SOCCER

4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 29

Tottenham and Liverpool are in superb spots, and both teams offer a slew of appealing players. How should we attack this slate's high-priced options?

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 six matches.

Matchweek 29
Saturday, March 3rd
Huddersfield at Tottenham
West Brom at Watford
Stoke City at Southampton
West Ham at Swansea
Bournemouth at Leicester
Newcastle United at Liverpool


Liverpool and Tottenham are the two big dogs on this slate, and both are 2.0-goal home favorites. Liverpool's implied total of 2.75 goals is just a bit in front of Tottenham's 2.5 mark, but both teams figure to see gobs of ownership. Liverpool and Spurs have plenty of attractive options, so this is a fun slate.

Elsewhere, Leicester, Southampton and Watford are 0.5-goal favorites. There's only one match on this slate with an over/under of less than 2.5 goals -- Swansea and West Ham at 2.0 goals -- so this could be a goal-filled Saturday.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Harry Kane, Tottenham

FanDuel Price: $14,000

He'll cost a pretty penny and will see hefty ownership, but Kane's in a blow-up spot at home against Huddersfield. The Terriers have given up 48 goals in 28 EPL matches, and they've allowed exactly 2.0 goals per away match this campaign (28 goals in 14 games). Tottenham, on the other hand, have bagged 29 goals in 14 home fixtures, including 15 tallies in their last 6 home league games.

Kane has scored 24 goals in 26 EPL starts, and he's put in 11 goals in 14 league matches at Wembley. He is very goal-reliant, recording a mere one assist this season in EPL play, but he more than makes up for that by pouring in goals. He's totaled at least 20 FanDuel points in seven straight matches, and he's gone for at least 60 FanDuel points three times across his past 10.

As a plus, Kane was rested during Tottenham's midweek F.A. Cup match, so he should be fresh for this one.

Deciding how you want to attack Liverpool and Spurs players will decide what you do on the rest of the slate. The stars on both teams are expensive, so it'll be imperative to find value plays elsewhere. Since Kane is going to be extremely popular, it makes sense from a game-theory perspective to consider pivoting off him and moving to Roberto Firmino ($12,500), who is also in great form and in a delicious spot. But if you don't roster Kane, you'll need to get exposure to Tottenham elsewhere.

Midfielder

Mo Salah, Liverpool

FanDuel Price: $13,500

Salah has been a revelation in his first season on Merseyside, and he's a big reason why Liverpool have been so excellent going forward. The Reds have scored 65 goals in 28 EPL games, and they've been lights out at Anfield, netting 31 goals in 14 home matches, including 17 in their last 6 home games.

Liverpool should control things versus Newcastle, a side that sees just 42.7% possession away from home, the second-worst mark in the league. The Reds, meanwhile, average 57.7% possession at home and fire off a whopping 19.4 shots per match in that split.

While Firmino and Sadio Mane ($10,000) have been superb in their own right, Salah has led the charge, slotting home 23 goals with 8 assists in 27 total league appearances (25 starts). His recent game log is a joke, and his all-around contributions keep his floor pretty high relative to other goal scorers.

Opponent Goals Assists Shots on Goal FanDuel Points
Bournemouth 1 0 2 29.00
Arsenal 1 0 3 35.25
Swansea 0 2 2 33.75
Leicester 2 0 2 40.75
Man City 1 1 3 46.25
Swansea 1 0 1 16.00
Huddersfield 2 0 1 22.00
Tottenham 1 0 2 46.25
Southampton 1 1 1 40.50
West Ham 1 1 3 44.50


Salah has at least a goal or assist in 10 straight matches, and he's got in on the creation of two goals (notching either a goal or assist) in 6 of those 10 games. The dude's been unreal.

It's possible to roster both Salah and Kane, but you'll really have to go extreme couponing everywhere else. The more popular route will likely be choosing one of Kane or Salah and building from there, going with Reds second-tier players if you roster Kane and vice versa if you lock in Salah. If you pass on Salah, there are plenty of other enticing midfield options this week, including Salah's Liverpool teammates, Mane and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ($8,000).

Defender

Ben Davies, Tottenham

FanDuel Price: $7,000

The defenders for Huddersfield and Newcastle offer nice floors as each team should be pinned back in their own half for good portions of their match on Saturday, so that's a good path to take in cash games. Davies is a different kind of play as he offers upside those defenders don't, and he is a cheap way to get access to Tottenham's 2.5-goal implied total.

Davies has thrived this season as one of Spurs' wing-backs. He basically operates as a midfielder, especially when Tottenham are on the front foot, which should be the case fairly often against Huddersfield.

Davies has displayed a solid floor, scoring at least 14 FanDuel points in eight straight outings. He's got two assists in that span, so the upside is there, as well.

Keeper

Lukasz Fabianski, Swansea City

FanDuel Price: $5,000

With two lopsided favorites, it's a wonky slate for keepers. Hugo Lloris ($5,000) and Loris Karius ($5,000) are the best bets for a clean sheet, but both have low floors because they're unlikely to rack up many saves. Martin Dubravka ($5,500) and Jonas Lössl ($5,000) are the complete opposite as their clean-sheet odds are minimal but they should get peppered with shots.

Fabianski is in the middle ground as he should see a good amount of work versus West Ham and he possesses decent clean-sheet odds. That makes him a nice target in cash games, and his tourney appeal isn't too bad, either, as his poor outing last time out -- four goals allowed with just one save (5 FanDuel points) -- could put a cap on his ownership.

Prior to his last two matches, Fabianski had made at least three saves in 11 straight outings, including five games of at least four saves in that span.



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.