4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 27

As is the case when playing any sport on FanDuel, it’s imperative to hit on high-priced studs, the players in which you’ve made the biggest investment. This is especially true with strikers in soccer as goals are often the difference between winning and losing in DFS.

Let’s take a look at some high-priced players -- all across the pitch -- who, despite costing a good chunk of change, are worth the investment.

This article is geared toward FanDuel's main slate, which begins at 10 a.m. EST Saturday and features five matches.

Another matchweek, another slate dominated by Manchester City. The three most expensive players -- the only three priced above $9,500 -- are all City attackers as Pep Guardiola's bunch is a comfortable 2.0-goal home favorite with an implied total of 2.75 goals. That implied total is greater than the over/under for each of the four other matches, three of which feature a 2.0-goal over/under. So, yeah, City will be popular again.

Stoke City and Everton are each half-goal favorites, while the two other matches are listed as pick 'ems.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Sergio Aguero, Manchester City

FanDuel Price: $13,000

You'll likely be swallowing a lot of chalk with Aguero, but he's difficult to fade in this spot even at a price that's $3,500 richer than any other forward's salary. It may not be a bad idea to fade him in large-field tourneys -- although that could backfire spectacularly -- but he's someone you need to roster in any small-field contests or cash games.

Aguero has been leading the line for City since Gabriel Jesus went down with a knee injury, scoring at least 17 FanDuel points in five straight matches. He can be fairly goal reliant, but he's netted five goals in that five-game run, adding one assist. His upside is always through the roof, and he's tapped into it lately with a 76.25-FanDuel-point day against Newcastle back on January 20th. The fact that he takes penalties only adds to his value, and the Citizens should see a ton of the ball against Leicester in a match in which they're a whopping 2.0-goal favorite.

In large-field tournaments, Wayne Rooney ($9,000), Jordan Ayew ($9,000) and Javier Hernandez ($9,000) make for solid contrarian options.

Midfield

Xherdan Shaqiri, Stoke City

FanDuel Price: $9,000

Shaqiri has been in good form, totaling at least 21.5 FanDuel points in four straight matches. He's done it with just one goal and one assist in that spell, displaying a pretty safe floor.

Stoke are a half-goal favorite at home against Brighton, which actually ties them with Everton as the second-largest favorite on the main slate. Brighton have allowed 10 goals in their past six outings, the fourth-most in the EPL, and with Stoke sitting in the drop zone, this should be a match in which the Potters are desperate to grab all three points.

If you opt to fade Aguero, then you'll likely want to get exposure to Manchester City in midfield -- unless you're fading them altogether, which takes some real courage on this slate. Kevin De Bruyne ($12,000) and Raheem Sterling ($10,000) are the obvious choices, while Ilkay Gundogan ($7,500) and/or Bernardo Silva ($7,500) could be tossed into a starting role with City's extensive injury list.

Defender

Harry Maguire, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: $7,000

Maguire offers a floor that no other top-priced defender can match as he should be extremely busy against Manchester City. Leicester average 46.4% possession on the road, while Manchester City see 66.0% possession at home. The Foxes should spend a lot of time pinned deep.

In a similar match, Maguire tallied 19.25 FanDuel points at Liverpool back on December 30th, and he scored 30.75 fantasy points -- aided by a rare goal -- versus Manchester United earlier in December.

Maguire has been credited with a mere nine chances created through 26 matches, so we can't expect much upside against a City team that's allowing a league-low 6.6 shots per match. But if you're spending up at defender, Maguire's floor provides you with a lot of safety.

Goalie

Jack Butland, Stoke City

FanDuel Price: $5,000

Butland has been a DFS monster lately, offering an ideal blend of upside and floor.

Because Stoke's defense has been so poor, Butland has been busy, averaging 4.9 saves per match through his last nine games. That's where the high floor comes from as he's scored at least 14 FanDuel points in eight of his last nine. But Butland is also pretty darn good, recording two clean sheets in that span, giving him appealing upside, as well.

Brighton have struggled mightily away from home, scoring just once in their past six away matches. They own a 0.75-goal implied total, so Butland's clean-sheet odds are pretty nice, and Stoke's weak defense should help him post a serviceable fantasy day even if he concedes a goal.

Austan Kas is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austan Kas also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username akas247. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.