FanDuel Premier League Trends to Know for Matchweek 5

The next Premier League main slate hits FanDuel at 10:00 a.m. EST on Saturday and features six matches. The matches resume after an international break.

Even though it is week five, this is the first time Wolverhampton have shown up on the slate.

Let's look at the teams and players that are rising and falling this week.

Hot

Team: Southampton

Southampton does not have a great record to this point, but they played Liverpool tough in matchweek 2, kept a clean sheet against Brighton, and shared a point against Manchester United last time out. Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl praised his team for their effort against United as they were dealing with injury and down a man for the last 15 minutes of the match. This match against Sheffield looks evenly balanced, with the home team being a slight favorite, but the Saints have some good value plays on FanDuel, adding intrigue to a match in which both teams are expected to score. Kevin Danso's suspension opens the door for Cedric Soares ($10) to start on the back line. No forward or midfielder is priced above $14 despite Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ($12) coming off an 18.6-point performance against United. He is the player often responsible for starting the counter attack, Southampton's preferred offensive game plan, so when he is scoring, the Saints are playing as they hope.

Player: Ashley Barnes, Burnley ($19)

Barnes was held scoreless in his last match against Liverpool, but playing the Champions League holders can skew anyone's statistics. He still averages 26.6 points after scoring in the three previous games. Through the first four games, Barnes has 11 shots inside the penalty area, which is third in the league. He is second in the league in shots on target among Premier League forwards. Despite no return on FanDuel in Matchweek 4, Barnes did draw a season-high four fouls to bring his total for the season to eight. After their opening week win, Brighton have earned only one point and allowed seven goals. Barnes also has recent history of scoring against Brighton, finding the net in this fixture last season.

Rosters: Youth

The average age of the starting XIs this season is the lowest it has been in 11 years. Manchester United is the youngest as their starting XI averages less than 25 years old. Daniel James ($16) is putting up 22 FanDuel points per game at 21 years old. Manchester United are followed by Southampton, Norwich, and Chelsea with starting lineups that average just over 25 years old.

Chelsea's Mason Mount ($19) is the fifth-leading scorer on the slate at just 20 years old. Managers have been challenging their young players, and many of them are stepping up.

Cold

Team: Wolverhampton

Wolves are one of just two teams that have yet to win a game this season, joining last-place Watford. Wolverhampton are second-worst in the league in both shots and shots on target per match. They are 15th in interceptions and fourth in fouls committed per match. Wolves are one of only five teams that have a player who earned a red card, and they average just 45% possession through the first four matches. Despite scoring two goals against Everton in their most recent loss, they had less than 42% possession and over 160 fewer touches than their opponent. Perhaps the international break came at just the right time for Wolves as they sit just outside the relegation zone, safe only on goal differential, after a month of play.

Player: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea ($14)

Chelsea's keeper is averaging just over two FanDuel points per match through four games after scoring -7 points in Matchweek 1. He has allowed nine goals while making just eight saves. Some of the goals can be credited to poor defense in front of the keeper, but the numbers do not allow for confidence in the Spanish goalie. Arrizabalaga started one match for Spain over the international break and allowed one goal in a 2-1 win over Romania. David De Gea ($16) registered a clean sheet in the other match. Chelsea are a slight favorite against struggling Wolverhampton, but both teams are expected to score.

Doug Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Doug Smith also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username aquemini03. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.