FanDuel Premier League Trends to Know for Matchweek 8

The next Premier League main slate hits FanDuel at 10:00 a.m. EST on Saturday and features five matches. It includes many teams at the bottom of the table, as may be expected during a Champions League week.

One other thing to note about the first matchweek in October is that the referees assigned to the games on the slate, including Chris Kavanaugh and Andy Madley, mainly average less than 0.60 fouls per tackle, so there should be fewer whistles.

Let's look at the teams and players that are rising and falling this week.

Hot

Team: Liverpool

Obvious choice? Yes. The problem is that the only other team that has been playing with top form is their opponent this week, Leicester City. Liverpool have yet to lose this season, scored the second-most goals, and given up the least amount of goals in the Premier League. They have four players who average over 20 FanDuel points per game, led by Trent Alexander-Arnold ($17). Liverpool have sent in the most crosses in the league, so it is no wonder one of the fullbacks has been so valuable this season. With nearly 58% of possession, they average 16 shots per match. Dating back to last season, Liverpool have won 16 in a row in the Premier League and, of course, captured the Champions League title. Leicester visiting Liverpool is easily the most exciting game of the day as the two most in-form teams face off.

Player: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham ($13)

Cresswell was not a starter when the season began, but his past two games should keep him in the starting lineup. He has scored 58 FanDuel points and 2 goals in those matches.

Top: Aaron Cresswell fires over a free-kick against Manchester United

Bottom: Aaron Cresswell scores a free-kick against Manchester United seven minutes later

Practice makes perfect, @Aaron_Cresswellpic.twitter.com/RFXmtMKu6p
— Goal (@goal) September 25, 2019

Cresswell has added five tackles, two fouls drawn, three interceptions, and two clearances. He has been more confident to get forward from his outside back position as the entire West Ham team is playing with a high level of urgency this season. That has led to heavy involvement in the offense as Cresswell has five shots and nine crosses in the past two games.

Cold

Team: Norwich City

Teemu Pukki ($18) still leads this slate in points per match after scoring 5 goals in the first three games, but he has totaled 24 points in the last two fixtures. The team overall is struggling, not just the attacker who took the Premier League by storm. Norwich have lost four of their last five and were shut out in back-to-back matches. They are one point above the relegation zone with a minus-seven goal differential. In their last match against Crystal Palace, they had 100 more touches and passes, as well as fewer fouls, but were outshot 15-10 by the Eagles. The previous match against Burnley followed a similar pattern as Norwich had over 150 more touches but conceded more touches and lost by the same 2-0 score. Norwich are playing another team that are struggling in an early season relegation battle, but Aston Villa have scored four goals in their past two matches.

Player: Dwight McNeil, Burnley ($11)

McNeil was a bright spot for Burnley from December to the end of last season, but he has struggled to find the explosiveness this season. He averages fewer than 10 FanDuel points per match, although there has been improvement over the past two matches. He has created three chances in each of the last two matches as a sign that he may be getting some of last year's spark back. However, he has yet to score a goal and is averaging just over one foul drawn per match. Burnley have lost their last two matches against Everton by a combined score of 7-1. McNeil was used as a substitute the last time these teams met, but Burnley were unable to own 40% of possession. Of course, that is just below their average this season.

Doug Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Doug 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.