SOCCER

FanDuel Premier League Matches to Target in Matchweek 8

Douglas Smith  —  @DFresh39 Oct 12th, 2017
The possible return of Wilfried Zaha to the Crystal Palace lineup coupled with Chelsea's injury woes make their clash a match to target.

Matchweek 8 in the Premier League begins with a headline match -- Liverpool versus Manchester United -- that will not be on the six-game FanDuel slate, but the main slate does feature intriguing matches and some of the top teams in the table.

Matchweek 8
Saturday, October 14
West Ham at Burnley
Chelsea at Crystal Palace
Stoke City at Manchester City
Huddersfield at Swansea City
Bournemouth at Tottenham
Arsenal at Watford


There are three games with at least a 3.0-goal over/under, but two of those figure to be lopsided matches, according to odds. Tottenham and Manchester City are huge favorites as they play at home. Players from both of those teams will be popular, and their opposition presents limited value.

Let's see which grounds have the best options this week.

Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea

Perhaps because the match is being played at Crystal Palace, Chelsea is not as big of favorite as Tottenham and Manchester City. The odds could also reflect injury concerns for Chelsea over N'Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata.

It could also be because Wilfried Zaha looks set to return this weekend. Zaha played a big role in Palace's win over Chelsea last spring as he scored once and assisted on the game-winning goal. There is still some mystery surrounding Zaha's return, but his name on the team sheet would be a big boost for Palace. Zaha is priced at $7,000, which will likely be his lowest price of the season, if he does make it into the starting lineup.


Zaha's return boosts the value of those on the left side of the Palace formation as well as Bakary Sako, who should line up as the sole striker. Yohan Cabaye has been slowly improving now that he has started the last four matches and should enjoy more space in the midfield with attention being dragged to Zaha.

History suggests that Chelsea will be able to beat Crystal Palace on their home turf as the last two matches at Selhurst Park between these teams were clean sheet victories for the Blues.

Chelsea are likely to score, but it is unclear what the lineup will look like without Morata. Not much faith has been shown in Michy Batshuayi, so it could be Pedro leading the line in this favorable matchup. It will be worth waiting for the team news and targeting the front three or four depending on the formation Antonio Conte employs.

The Blues' injuries and return of Zaha give Palace more of a fighting chance than it would've appeared a few weeks ago.

Watford vs. Arsenal

This is the final game of the day, and these teams are separated by one point, with both scoring 11 goals this season. Both teams have scored in the last two matches in this series. Watford secured a 3-1 win last January while Arsenal took the previous meeting, 2-1.

Current odds also favor both teams scoring in this fixture. Both teams are also good at coming back from behind, so they will not be discouraged by going down early.

Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil could return to Arsenal this weekend, but there are injury concerns on the back line. Petr Cech's four-match streak of clean sheets may come to an end. However, this does provide value options on the back line as Rob Holding and Per Mertesacker are both priced under $5,000 and are likely to start.

Alexis Sanchez has feasted on Watford in four matches. He has tallied three goals and assisted on three others in those Premier League matches.

This is Watford's best ever start through seven Premier League games. It could be argued that Richarlison has been the best Premier League acquisition of the summer as he has graded out as the best Watford player among those who have featured in more than one match. The Brazilian has averaged just over 25 FanDuel points per match, and his price has jumped to $9,000.

Andre Gray could return to his lone striker role this week with Richarlison, Tom Cleverly, and Andre Carrillo in a three-man midfield behind him. Roberto Pereyra could fill in for Carrillo if Carrillo is not fit after international duty. Pereyra's $4,000 price tag is tempting if he starts given the injury concerns on the Arsenal back line.

Arsenal have been much more dominant in possession than Watford, meaning that the Hornets' back line should have more opportunities for defensive action points. Three of Watford's expected defensive starters are priced at $5,500.

Players from these two matches can help your team and help you to afford the expensive players on Manchester City and Spurs.