4 FanDuel Premier League Players to Avoid in Matchweek 36
The main slate for Matchweek 36 features six Saturday matches with five of the top-10 clubs in action.
| Matchweek 36 |
|---|
| Brighton at Burnley |
| West Brom at Newcastle |
| Bournemouth at Southampton |
| Leicester at Crystal Palace |
| Everton at Huddersfield |
| Chelsea at Swansea |
As with any DFS sport, it is imperative to have your players, especially the high-priced studs, live up to their price tag. When investing in any player, it is important to determine who will likely contribute in FanDuel's emphasized areas (goals, assists, and shots on target). It's also just as crucial not to overspend on players in bad matchups.
We should try to take advantage of the teams -- and players -- who play especially well either home or away, while also looking at oddsmakers' favorites and over/under totals. DFS players, as always, should check out injury reports and confirmed starting XI's when they become available since some players may be rested.
Let's take a look at four players across the entire pitch who should be avoided.
Forward
Cenk Tosun, Everton
FanDuel Price: $9,500
Tosun is tied with Ashley Barnes as the sixth-highest priced player at his position, and he has averaged 14.84 FanDuel points this season. Tosun has failed to place a shot on target over his last four matches while averaging 7.68 FanDuel points in that span.
The Toffees travel to Kirklees Stadium to face Huddersfield, and the match is listed as a pick'em, with the Terriers holding the slight edge on the moneyline. Both squads are relatively even in the possession category as the Terriers maintain 47.2% of the possession and the Toffees see 46.6% of the possession.
Tosun has placed a shot on target in just four matches since joining Everton while totaling seven shots on target for the season. Huddersfield have allowed the 10th-most shots (2.52) per 90 minutes to forwards this season.
The Terriers are six points shy of the drop zone and should be safe with only four matches to play, but a win would likely clinch their stay in the top flight. Tosun has struggled recently, and he is priced alongside Barnes, who has scored six goals in his last eight matches and should see scoring opportunities against Brighton, making Tosun a tough player to get behind this weekend.
Midfielder
Pascal Gross, Brighton and Hove Albion
FanDuel Price: $9,000
Gross is tied with Johann Berg Gudmundsson as the fourth-highest priced midfielder, and he has averaged 18.07 FanDuel points this season. Gross scored a goal in his previous match but has only placed three shots on target in his last five matches while averaging 16.35 FanDuel points over that span -- reaching that average in only the match he found the back of the net.
The Seagulls are a 0.5-goal underdog to Clarets, and the over/under is tied for the lowest total on the slate at 2.0 goals. Both squads are in the bottom-six of the table in possession, with the Seagulls holding the slight edge in that category -- 45.9% possession for Brighton, compared to 45.2% for Burnley.
Gross is tied for second in the Premier League with 213 crosses but is sixth in chances created with 77. Due to the limited time with the ball, the Clarets have surrendered the most crosses (3.41) and most chances created (1.64) per 90 minutes to midfielders/attacking-midfielders this season. However, Burnley have allowed the second-fewest goals (0.08) and third-fewest assists (0.06) per 90 minutes to those positions as they have allowed the fourth-fewest goals this season.
The Chelsea attackers should be in the best spot on the slate, but there are plenty of midfielders priced just above or below Gross -- including Burnley's Gudmundsson and Newcastle's Kenedy -- who should be in a better spot than him.
Defender
César Azpilicueta, Chelsea
FanDuel Price: $6,500
Azpilicueta is tied with seven other defenders as the second-highest priced player at his position, and he has averaged 19.15 FanDuel points this season, the most among the defenders tied at $6,500.
The Blues are the largest favorite on the slate (1.0-goal favorite), and the over/under is set at 2.5 goals. The Blues should dominate the possession battle as they are the Premier League’s fifth-best squad in that category (54.5%), while the Swans average 45.3% of the possession.
Outside of allowing the second-most tackles (1.91) per 90 minutes to opposing defenders, Swansea have not allowed a large number of defensive actions. They have surrendered the ninth-fewest interceptions (1.40), sixth-fewest blocked shots (0.48) and fewest clearances (3.83) per 90 minutes to defenders.
Azpilicueta has made three or more tackles in 13 matches this season, but only three of those matches have come against clubs currently outside the top-12 of the table. The Swans are just four points shy of the drop zone, so they're not the type of team Azpilicueta has fared well against this season.
There are plenty of defenders on the slate who could see a large number of defensive actions, which makes Azpilicueta, especially at his price, a risky option in all formats.
Goalkeeper
Wayne Hennessey, Crystal Palace
FanDuel Price: $5,000
Hennessey is tied with four other keepers as the fourth-highest priced player at his position, and he has averaged 13.0 FanDuel points per game this season. Hennessey has made two or more saves in all but 3 of his 24 starts while conceding two or more goals in 11 matches and keeping five clean sheets this season.
According to the odds, the Foxes are likely to score at least one goal, which is something they have done in 9 of their last 10 matches EPL matches. If they are able to find the net, Hennessey will likely have a hard time providing value as Leicester have forced the sixth-fewest saves (78) from opposing keepers this season.
The keepers on the slate -- as usual -- are all priced relatively evenly, so you should be able to find a keeper who checks more boxes than Hennessey does.
