4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 24

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 10:00 a.m. EST Saturday and features seven matches.

This slate revolves around Manchester City. The Citizens are laughable 2.5-goal favorites against Newcastle, sporting a huge 3.0-goal implied total. You're going to want some exposure to Pep Guardiola's bunch, and they will be immensely popular as no other teams, as of now, are more than a 1.0-goal favorite.

Arsenal and Manchester United are both 1.0-goal favorites, with the Red Devils on the road. Arsenal boasts a 2.0-goal implied total while United's implied total is 1.75 goals. The other four matches are 0.5-goal spreads in favor of the home teams.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Sergio Aguero, Manchester City

FanDuel Price: $12,000

Aguero is the slate's most expensive player, but with Gabriel Jesus out of the equation, Aguero is really tough to fade as Manchester City's top striker in a game in which the Citizens boast a 3.0-goal implied total.

City are home versus Newcastle, and when these two teams played the reverse fixture back at St. James' Park on December 27th, City saw 78% possession and fired off 22 shots. With this fixture at the Etihad, things should be even more lopsided, which will likely mean a plethora of chances for Aguero.

On the year, Aguero has 13 goals and 5 assists in 16 Premier League starts. He's taking 3.8 shots per match, and he's been lethal at home, recording 7 goals and 3 assists in 10 outings. He's clearly in a great spot here, and that's only boosted by the fact that he takes penalties for Pep Guardiola's team.

Midfielder

Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City

FanDuel Price: $10,000

Mahrez and the Foxes welcome a slumping Watford side to the King Power Stadium. After a hot start to the season, the Hornets are sliding down the table, winning just once with four losses across their past six league matches. Watford have been very leaky in defense during this cold spell, conceding 13 goals in their past six.

Quite the opposite, Mahrez has been in his best form of the season, tallying a goal or assist in 7 of his last 10 EPL matches. His ability to take on defenders makes him a constant threat, and it gives him nice fantasy upside as he's put up at least 30 FanDuel points five times in his past eight games. He's also shown a solid floor, scoring at least 16 fantasy points eight times across his past 10 games.

Mahrez played Tuesday in Leicester's midweek F.A. Cup match, and he dazzled with a dope assist.

How is Mahrez still a Leicester player? What's wrong with this club? pic.twitter.com/KxU7PrE2UV
— Al Capone (@BeIgianMaestro) January 18, 2018

Against one of the EPL's lesser defenses, this is a good spot for Mahrez to keep rolling.

Defender

Jamaal Lascelles, Newcastle

FanDuel Price: $6,500

With Newcastle expected to face wave after wave of Manchester City attacks, Lascelles offers one of the top floors on the slate.

In Newcastle's last three away matches, he's posted FanDuel outputs of 22.25, 20.25 and 17.25. Lascelles has done that almost solely off of defensive actions, registering at least 12 clearances in two of those three games. Two of those three games were against Stoke City and West game -- a pair of clubs that are many canyons away from the attacking prowess of Manchester City.

As we mentioned above, when Newcastle and City met just a few weeks ago, the Citizens' saw a ton of the ball (78% possession) and took 22 shots. Lascelles doesn't offer much in the way of 30-point upside, but his floor is super appealing if you're paying up at defender.

Goalie

Jordan Pickford, Everton

FanDuel Price: $5,500

Pickford has a home date with West Brom, who owns a slate-low 0.75-goal implied total. That gives Pickford a real shot at a clean sheet.

He also has some upside due to the fact that Everton's defense is far from rock solid. The Toffees have allowed 15.0 shots per game this season, the fourth-most in the EPL, and Everton's 46.0% possession rate checks in 16th. When these two met back on Boxing Day, Pickford recorded a 3-save clean sheet on his way to 22.5 FanDuel points. We could see a similar outing Saturday.

Pickford should be called into action, even against an out-of-form side like West Brom, and when you pair that with his clean-sheet odds, it makes him a top keeper play on this seven-game slate.

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.