield. Despite that, there are three City players priced at or above Coutinho and Mo Salah ($10,000).

Of course we'd like to get some exposure to City, a 1.5-goal favorite at West Brom, but the Baggies aren't a total pushover and seeing that we have so many good high-priced alternatives in nice spots, the best way to handle City may be to wait for the lineups to drop Saturday morning and see if we can latch onto any value options the Citizens offer. Because it's really hard to pass on Arsenal and Liverpool in these spots and at these prices.

Liverpool have just 6 goals in 4 home league matches this year, but they scored 45 times in 19 EPL matches at Anfield last season. Coutinho -- who isn't a lock to play because he's reportedly dealing with an injury, although it's not known how serious the ailment is -- bagged seven goals with three assists in 15 home EPL starts last year, and he's notched two goals and an assist in 5 EPL matches (both home and away) this campaign.


Coutinho's free-kick mastery gives him extra chances at goal, and he offers big-time upside, having gone for at least 45 FanDuel points in two of his five EPL matches this season. Just make sure he's in the lineup before locking him in.

Defender

Christopher Schindler, Huddersfield

FanDuel Price: $7,000

With three big favorites on the slate, the best route defensively is likely to aim for value plays on one of the three decided underdogs (West Brom, Huddersfield or Swansea), especially if saving cash here allows you to fit in another star with goal-scoring ability.

However, if you want to pay up for a defender, Huddersfield's Christopher Schindler has a very safe floor for his match at Liverpool. Schindler has totaled at least 14 FanDuel points in eight of his nine outings, and he's scored at least 18 FanDuel points in four straight matches.

The Terriers have played two games against top-six sides, hosting United and Spurs. Schindler racked up 31.25 FanDuel points in a lopsided loss to Tottenham, and he still amassed 18.75 points against United despite the fact Huddersfield won the game and saw a decent amount of the ball. Liverpool should keep the Terriers pinned deep for much of this one, giving Schindler a very high floor.

Goalie

Ben Foster, West Brom

FanDuel Price: $5,000

As usual, it's a tough slate for keepers, and the goalies are bunched up in terms of pricing.

With Swansea and Huddersfield each boasting slate-low 0.5-goal implied totals, Liverpool's Simon Mignolet ($4,000) and Arsenal's Petr Cech ($4,500) have the best clean-sheet odds, although neither keeper will likely be asked to make many saves. Manchester City's Ederson is in a similar spot, with West Brom's implied total sitting at 0.75 goals.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Foster should be called into action often against a red-hot Manchester City side. Admittedly, the Citizens' potent attack brings a Foster dud into play, but if he makes a handful of saves, he can still have a solid day even if he concedes a few goals. For example, in Matchweek 7, Foster allowed two goals at Arsenal but made four saves, finishing with 14.5 FanDuel points.

We could see something similar here. Although we'd be foolish to anticipate a clean sheet (City have a 2.25-goal implied total), West Brom have given up just three goals in four home fixtures this season. If Foster could keep the damage to a minimum -- say, one goal -- his save volume could lead to a big day.

In truth, the best route to take at goalie may be to go cheap with Cech or Mignolet, so you can pay up at forward and in the midfield. For all the flack Mignolet and Liverpool's defense has taken this season, the Reds have pitched a shutout in five of their last six home EPL matches.


Austan Kas is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austan Kas also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username akas247. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.