4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 13

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.

We return to a six-game main slate this week, and it's a loaded schedule, featuring four of the top-six clubs. That means there's no shortage of high-priced stars available, and we also have some lopsided spreads.

Manchester United, the slate's biggest favorite, is a 2.0-goal home favorite against Brighton in a match with a 3.0-goal over/under. Tottenham isn't far behind, listed as a 1.5-goal home favorite versus West Brom. As of now, outside of the United-Brighton clash, all of the matches are installed with a 2.5-goal over/under.

Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United will all play midweek Champions League games, so it's imperative to check starting lineups on Saturday for any squad rotation.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United

FanDuel Price: $11,500

With the return of influential midfielder Paul Pogba last week, Manchester United got back to their not-super-boring ways, netting four goals in a triumphant home win over Newcastle. They should be able to keep things rolling this week as Brighton comes to Old Trafford.

Pogba's return is a big lift for Lukaku. The Belgian had been isolated atop the formation for large chunks of games during Pogba's absence. Now, with Pogba in the fold, the Red Devils have their key midfield man to unlock defenses, and that's a boost for all of United's players, especially Lukaku, who snapped his eight-match (across all competitions) scoring drought with a goal against Newcastle.

Full video of Lukaku goal + celebration #MUFCpic.twitter.com/ARq7MPthap
— Man Utd Forum (@manutdnetwork) November 18, 2017

United is a 2.0-goal favorite with a 2.5-goal implied total, both of which are slate-best marks. They are going to be extremely popular, but with Tottenham a 1.5-goal home favorite versus out-of-form West Brom, Harry Kane ($12,500) should pull some ownership away from Lukaku.

You're going to want a piece of both Spurs and United -- it just comes down to which way you want to slice it up. With the options Tottenham offer in midfield, it makes pairing Lukaku with Dele Alli or Christian Eriksen a very enticing route. If you want to roster Kane instead of Lukaku and then target United in midfield, no one is going to shun you for it.

Midfielder

N'Golo Kante, Chelsea

FanDuel Price: $8,000

As we just touched on, Alli and Lukaku are both very attractive this weekend with Spurs installed as a big home favorite against a skidding West Brom side. Both are great plays. But I thought it would be worthwhile to throw out an alternative option in Kante, who is in a sweet spot himself and may fly a bit under the radar.

The Chelsea-Liverpool clash at Anfield features some star power, but oddsmakers don't think it'll be a high-scoring affair, making the Reds a 0.5-goal favorite with a 2.5-goal over/under. Across all competitions, there has been two or fewer goals in four of the past six meetings between these two Premier League giants. Of course, both teams feature multiple players -- the likes of Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, Philippe Coutinho, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane -- who could turn this into a goal-fest. Kante isn't likely to make the net bulge, but he is a very safe play.

In last year's matchup at Anfield, Kante went full Kante, covering nearly every blade of grass on the pitch and thwarting Liverpool attacks for 90 minutes. He finished the match with an astounding 14 tackles (on 15 attempted tackles) and 1 interception, and he will likely be a busy man again in this one. Liverpool have a 60.6% possession rate this year in their home EPL matches while firing off a league-best 22 shots per match in the split.

Chelsea don't play many matches on the back foot, but this should be one of those rare instances. In two of the Blues' toughest matches this year -- at Spurs and home against Manchester City -- Kante posted 19.75 and 16.5 FanDuel points, respectively. Averaging 3.4 tackles and 2.2 interceptions per match, Kante offers a safe high floor this week, and he could be a key point of differentiation in tourney lineups.

Defender

Lewis Dunk, Brighton

FanDuel Price: $6,000

Dunk has a high floor this weekend as Brighton hit the road for a tough match at Manchester United.

He's $1,000 cheaper than teammate Shane Duffy, but Dunk has put up better numbers this year in matchups against the Premier League's elite, recording 24.25 FanDuel points against Manchester City and 22.75 points versus Arsenal -- his two highest-scoring outings of the campaign.

Dunk has actually put some shots on goal in those matches, so he offers a dash of upside, too. But what makes him so appealing is his floor, which stems from the fact Brighton's defense should be under siege in this one.

Oddsmakers see United dominating Brighton, and the stats back that up. United are outscoring EPL opponents 19-1 this year at Old Trafford. At home, the Red Devils possess the ball 55.0% of the time and fire off an average of 17.2 shots per match. Brighton's road possession clip is 45.7%, and they are allowing 15.0 shots per match in their travels.

Goalie

Lukasz Fabianski, Swansea City

FanDuel Price: $5,000

It's a wonky slate for keepers, but Fabianski offers a nice blend of save volume and clean-sheet upside in his home date with Bournemouth.

In six away EPL fixtures, the Cherries have scored a mere 4 goals while averaging a paltry 8.7 shots per match, the fifth-fewest in the league. So a clean sheet is certainly within Fabianski's range of outcomes. However, Swansea have allowed 14.8 shots per match this season, the fourth-most in the league, meaning Fabianski shouldn't be a total dud even if he concedes a goal.

If it's a clean sheet you're chasing, then Manchester United's David de Gea ($5,000) can be had for the same price. He's a top-class keeper, and he's facing a Brighton side with a measly 0.5-goal implied total. The only downside is de Gea doesn't offer much in the way of upside, because he probably won't be called into action very often.

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.