SOCCER

Premier League: 4 FanDuel Value Plays for Matchweek 12

Douglas Smith  —  @DFresh39 Nov 18th, 2016
Value in FanDuel Premier League contests could be plentiful this week, but DFS players must pay close attention to how managers deal with many roster headaches.

Injuries, concern over minutes played, and upcoming Champions League matches are some of the issues that managers in the Premier League are dealing with ahead of matchweek 12. This could give many value players a shot as teams brace for the upcoming holiday season, which brings with it a very packed schedule.

The FanDuel slate is its biggest one-day slate yet, as seven games will be available. That increases the odds of finding value, but these four plays are solid bets.

Forward

Troy Deeney, Watford

FanDuel Price: $6,300

The Watford captain gets a team he loves to play against after the international break. Deeney has been involved in five goals in his last six matches against Leicester City. He is averaging under 10 FanDuel points over his last four games, but this seems a likely game for a breakthrough.


Deeney was the subject of transfer rumors this week, but he has history to make for Watford. A goal this weekend would give Deeney 100 tallies for Watford. Manager Walter Mazzarri is worried there may be a psychological block, so if you install Deeney on your squad then your faith is in the international break as a time to get over it. Mazzarri is known for his ability to revive strikers' careers, so Deeney is in good hands.

Deeney was not on the England squad but remains on the cusp of a call up. Sky Sports ranked him in their starting XI for uncapped players. His recent drought did not make the argument that he should be included in the real team, but he does have three goals and one assist on the season.

Romelu Lukaku, Sergio Agüero, Harry Kane, and Jermain Defoe are going to be the big targets for this slate. Getting a goal from Deeney on a potentially historic day will give you the low-owned advantage.

Midfield

Oriol Romeu, Southampton

FanDuel Price: $5,800

Scoring a goal is extremely valuable on FanDuel, as one is worth 15 points. However, the selection of Romeu comes from his diligence on the defensive side of the ball. Only three midfielders have registered more tackles than Romeu this season.

Romeu has been up to the task against good teams this season, which is good news for Southampton as they host Liverpool. He has scored more than 20 FanDuel points against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City. Romeu had the second-most touches and led the team in tackles against City. Overall, he is averaging four defensive actions per match.

As a bonus, the Spanish midfielder has been slightly more involved in the offense lately, registering seven shots in this last three matches across all competitions.

Defense

Michael Dawson, Hull City

FanDuel Price: $6,500

Hull is heading to Sunderland with just 16 healthy players, but Dawson has been solid since getting his chance. The 33-year old defender has started the last four games across all competitions and scored twice. He is averaging over 25 FanDuel points per game in his three Premier League starts. That is due in part to averaging 13 defensive actions per match. Dawson has recorded a combined total of 38 clearances, blocks and interceptions in the Premier League matches.


Dawson and his Hull teammates get a good match up against Sunderland. Hull has scored in each of their last four matches against Sunderland and kept two clean sheets. It is a big match in the relegation battle as well. Robert Snodgrass, who assisted on Dawson's last goal off a set piece, has issued a rallying cry for his injury-riddled team knowing that they can begin to claw out of the bottom of the table.

Dawson is also a bit of a contrarian play with Sunderland's Defoe gaining momentum this week.

Keeper

Loris Karius, Liverpool

FanDuel Price: $4,600

It is not a great week for value keepers as most of the top-choices are fit. Fraser Forster and Heurelho Gomes were both announced as good to go. Ron-Robert Zieler may be in line to start for Leicester City, but if only away records were taken into consideration Leicester would be in last place. He is also more expensive than Karius at $5,100. Karius is currently the cheapest of all keepers expected to start during Saturday's slate.

Karius is on a winning team. This is Liverpool's best start after 11 games since 2008-09. However, Karius only has two clean sheets in seven appearances. Momentum may be on his side as he was credited with 11 saves by FanDuel over the last two games. The 22.5-point performance against Watford before the international break was his best to date. The improvement may have come from a confidence boost provided by manager Jurgen Klopp, who finally named Karius the number-one keeper.

Karius is the first player to make the value play list twice this season.