SOCCER

FanDuel Premier League Matches to Target in Matchweek 27

Douglas Smith  —  @DFresh39 Mar 3rd, 2017
A revitalized Leicester City in a relegation battle could help make the difference in your FanDuel lineup this week.

Although there is a three-game slate of the week option on FanDuel, we will focus on the main slate that features six Premier League games from Saturday. As has been the case of late, these matches will have more impact on the bottom of the table rather than impacting the title and European spot race.

The oddsmakers are not expecting a lot of goals from the six games on the slate. No game has an over/under of more than 2.5 goals with three of the fixtures at just 2 goals. The early game between Manchester United and Bournemouth does have a three-goal over/under, but it is only included on the smaller slate of the week.

This week's matches to target include last year's title winner and one of the more high-scoring matchups in recent history.

Leicester City vs. Hull City

Leicester may have a new lease on life after firing Claudio Ranieri and beating Liverpool 3-1 on Monday. They are now two points clear of the relegation zone and three points ahead of Hull, who they host on Saturday. Craig Shakespeare will look to become only the second Leicester manager to win his first two games in the Premier League, after Ranieri.

Hull beat Leicester 2-1 in the opening match of the season with the winning goal coming from Robert Snodgrass, who has since transferred to West Ham. A lot of time has elapsed since that match, and lineups are sure to look a bit different this weekend. Back in the fall, neither of these teams would know just how important this match would be for their respective Premier League lives.

Leicester's win over Liverpool was their first victory in 11 matches across all competitions. Jamie Vardy scored a brace in that match and signaled a possible return to last year's form. He has now created six chances over the last four matches, which is second among forwards in that time span. Vardy has averaged only 12 FanDuel points per match, but his recent form and the $7,500 price tag, which is $400 less than the most expensive player in this game, makes him an interesting play for this weekend's slate.


It has been 12 matches since Leicester last held a clean sheet, which could be beneficial to a Hull side that has still struggled to score. Leicester is rated 19 out of 20 teams defensively, according to WhoScored.com, which is only two spots below Hull. The opposing defenses in this match could be exactly what the teams need to break out.

Leicester's recent win and changing of the guard has moved the bulk of the pressure to Hull. Every game without a result is another step back toward the second tier. Luckily for manager Marco Silva, Hull will have Lazar Markovic, Harry Maguire, and Sam Clucas available for selection.

Silva has warned his team of Leicester's resurgence. There is a good chance that his improved Hull side will absorb pressure early on, but if Leicester gets an early one, all bets are off. Year-long stats say that neither team has held much possession or been an offensive threat, but this game is what many will call a six-pointer.

That makes it unpredictable and exciting. The teams are fighting for their Premier League status, so there is no reason to sit back and play safe.

Liverpool vs. Arsenal

The pricing of the players in the game of the day is not as friendly, but these teams have averaged 5.3 goals per match in the last three Premier League games. There has also been 16 goals scored after the 90th minute in this fixture, the most of any competition.

Arsenal have scored 18 goals in their last eight games in all competitions. They also have three clean sheets in that time frame, but it is not often that the defense gets the headline. Bayern Munich's 5-1 Champions League victory exposed Arsenal's back line, especially after Laurent Koscielny went off in the second half. Koscielny has returned to training, but his inclusion for this weekend's match is still unclear.

Of course, Liverpool is not Bayern Munich. They only have one domestic league victory in their last six tries. However, Liverpool have a good record against top-six foes this season and get to host Arsenal after winning the reverse fixture 4-3 back in August. Liverpool also have good news on the injury front as Dejan Lovren has returned to practice.


There are 11 players in this game who cost more than $8,000, but the inability to play defense in this match makes all but one of them appealing. Jordan Henderson is set for a spell on the sidelines with a foot injury, but all others are attackers who have played pivotal roles in their teams' respective front six this season. Make sure to double check the starting lineups to see which players will get the bulk of playing time in this battle of top-six teams.