SOCCER

FanDuel Premier League Matches to Target in Matchweek 20

Liverpool's offensive prowess and less-than-stellar defensive performance makes their match against Swansea one to target on Boxing Day.

Tuesday is Boxing Day in England, and that means a full day of soccer. Eight matches will be played in the Premier League, with FanDuel featuring seven on the main slate.

Matchweek 20
Tuesday, December 26th
Burnley at Manchester United
Leicester City at Watford
Everton at West Brom
West Ham at Bournemouth
Stoke City at Huddersfield
Brighton at Chelsea
Swansea City at Liverpool


Liverpool and Manchester United are the biggest favorites and have the highest implied totals on the day. Chelsea are not far behind in a favorable matchup despite a rather average run of form by the defending champions.

Let’s get to it.

Liverpool vs. Swansea City

Despite this looking like a lopsided match on paper, the contest at Anfield comes with intrigue. Liverpool have lost two of their last three league contests to Swansea. In both of the victories, Swansea scored three goals, the same amount of goals Arsenal scored against Liverpool on Friday in a 10-minute span.

Swansea have not been very prolific, but they have scored in four of the last five games. Their possession stats are inching toward 50%, and the pass accuracy is almost 80%. However, this will be the second game with caretaker-manager Leon Britton, so changes could be coming.

Swansea have not dictated too many games offensively, but they began the season playing stout defensively. They are averaging more than 16 tackles and nearly 10 interceptions per match. Swansea have yet to earn a red card despite playing on the back foot.

Kyle Naughton is the defender to take as he will get forward when the chance is provided. However, he is now averaging 16.7 FanDuel points per match mainly from his defensive output. He has 12 tackles and 7 interceptions over the last three matches.

Remember that Liverpool does not have a great defensive record for a top team. Their 23 goals allowed is the worst mark in the top six, tied with Arsenal. Swansea will hope to exploit Liverpool's lapses in defense.

When they have the ball, Liverpool should not have trouble breaking down their opposition. Swansea have allowed three more goals than Liverpool -- with eight goals against in the last three games. Meanwhile, Liverpool have scored seven goals in the last two matches.

Roberto Firmino has scored three goals in three Premier League appearances against Swansea. However, he is not the most in-form attacker in the Liverpool side.

Mohamed Salah has scored nine goals in the last 10 matches across all competitions and remains a great play every week.

The likely game script is that Liverpool gets out early, and then they get comfortable, allowing Swansea a chance to get a consolation goal. While Liverpool will likely win, they have yet to establish themselves as a defensive juggernaut.

Huddersfield vs. Stoke

This match will likely be off the radar. Huddersfield continue to stay in the middle of the table while Stoke struggle to stay out of the relegation zone, but each match grows in importance for both of these teams in their quest to stay in the Premier League.

Stoke earned a victory on Saturday after a three-game losing streak. They won despite having less possession, relying on winning the ball and taking long shots.

The front four, with the exception of Xherdan Shaqiri, were very effective. Peter Crouch recorded an assist, and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting continued to be the most consistent Stoke player. A late goal by substitute Ramadan Sobhi may give him an inside track to start on Tuesday given the busy schedule.

The win should give Stoke the motivation they need to perform well against a newly-promoted side.

Of course that newly promoted side is halfway into their initial Premier League voyage. Huddersfield should be confident, having scored in each of the last four matches, including a four-goal outburst against Watford in a game marred by red cards. Huddersfield also know that Stoke are the first team to allow 40 goals this season.


Laurent Depoitre is the man in form for Huddersfield. He has a goal in each of the last three matches. He got a consolation goal against Chelsea three games ago, which opened the door for him to start, and Depoitre has capitalized.

Huddersfield have a real belief that they can stay up now. Stoke have a little breathing room from the relegation zone. The teams are only separated by three points, so there is a lot at stake.

Perhaps the best reason to target this match is the busy schedule possibly causing some squad rotation. The most expensive player in this match is $9,000, so if any of those further down the depth chart end up in the starting XI, there will be plenty of value.




Douglas Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Douglas Smith also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username aquemini03. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.