SOCCER

3 FanDuel Premier League Under-the-Radar Plays for Matchweek 34

With Liverpool likely to command heavy ownership, other players in good spots -- like Leicester's Jamie Vardy -- could go overlooked.

If you have played daily fantasy sports for a while, you know the importance of being contrarian in large-field tournaments. Recognizing which players are going to be owned by the masses and finding others who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership can really separate yourself from your opponents.

The same goes for DFS Premier League. Even though the large-field tournaments aren't quite as large as they are for other sports, there is still value in identifying quality under-the-radar plays.

This article will discuss FanDuel's main Saturday slate, which starts at 10:00 a.m. EST and features six matches.

Matchweek 34
Saturday, April 14th
Brighton at Crystal Palace
Everton at Swansea City
Leicester City at Burnley
Watford at Huddersfield
Bournemouth at Liverpool
Manchester City at Tottenham


Matchweek 34 features six matches played in three different time slots. The first four matches on the table above kick off at 10:00 a.m. EST, followed by Bournemouth-Liverpool at 12:30 p.m., and Manchester City-Tottenham at 2:45 p.m. Similar to last week, there are three elite sides on the slate, with two of them facing each other. After last week's fireworks in the Manchester Derby, the clash between Manchester City and Tottenham won't go overlooked. That said, the late start time and Liverpool's incredibly favorable matchup may the lower ownership on both teams involved.

Liverpool are the largest favorites on the slate by a wide margin, as 2.0 goal favorites at home against Bournemouth. They have the largest implied goal total on the slate at 2.75 goals and should carry the bulk of ownership this weekend. On their current form, Liverpool are exactly like Manchester City was for the past four months. They are going to score multiple goals, but picking between their front three is a somewhat of a guessing game. That said, after Mohamed Salah tweeted his reaction to the Premier League retroactively awarding Harry Kane a goal, he may be extra motivated to extend his lead in the Golden Boot race.

The four matches not featuring elite sides all favor the home teams. Crystal Palace are 0.5-goal favorites against Brighton, while Swansea City, Burnley and Huddersfield Town are all slight moneyline favorites in pick'em matches.

With that in mind, here are three under-the-radar players to consider for Matchweek 34.

Jordan Ayew, Swansea City

FanDuel Salary: $7,500

Jordan Ayew should return to the starting lineup this weekend following a three-game suspension from a red card he picked up against Huddersfield in March. Prior to his suspension, Ayew had been in good form, averaging 22.75 FanDuel points per match over his previous six matches.

Ayew's return comes at an opportune time for Swansea, who are winless in the last three Premier League matches. Those three matches have all been on the road, and Swansea have been a much better side at home under Carlos Carvalhal, winning four home fixtures in a row. Given their recent struggles and Ayew's suspension, Swansea could go overlooked this weekend despite playing an Everton side that has struggled on the road all season.

Everton have just one win in their last six away matches and were outscored 15-5 goals over that span. In their 10 away matches against non-elite opponents this season, Everton have two wins, three draws and five losses. In those 10 matches, they conceded an average of 1.5 goals per match, which bodes well for a Swansea City side that has averaged 2.25 goals per match over their previous four home fixtures.

Jamie Vardy, Leicester City

FanDuel Salary: $10,000

Going back to last season, avoiding players on the road against Burnley was always a smart thing to do. Fast forward to this season, and that has mostly held true, but recently some cracks have started to show. After a tough stretch of matches against Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, Burnley have conceded home goals in back-to-back fixtures against Everton and Southampton. Now they host a Leicester City side who have won their previous two away fixtures by a combined score of 6-1.

Jamie Vardy comes into this weekend having scored in each of his previous three matches and seven of his previous nine overall. While his upside is limited due to his lack of ancillary stats, he is certainly capable of a two-goal performance at expected low ownership. With Liverpool in an excellent spot and Manchester City and Tottenham both in action, Vardy should go overlooked at his price tag of $10,000, making him an appealing GPP option.

Aaron Mooy, Huddersfield Town

FanDuel Salary: $8,000

Mooy's season has been marked by some remarkable highs and lows, but until recently, he hadn't managed to find a reliable level of consistency. He has at least 15 FanDuel points in each of his last five matches, including a 32.75-point performance against Bournemouth. At a price of $8,000, he costs the same as Heung-Min Son and Fernandinho, and he is only $500 less than Leroy Sane and Dele Alli. With that company, he shouldn't see much ownership in a home matchup against Watford this weekend.

Neither side comes into this weekend in good form as Watford have lost five of their last six on the road, and Huddersfield have one win in their last six home matches. However, Mooy is coming off a three-shot match against Brighton, and his best performance of the year was in the reverse fixture versus Watford back in December, a match in which he scored two goals and sent in eight crosses.

Mooy's outlook is enhanced if Huddersfield don't opt for a 4-2-3-1 and instead go with a formation that allows Mooy more freedom to move forward, such as the 4-4-1-1 they used in their most recent match against Brighton. With a respectable floor and four goals on the season, Mooy deserves consideration in large-field tournaments this weekend.