SOCCER

Premier League: 4 FanDuel Value Plays for Matchweek 18

Harry Winks is expected to start Saturday for Tottenham, and he should be busy away at Manchester City. Who else can provide value for your FanDuel lineup this weekend?

Matchweek 18 in the Premier League begins as most are still digesting what happened in the 17th set of fixtures during midweek action. FanDuel players will have a six-game slate on Saturday to dissect.

Matchweek 18
Saturday, December 16th
Burnley at Brighton
West Ham at Stoke
Newcastle at Arsenal
Southampton at Chelsea
Huddersfield at Watford
Tottenham at Manchester City


Several of the top clubs are included in the slate, pushing prices up slightly from the midweek action. There are 19 forwards or midfielders priced at or above $9,000. There are 30 defenders priced at or above $6,000. The keepers are priced between $5,500 and $4,500, which has become typical.

Let's see where the value lies.

Forward

Ashley Barnes ($6,500): Barnes came off the bench for Burnley in Matchweek 17 and scored the only goal of the game to temporarily lift his team into fourth place. After the rest of the matches finished, Burnley were pushed back down to sixth on goal differential, but the Clarets have been a very good team this season.


Be sure to pay attention to the team sheet about an hour before kickoff as Barnes has not been starting. His midweek goal and the busy schedule give him a great chance to lead the line against Brighton. Barnes' chances of starting are also increased by the lack of scoring from teammate Chris Wood, who has just one goal in his last seven matches.

Brighton are on a three-game losing streak and now hold a minus-9 goal differential. They have conceded at least two goals in each of their last three matches. Brighton are also allowing over 14 shots per match.

If Barnes does not start, look toward Marko Arnautovic at $7,000. The West Ham attacker will have a chance to put on a show against his old team, Stoke City.

Midfielder

Harry Winks ($5,500): The Tottenham midfielder is expected to start with his team needing to play more defense than normal against dominant league leaders Manchester City.


Winks is coming off his best EPL game, tallying nearly 30 FanDuel points against Brighton. He was credited with three tackles and four chances created. He added an assist while being third on the team in touches.

Tottenham are expected to see less of the ball against City, increasing Winks' defensive workload. He should remain a passing outlet from the back line when they are under pressure. Per WhoScored, Winks was credited with 94 and 84 passes in his last two starts, and he should continue that pace this weekend.

Defender

Daryl Janmaat ($5,500): Janmaat struggled defensively at the end of the midweek match against Crystal Palace, but that could be said about much of Watford's team.

Janmaat will start in a wing back role if for no other reason than Watford's extensive injury and suspension list. He should be able to join the offense given Watford's possession advantage over Huddersfield, who have allowed 10 goals in their last four matches.

Janmaat has been credited for 19 defensive actions over the past two weeks, so he is doing work on both sides of the ball. In five appearances this season he is averaging 22.1 points per match.

Honorable mention here goes to Burnley's Charlie Taylor at $4,000. He could take the place of Stephen Ward, who was replaced in midweek action. It would be Taylor's first start in the Premier League, so keep an eye on starting XI's.

Keeper

Adrian ($4,500): West Ham have been playing well defensively. They are coming off clean sheets against Chelsea and Arsenal and now play a Stoke side that is among their competition near the relegation zone.

Adrian has supplanted Joe Hart as the starting keeper, which may be the catalyst for defensive change. He has a total of 11 saves over the last three matches.

West Ham will be facing a less potent attack this weekend. Stoke have been blanked twice over their last four matches. They also have only 11 goals from open play all season, which bodes well for an improved West Ham defense.




Douglas Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Douglas Smith also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username aquemini03. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.