4 FanDuel Premier League Players to Avoid in Matchweek 7

Matchweek 7 sees the clubs that qualified for European tournaments (Champions and Europa) playing their second match of the week, as both tournaments wrapped up Matchday 2.

DFS players, when picking their lineup, should look 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.

As with any sport, it is imperative to have your players, especially the high-priced studs, live up to their price tag. When making an investment into any player, it is important to determine which players will likely contribute in FanDuel's emphasized areas (goals, assists, and shots on target).

It's just as important not to overspend on players in bad matchups. All four of our players to avoid from Matchweek 6 under-performed based on their salary. Matchweek 7 features one Friday match, with the remainder of the matches wrapping up Saturday and Sunday. Let's take a look at four players who should be avoided in the upcoming matches.

Forward

Jermain Defoe, Sunderland

FanDuel Price: £8.5 million

Defoe has been the definition of inconsistency this season. The struggles of Sunderland this season, last place through Matchweek 6, have played a huge role in the striker's inconsistencies. Defoe has scored more than 20 FanDuel points in three matches, which is great production for a forward at Defoe's price.

However, Defoe has not reached eight FanDuel Points in the three other matches he has started, a concerning stat for DFS players looking to win a GPP. Defoe, going along with his inconsistencies, has yet to have back-to-back solid matches, scoring 49.25 FanDuel points in his previous match against Crystal Palace.

Defoe, although not performing great away from the Stadium of Light, has performed better away from the Lads' home fans. The table below shows a fairly even split for Defoe, but all of his home production came in his last match against Palace, where he scored two goals and took three shots on target. Defoe has shown, through three matches at home, that he has been more consistent playing away from the Stadium of Light.

Defoe's next match is Saturday against West Brom. Both squads struggle with possession as Sunderland possess the ball 44.3% of the match at home, while West Brom possesses the ball 43.5% of the match away from the Hawthorns. Sunderland is the slight favorite in the match, which -- based on the possession numbers -- should be an up-and-down match.

The match sets up for scoring, as Sunderland has allowed eight goals at home this season, while West Brom has allowed only two goals while traveling away from the Hawthorns. Defoe could struggle for opportunities against a Baggies back line that has performed well on the road, despite their struggles.

Midfielder

Dele Alli, Tottenham

FanDuel Price: £9.9 million

Alli has been a great asset to DFS players over the last three matchweeks, averaging 27.6 FanDuel points.

DFS players should be ecstatic with Alli's output, especially at his price. However, over their last three matches Spurs have faced three of the bottom five squads, Stoke, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough. This week, Tottenham reverses their good fortune and faces league leaders Manchester City.

The majority of Alli's production has come from chances created and goals scored. Alli now faces a City squad that has possessed the ball 56.4% of the match on the road, which should limit Alli's ability to produce in his top areas. Tottenham has also possessed the ball well, 56.3% of the match at White Hart Lane. This is one of the premier matchups of the weekend and should be a fairly even match, as the Citizens are slight favorites. City's back line has also played well away from White Hart Lane, limiting their opponents to three goals.

Alli, in a high-powered attack, will undoubtedly have excellent matches, as he proved over the last three matchweeks. However, DFS players should pass on Alli in a high profile match and wait until the midfielder has a more favorable matchup.

Defender

Christian Fuchs, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: £10.1 million

Fuchs is tied with Hull's Curtis Davies as the top priced defender for Matchweek 7. Fuchs is a great defender with a high floor, averaging 16.54 FanDuel points through six matches. Digging into those numbers, Fuchs has only produced a performance more than 20 points once, Matchweek 5 against Burnley. Davies, on the other hand, has produced a performance more than 20 points four times and is averaging 27.92 FanDuel points.

More alarming for Fuchs are his splits in matches against top-10 squads. Fuchs has faced Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal, all top-10 squads, and has seen his production greatly diminish in comparison to his other three matches against bottom-10 squads.

Fuchs' production has been greatly inflated due to his involvement in the Foxes' attack, which has led to one assist and six chances created against the bottom squads. The Foxes face Southampton on Sunday.

The Saints are currently tied for ninth place and average 50.8% of the possession away from St. Mary's stadium. Fuchs will absolutely score points this week, but in comparison to Davies, he is not worth is price, especially when there are other defenders priced lower --- Nicolás Otamendi --- who should have a higher ceiling.

Keeper

Artur Boruc, Bournemouth

FanDuel Price: £7.4 million

Boruc has two matches this season where he has four or more saves, against Manchester United and Manchester City. Boruc has also conceded seven combined goals against the Manchester squads, slightly bringing down his FanDuel points earned from the saves. Over the last three matches, Boruc has averaged 19 FanDuel points, while keeping two clean sheets. Both of Boruc's clean sheets have come at Dean Court where Bournemouth have performed well --- two wins and one loss --- while away from Dean Court, the Cherries have struggled, drawing one and losing two.

The Cherries face Watford Saturday at Vicarage Road. The Hornets have possessed the ball 42.5% of the match at home, while Bournemouth possess the ball 44.5% of the match away from Dean Court. Watford are the slight favorite in a match that should have plenty of open play. The Hornets have scored five goals at Vicarage Road this season, while averaging 10 total shots, tied for 16th in the Premier League.

Boruc will likely face a limited number of shots on net, and if past performances are telling, he should concede at least one. That is never a good combination for a keeper, as DFS players should target keepers who are set up to make a large number of saves.