4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 30
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 is an expanded one this weekend. The main slate features all of the weekend's matches -- including the Sunday contests -- with the exception of the early Saturday morning meeting between Everton and Liverpool.
| Matchweek 30 |
|---|
| Saturday, April 1st |
| Crystal Palace at Chelsea |
| Sunderland at Watford |
| West Brom at Manchester United |
| Tottenham at Burnley |
| Stoke City at Leicester City |
| West Ham at Hull City |
| Sunday, April 2nd |
| Bournemouth at Southampton |
| Middlesbrough at Swansea City |
| Manchester City at Arsenal |
Let's get to it.
Forward
Diego Costa, Chelsea
FanDuel Price: $12,000
Even with the added matches, it's not a slate with a lot of good matchups for top-end strikers, especially since Harry Kane (ankle) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (suspension) are out.
Costa himself is a fitness question after suffering an ankle knock training with Spain during the international break. If he plays, he's in a great spot at home against Crystal Palace. If Costa sits -- the Blues may very well play it safe considering they are 10 points clear and have a midweek match next Wednesday against Manchester City -- Pedro ($10,500) would become a top forward play.
Palace have allowed 26 goals in their 14 away matches, and Chelsea have scored a whopping 36 goals in their 13 home fixtures. It's no surprise then that Chelsea are tied with Manchester United and Arsenal as the biggest favorites (1.5) of the weekend.
In the eight home matches he's played, Costa has netted eight goals with three assists. Pedro has been even better at Stamford Bridge, tallying five goals and six assists in nine appearances.
Midfielder
Paul Pogba, Manchester United
FanDuel Price: $9,800
With Manchester United a 1.5-goal home favorite over West Brom, we'll want a piece of the Red Devils.
West Brom have been stout defensively this year, but they've allowed six total goals across their last three fixtures. Manchester United rank second in the league in shots per home match (19.4), and they've netted six goals in their last three league matches.
In his debut season in Manchester, Paul Pogba has been very good, and he's been rolling lately. He has scored at least 22 FanDuel points in five straight matches, doing so without registering a goal or assist in that span. He's done it by dishing out at least 70 passes in those five matches, scoring at least 14 points per match from passing alone during this recent run.
Pogba's floor is extremely high, and with Zlatan out, he may have to push forward a bit more, increasing his odds of scoring a goal.
Juan Mata ($9,400), Pogba's midfield teammate, has also been outstanding for Jose Mourinho's side, scoring six goals with three assists in 16 appearances this season. Mata has averaged 26.9 FanDuel points per match over his last four outings, creating at least three chances in three of those games while totaling two goals and one assist.
Eden Hazard, Chelsea's midfield maestro, is in a great spot with the Blues heavily favored. If you wanted to go that route, it's probably best to target a United player -- Anthony Martial, Wayne Rooney or Marcus Rashford, depending on how Mourinho sets up -- at the forward spot so you can get exposure to both of the slate's biggest favorites, although United and Chelsea will likely see a lot of ownership.
Defender
Ben Mee, Burnley
FanDuel Price: $6,400
Tottenham are flying high again this season, and they are a one-goal favorite in their road clash with Burnley. That puts Burnley's back line in play, since they should be fairly busy in this one.
Mee has come on strong of late, averaging 22.8 FanDuel points per game over his last four.
| Opponent | Clearances | Tackles | Blocks | FanDuel Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunderland | 9 | 1 | 1 | 19.00 |
| Liverpool | 20 | 2 | 2 | 28.75 |
| Swansea City | 11 | 3 | 3 | 26.25 |
| Hull City | 8 | 0 | 1 | 17.25 |
He's been clearing balls like it's going out of style, and he also contributes a fair number of blocks and tackles. Three of those matches came against sides at the bottom of the table, so his floor should be raised a bit against Tottenham.
Mee hasn't scored in single digits since the calendar flipped to 2017, a span of 10 matches, and he scored 28 fantasy points in this season's first meeting with Spurs.
Goalie
Tom Heaton, Burnley
FanDuel Price: $7,300
In case you haven't heard, West Brom are an underdog to Tottenham, so Heaton is in play once again.
Spurs lead the league in shots per match (17.2), although that number dips to 14.2 shots per game when they're away from home. Burnley, on the other hand, surrenders the most shots per game (18.1) in the Premier League, and the combination of superb goalkeeping and a shoddy defense has made Heaton a DFS dream.
After a brief down spell, Heaton bounced back with a 25.75-point outing in his last match, posting a clean sheet against Sunderland. He's had to make at least five saves in five of his last eight matches. He was so busy in the reverse fixture against Spurs (7 saves) that he still scored 19.5 FanDuel points despite allowing 2 goals.
