SOCCER

3 FanDuel Premier League Under-the-Radar Plays for Matchweek 8

With Manchester City and Tottenham in excellent spots this weekend, Chelsea Star Marcos Alonso could go see low ownership despite being in a good spot himself.

If you have played daily fantasy sports for a while, you know the importance of being contrarian in large-field tournaments. Recognizing which players are going to be owned by the masses and finding others who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership can really separate yourself from your opponents.

The same goes for DFS Premier League. Even though the large-field tournaments aren't quite as large as they are for other sports, there is still value in identifying quality under-the-radar plays.

This article will discuss FanDuel's main Saturday slate, which starts at 10:00 a.m. EST and features six matches.

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


With four elite sides in action, this slate is wide open. There is no shortage of high-priced options, and roster construction starts by deciding which elite side to focus on. Manchester City offer the best combination of upside and price, as Gabriel Jesus comes at a $1,500 discount to Harry Kane. With Aguero out, should see an increased amount of opportunities in a dream matchup. In the midfield, David Silva is $500 less than Christian Eriksen, and Kevin De Bruyne is only $500 more. Dele Alli and Leory Sane are both $9,000, so there is no price edge to be gained there.

For an even larger price discount, Chelsea can be considered. Their implied goal total of 1.99 goals is lower than Tottenham (2.46), and Manchester City (2.60), but their matchup with Crystal Palace can’t be overlooked. Crystal Palace are coming off back-to-back losses to Manchester City (5-0) and Manchester United (4-0). In both of those matchweeks, stacking the team going against Crystal Palace was key to winning a large-field tournament. Ownership should be lower on Chelsea due to the nature of the slate, so they could come in underowned despite having what has been the best matchup in the Premier League this year.

With that in mind, here are three under-the-radar players to consider for Matchweek 8.

Michy Batshuayi, Chelsea

FanDuel Salary: $10,000

With Alvaro Morata looking doubtful with a hamstring injury, Chelsea could hand Batshuayi his second start of the season, which would be his first since August 12th. While his past results have been miserable on FanDuel, he hasn’t been given the minutes to truly show his skills. Outside of the Premier League, he has two appearances and one start in the Champions League, where he has converted two goals on four shots. Those matches weren’t against elite European opponents, but the sides he faced are certainly better than Crystal Palace on their current form.

In Batshuayi, there is the unique opportunity to roster the staring forward on a heavy favorite playing against Crystal Palace at low ownership. The forward going against Crystal Palace is always going to be in consideration, and on a different slate with less elite sides, Batshuayi would be considered a popular play. However, with numerous elite sides in action and his increased price of $10,000, the public should be hesitant to pay up for an unknown striker.

While Crystal Palace have been exceptionally bad this season, they have been slightly better at home, allowing only 6 goals over three matches, compared to 11 goals over four matches on the road. They have yet to play an elite side at home, though, and Chelsea have had no issues away from Stamford Bridge this year. Chelsea have three wins in three road matches with eight goals scored, including a 2-1 victory over Tottenham and 4-0 drubbing of Stoke City.

Chelsea should dominate this match and Batshuayi may finally get a chance to bring his Champions League form to the Premier League.

Aaron Mooy, Huddersfield

FanDuel Salary: $8,500

A side effect of the increased number of high-priced options available is the usual studs getting overlooked. Mooy has been on fire after making his move to Huddersfield Town from Manchester City permanent during the summer. His ownership is usually high, as he offers elite upside at a depressed price due to the team he’s on. But with so many other high profile stars around his price range, his ownership levels should drop. He is only $500 less than Leroy Sane, and Dele Alli, and he is the same price as Willian and Xherdan Shaqiri.

Mooy will feature in one of the two matches not featuring an elite side this weekend. While Huddersfield are road underdogs, that hasn’t stopped Mooy from producing in the past. He has road performances of 32.5 FanDuel points at Crystal Palace, 22.75 FanDuel points at West Ham United, and 24.25 FanDuel points at Burnley. He only scored once in those three matches, showing that his production isn’t goal dependent.

In three home matches, Swansea have three losses with a combined total of one goal scored and seven goals conceded. They have allowed the second-most home goals this season, behind only Watford. Huddersfield haven’t exactly been a goal machine on the road, but they are averaging one goal per match. Mooy is capable of putting up a respectable point total without a goal, but if he has a hand in one this weekend, that would put him over the top.

Marcos Alonso, Chelsea

FanDuel Salary: $7,500

Defenders on heavy favorites are always a risky proposition on FanDuel where the scoring system favors defense actions. This tends to draw low ownership, though, making any goals they do score incredibly valuable. Marcos Alonso could have goal scoring opportunities this weekend, as he should be free to get forward in a match that Chelsea are expected to dominate. His ownership will also be low due to his price. At $7,500, he is tied with Ben Davies as the most expensive defender on the slate. With so many high-priced attacking options in play, paying up at defender is an excellent way to create a unique lineup.

Alonso got off to a hot start, producing 29.5 FanDuel points against Burnley and then 54.25 FanDuel points against Tottenham. While he has cooled since then, he has still scored respectable FanDuel points totals of 19, 16.75, 4, 14, and 15. With the four-point match as an outlier, it is clear the Alonso has a decent floor in addition to the ceiling he displayed earlier in the season.

When Manchester United hosted Crystal Palace last week, Ashley Young produced an assist playing as a fullback. While Kyle Walker didn’t enjoy much success when Manchester City played Crystal Palace, Alonso plays a more attacking role than Walker and Young, as a wing back in Chelsea’s three at the back system. He should function as a midfielder for most of this match, and pairing him with Batshuyai creates a unique, low-owned, high-upside stack for this weekend.