SOCCER

Premier League: 4 FanDuel Value Plays for Matchweek 35

Ilkay Gundogan has been starting lately, and he's been in great form. Which other low-cost players should you look into?

The Premier League is in between matchweeks, with Burnley playing two matches in four days. The unique scheduling means a small slate this weekend. The FanDuel main slate will focus on the three Sunday games as opposed to the usual Saturday contests

Matchweek 35
Sunday, April 22nd
Burnley at Stoke
West Ham at Arsenal
Swansea at Manchester City


Sergio Aguero is one of the most expensive players on the slate at $10,500, but he will miss the remainder of the Premier League season after knee surgery. Only nine other players are priced at or above $9,000. There are only 14 defenders priced at or above $6,000. Of those, Ben Mee is likely out with an injury. The six expected starting keepers are only separated by $500.

With the lay of the land set, let's see where the value lies.

Forward to Target

Andy Carroll ($6,500) -- This is a little bit of a gamble as Carroll may not start for West Ham in their pivotal match with Arsenal. Marko Arnautovic has been the lead striker while Carroll was recovering from injury, but Carroll's finish to steal a point on Monday was a thing of beauty. On a short slate, a gamble can pay off big time.


Monday's match was the first time Carroll had played since January, and now people are talking about a possible World Cup call up.

Carroll had only one shot on goal Monday, but he finished with 23 points. His 50.25 points a week before his injury came on just two shots on goal. Clearly, Carroll does not need much in the way of volume to pay off his cost.

There is a chance that Carroll will start up top with Arnautovic moved to a new position, but David Moyes has brought the most out in Arnautovic. Regardless, West Ham will face an Arsenal team that is coming off a loss in league play and a draw in the Europa League. Arsenal have given up six goals in their last three games, so Carroll has a good chance to score no matter how long he plays, although we'd obviously prefer that he starts.

Midfielder to Target

Ilkay Gundogan ($7,500) -- Gundogan was restored to the starting lineup two weeks ago due in part to the suspension of Fernandinho. The Brazilian will serve his last match of the ban this weekend, allowing Gundogan to shine once again.

Gundogan has scored goals in his last two Premier League matches despite playing in a spot that has been more defensive minded for City most of the year. Gundogan has scored almost 60 FanDuel points over the last two games. He has been great finding teammates and has also been credited for five defensive actions in the past two matches.

Gundogan's pass success rate is at 91.3% for the season. He has six goals and three assists despite limited playing time. He'll likely be popular if he starts, because he's a great way to get exposure to City.

Defender to Target

Matthew Lowton ($5,500) -- Burnley's defensive record is great, having allowed only 29 goals this season. While not flashy, they are the most in-form team in the Premier League.


Lowton has been an important piece for Burnley this season. His main role is defense, but he has had some great passing plays while recording three assists this season. Lowton is the best dribbler on the back line based on season-long statistics, and he also averages 8.4 defensive actions per match.

Lowton should start along the back line again as Burnley's winning ways calls for the status quo. They will take on a Stoke team that has lost four of their last five and look destined for relegation.

Keeper to Target

Jack Butland ($5,000) -- Even though Stoke is not playing well, Burnley is not a high-scoring team. The Clarets have scored just 33 goals this season and average a mere 45% of possession.

Butland averages a touch more than 14 FanDuel points per match and has three matches with more than 17 points over his last four games. He has 21 saves in those four matches, doing his best to give Stoke a chance. He also has at least one clearance in each of those matches, and he is coming off a season-high four clearances against West Ham.

Butland's recent track record shows that he can produce fairly well even when Stoke concedes, so he carries value in a game that is expected to be low scoring.



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.