SOCCER

4 FanDuel Premier League Studs to Target for Matchweek 25

Eden Hazard is coming off a monster outing, and he gets a tasty home matchup with Bournemouth. Which other high-priced players should you target?

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 2:45 p.m. EST Wednesday and features seven matches.

Matchweek 25
Wednesday, January 31st
Bournemouth at Chelsea
Burnley at Newcastle
Brighton at Southampton
Leicester at Everton
West Brom at Manchester City
Manchester United at Tottenham
Watford at Stoke


Like we've seen often this year, this slate centers on Manchester City, who are whopping 2.0-goal favorites with an implied total of 2.75 goals, both of which are slate-best marks. Chelsea are the other big favorite, installed as a 1.5-goal home favorite with a 2.25-goal implied total. Outside of those two, no other side is more than a 0.5-goal favorite, and no match has an over/under of more than 2.5 goals.

Let's get to it.

Forward

Sergio Aguero, Manchester City

FanDuel Price: $13,000

This is pretty darn similar to where we were a week ago, when City was a big home favorite against Newcastle in Matchweek 24. Aguero was pricey, but he was clearly the top forward, and he paid off handsomely with a hat trick and 76.25 FanDuel points. It was a perfect hat trick at that -- a goal with each foot and a header.


While we can't expect that kind of insane output, Aguero is again the best of the top-priced forwards as City are 2.0-goal home favorites versus West Brom. The Baggies have a quality defense as they've allowed only 16 goals in 12 away matches, but City bagged three goals in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Oh, and there's also that thing about City bulldozing the Premier League, netting 70 goals in 24 matches, including a whopping 42 goals in their 12 home contests.

Aguero -- who should be full go for this one after playing just 45 minutes in last weekend's FA Cup match -- has been great this season. He's totaled 16 goals and 5 assists in 19 league appearances (17 starts). His value is always insulated a bit by his role as City's penalty taker, and he's locked in as an elite play again this week.

Midfielder

Eden Hazard, Chelsea

FanDuel Price: $11,000

As a 1.5-goal home favorite over Bournemouth, Chelsea will likely be the slate's other popular target. With the Blues in a good spot, we can feel good about paying up for Hazard, although you'll likely want some exposure to City's midfield if you elect to fade Aguero.

Hazard is coming off a masterclass in Matchweek 24 as he shredded Brighton to the tune of 2 goals and 54.4 FanDuel points. Hazard has scored at least 15 fantasy points in five straight despite getting just one other goal aside from the brace against Brighton, so he shouldn't throw up a clunker if he doesn't find the back of the net.

Bournemouth have allowed 36 goals, the seventh-most in the EPL, and they've conceded 12 tallies in their last six matches. Chelsea should control this one, and Hazard offers massive upside.

Defender

Nathan Aké, Bournemouth

FanDuel Price: $6,500

With City and Chelsea offering a good number of appealing high-priced players higher up the pitch, it's probably not a great weekend to splash cash on an expensive defender. But if you want to go that route, Aké makes a lot of sense.

As we just detailed, Bournemouth should be up against it as they go on the road to Stamford Bridge, meaning their back line will likely be a busy bunch. For the year, Aké is averaging 6.4 clearances, 1.4 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per match.

Steve Cook ($6,000) and Adam Smith ($5,500) also make for viable options in the Cherries' defense if Aké doesn't start.

Goalie

Jack Butland, Stoke City

FanDuel Price: $5,500

Butland has been in dazzling form, scoring at least 17 fantasy points in six straight matches.

OpponentSavesGoals AllowedFanDuel Points
West Brom6121.00
Huddersfield6121.50
Chelsea7518.00
Newcastle5117.75
Manchester United6318.00
Huddersfield3021.00


Amazingly, he's done it with a mere one clean sheet in that span -- that's how porous Stoke's defense has been. That save volume gives Butland a nice floor, and his upside is through the roof if he could turn a high-save day into a clean sheet.

The Potters host Watford on Wednesday, and the Hornets are skidding. Watford have scored six goals in their last six league games, but they've been blanked in two straight outings if you account for matches in all competitions.

A Butland clean sheet could be in the cards, but Stoke's shaky defense should keep him productive even if the Hornets get one past him.



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.