SOCCER

4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 21

With Liverpool a commanding home favorite, Mohamed Salah is one of this week's premier options. Which other high-priced players are worth targeting?

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 10:00 a.m. EST Saturday and features seven matches.

Matchweek 21
Saturday, December 30th
Leicester City at Liverpool
Everton at Bournemouth
Stoke City at Chelsea
Burnley at Huddersfield
Brighton at Newcastle
Swansea City at Watford
Southampton at Manchester United


This slate has three big home favorites in Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. Chelsea are 2.0-goal favorites while Liverpool and United are both 1.5-goal favorites. Chelsea boast a 2.75-goal implied total, the slate's top mark, and Liverpool are just behind at 2.5 goals. United have an implied total of 2.0 goals.

The attackers on those three teams figure to hog ownership, and it makes a lot of sense to pay up for their stars, especially since squad rotation will open up value plays across the slate. Other than that trio, Watford is the lone other big favorite as the Hornets are a 1.0-goal home favorite versus a slumping Swansea side.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Álvaro Morata, Chelsea

FanDuel Price: $12,000

As we just covered, Chelsea are a great target this week as the Blues are the biggest favorite (2.0-goal favorite) with the top implied total (2.75 goals) for their home date with Stoke City.

The Potters have been among the Premier League's worst defensive squads, allowing the most goals (41 through 20 matches) while giving up the eighth-most shots per game (13.2). Stoke have conceded 22 goals in 10 away matches, and they've given up a 5 goals to Tottenham and 3 to West Ham in recent weeks.

Chelsea average 55.1% possession -- Stoke are at 44.0% -- and should control this one, giving Morata a great chance to score a goal. The Spaniard is tied with teammate Michy Batshuayi ($8,000) for the best odds to score, per bet365, and he's totaled at least 21 FanDuel points in four of his last five matches. Morata has put up the good fantasy numbers despite having just two goals and no assists in that span, so he offers a decent floor to go along with his dope ceiling.

The only blemish here is that Morata figures to be very popular. Liverpool's Roberto Firmino ($12,500), the highest-priced forward, is expected to sit, and Romelu Lukaku ($11,500) profiles as a player to avoid this week. That's going to push a lot of people toward Morata, but he's a tough fade in such a sublime spot.

Midfielder

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool

FanDuel Price: $11,500

You don't need me to sell you on Salah, but it's my job to write something here. Plus, it's pretty darn fun to rattle off his silly stats.

Salah has 15 goals and 5 assists this year, meaning he's been directly involved in 20 of Liverpool's 46 goals. He's averaged 29.6 FanDuel points per game, but he's put up at least 29 fantasy points in 9 of his last 11 outings, with one of the exceptions being a still-decent 19.25-point day.

Salah has destroyed people at home in his last four starts at Anfield, racking up 5 goals, 2 assists and 38.56 fantasy points per match in that split.

Opponent Goals Assists Shots on Goal Chances Created FanDuel Points
Swansea 0 2 2 3 33.75
Everton 1 0 1 6 40.25
Chelsea 1 0 2 2 33.00
Southampton 2 0 2 2 47.25


Leicester City aren't a bad team, sitting 8th in the table, but they've given up the 9th-most goals (30) and check in at 15th in possession (46.1%).

Salah is a great play, as always, as long as he's in the starting XI. If he's rotated out, then Philippe Coutinho ($12,000) and/or Sadio Mane ($9,000) become even more attractive.

If you fade Morata, Chelsea's Eden Hazard ($10,500) and/or Cesc Fabregas ($10,000) make a lot of sense in midfield. Watford's Abdoulaye Doucouré ($8,500) also has a good amount of appeal with the Hornets in a delectable spot against Swansea, but Doucouré has been very goal-reliant of late.

Defender

Harry Maguire, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: $7,000

Maguire and the Leicester back line should be under fire for good portions of Saturday's clash at Anfield.

The Foxes, as we just mentioned, don't play a possession-based style, ranking 15th in possession (46.1%). Liverpool, meanwhile, are fourth in possession (57.3%), and the Reds' possession rate jumps to 60.8% in home fixtures. That should lead to Leicester being pinned deep fairly often.

In the reverse fixture back in September, Maguire amassed 7 clearances, 2 interceptions and 1 tackle on his way to 26 FanDuel points -- getting an added boost from an assist. He actually has four assists and two goals this season, so he's not a dud in offensive stats. But the real draw this week is Maguire's high floor from defensive volume, which makes him one of the safer high-priced defenders.

Goalie

David de Gea, Manchester United

FanDuel Price: $5,500

De Gea is undoubtedly one of the planet's best keepers -- I mean, look at this:

But his real-world greatness doesn't often translate to DFS, because he usually doesn't see enough save volume to offer much upside. That's different this week, though, as Manchester United host Southampton.

The Saints, despite their lack of end product this year, rank eighth in shots per game (12.6) and seventh in possession (52.5%). They generate a decent amount of shots, but they struggle to be clinical, scoring a meager 20 goals through 20 matches. That makes them an ideal team to target with keepers.

Southampton have a lowly 0.5-goal implied total, lowest of the slate, so de Gea's clean-sheet odds are superb, and he should also be called into action for a few saves, giving him the kind of ceiling he doesn't usually possess.




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.