SOCCER

4 FanDuel Premier League Players to Avoid in Matchweek 18

Manchester City are a big favorite, but David Silva hasn't produced well this season in road matches. What other players should we lessen our exposure to this week?

Matchweek 18 sees all the clubs gearing up for a busy holiday season as the Premier League fits three matchweeks into a 10-day span. DFS players, as always, should look at injury reports and confirmed starting XI's when they become available as clubs will likely juggle lineups due to the busy week.

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 also just as important not to overspend on players in bad matchups. We 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

FanDuel made their Premier League DFS games available to U.S. players starting in Matchweek 10, and this article will be geared toward the main slate for the U.S.-based FanDuel site. The main slate for Matchweek 18, Boxing Day, features seven Monday matches, which includes four of the top six clubs.

Let's take a look at four players, across the entire pitch, who should be avoided in the upcoming matches.

Forward

Salomon Rondón, West Brom

FanDuel Price: $7,600

Rondón is the 19th-highest priced forward for Matchweek 18, although three forwards priced above him are ineligible to play, and he has averaged 17.22 FanDuel points this season. Rondón and West Brom travel to Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal, and the Gunners enter Monday’s match as a heavy favorite.

In Matchweek 16 against Swansea City, Rondón had the tournament-winning-performance that DFS players dream about, scoring three headers and taking four shots on target. However, that was the first time Rondón had scored since Matchweek 12 against Burnley. Rondón started the season in decent form, scoring three goals in his first six games. Since then (not including his spectacular performance against the Swans), Rondón has produced one goal and one assist while taking 10 shots on target.

Rondón in Starting XI Home Away
Goals 5 2
Assists 2 0
Shots on Target 9 6
Average FanDuel Points 20.6 15.3


Breaking down the numbers a bit further shows that Rondón has struggled against squads in the top half of the table, averaging 7.13 FanDuel points in six matches against top-10 sides and never reaching 14 FanDuel points.

The Baggies have struggled this season to maintain possession, averaging the second-worst possession percentage in the Premier League in away matches (42.6%). The Gunners are the sixth-best squad at maintaining possession on their home pitch, averaging 54.1 % of the possession, while allowing a meager 11.4 shots per match.

The Gunners should easily control Monday’s match, both with possession and score, and while Rondón has proven he is capable of awe-inspiring performances, DFS players who are looking for bargain forwards should look elsewhere.

Midfielder

David Silva, Manchester City

FanDuel Price: $9,200

Silva is the eighth-highest priced midfielder for Matchweek 18 and has averaged 19.08 FanDuel points per match this season. Silva and Manchester City travel to KCOM Stadium to face Hull City, and the Sky Blues enter Monday's match as a large favorite.

The Sky Blues maintain a league-best 60.1% of the possession away from their home pitch while averaging 16.4 shots per match. The Tigers' have possessed the ball 46.3 % of the match at KCOM Stadium and have conceded 21 goals at home.

Overall, Silva has scored once this season while assisting on three other goals, but he's been a lot better at the Etihad.

Silva's Starting XI Splits Home Away
Goals 1 0
Assists 3 0
Shots on Target 6 1
Chances Created 22 13
Average FanDuel Points 23.44 16.29


Silva has only reached his FanDuel average twice in his six matches away from his home fans. All of Silva's attacking statistics -- goals, assists, shots on target and chances created -- drop when the midfielder travels, and Silva has averaged just over two chances created in those away matches.

Silva, for an attacking midfielder, has not contributed on many goals this season for the Sky Blues. Through 17 matchweeks, Silva has only contributed on 11% of City's goals, all coming at Etihad Stadium.

The Tigers have proven their willingness to sit back defensively and absorb pressure. The Sky Blues should take advantage of the possession and will likely control Monday's match. Silva's FanDuel points come mostly from the attack as he averaged only one defensive action per match, which contributes to a lower floor. Silva's price tag along with his proven struggles away from home makes the midfielder a player to avoid, especially with some other attractive players in Silva's price range.

Defender

Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal

FanDuel Price: $5,800

Koscielny is tied for the fourth-highest priced defender for Matchweek 18, along with five other defenders, and he has averaged 18.91 FanDuel points. The Gunners enter Monday’s match as a large favorite. Koscielny has only achieved his average score once since Matchweek 7, and that performance -- 25 FanDuel points -- came Matchweek 13 against Bournemouth.

Koscielny and Arsenal host West Brom at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners maintain 54.1% of the possession at home while allowing 11.4 shots per match. The Baggies have been atrocious this season possessing the ball, averaging 42.6% of possession away from the Hawthorns while only scoring eight goals. Koscielny started the season in great form -- in Matchweek 2 (Koscielny’s first start) through Matchweek 7, the defender averaged 21.88 FanDuel points while scoring twice. In the last 10 matches, however, Koscielny has averaged 17.13 FanDuel points, taking zero shots on target in that span.

Koscielny’s clearances and blocked shots have dropped nearly 50% when the defender plays at Emirates Stadium. He has not recorded over eight clearances in any home match while recording nine or more clearances four times away from Emirates Stadium. Four of Koscielny’s five lowest FanDuel performances have come against squads that struggle to maintain possession, and the Baggies are the Premier League’s second-worst squad in that category.

Koscielny has proven he has a decent floor, but as the second-highest priced defender for Matchweek 18, he should be avoided in favor of defenders who expect to see a large amount of defensive opportunities.

Keeper

Tom Heaton, Burnley

FanDuel Price: $7,300

Heaton is the top-priced keeper for Matchweek 18, and he has averaged 17.4 FanDuel points this year, which is tops among keepers. Heaton and Burnley host Middlesbrough at Turf Moor. The Boro enter Monday’s match as a slight favorite, and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals.

The Clarets are the Premier League’s worst-squad at maintaining possession on their home pitch, averaging 39.4 % of the possession while allowing 17.8 shots per match. The Boro have had problems maintaining possession this season, as well, averaging 47.8 % of the possession away from Riverside Stadium while producing the Premier League's second-lowest shots per match (7.4) in their travels.

Clean sheets and saves are extremely important for keeper scoring on FanDuel, and Heaton has kept two clean sheets this season at Turf Moor while averaging 3.75 saves per match. Since his last clean sheet in Matchweek 10 against Manchester United, Heaton has conceded two or more goals in four of his five matches while recording more than three saves just twice.

The Boro have been shut out three times this season away from Riverside Stadium, but all three matches have come against squads in the top half of the table. The Boro have proven their ability, even with a limited number of shots, to find the back of the net at least once against squads in the bottom half of the table.

Heaton and Burnley faced the Boro three times last season in the English League Championship, and they allowed one goal each match while totaling 10 saves across the three fixtures. Despite his high average this season, Heaton has scored under 10 FanDuel points six times. Both squads have struggled to maintain possession this season, and this match will likely see a fairly even contest. As the top-priced keeper for Matchweek 18, Heaton should be avoided against a Boro squad that struggles to take a high number of shots but still has the ability to find the back of the net.