SOCCER

FanDuel Premier League Value Plays for Matchweek 18

Adama Traore and Wolves have a good matchup on the road at Norwich, making him one of this week's best value plays.

Value plays are often the difference on the FanDuel leaderboard. With this year's format, value plays will be priced at $12 or lower in most cases. There will be some exceptions along the way.

This article will cover FanDuel's main slate that begins Saturday at 10:00 a.m. EST, which now includes six games with the Liverpool match postponed.

Matchweek 18
Saturday, December 21st
Sheffield at Brighton
Burnley at Bournemouth
Crystal Palace at Newcastle
Wolverhampton at Norwich
Southampton at Aston Villa
Leicester at Manchester City


The list of top salaries is strange this week due to the postponed match between Liverpool and West Ham. Three of those with top salaries will not end up playing. Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne ($22) are the most expensive players on the slate. Three defenders are tied at the top price of $15. Federico Fernandez and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been there before, and they are joined by James Tarkowski. Alisson ($15) is the most expensive keeper on the slate, but Ederson ($13) has the highest salary among those who will play.

The Liverpool and West Ham players are currently still listed on the slate, so make sure to stay away from them as that match is postponed. There are still over 30 players at or below $10 this week expected to start. Let's see where the value lies in Matchweek 18.

Forward/Midfielder

Adama Traore, Wolverhampton ($12)

Traore and Wolves are on the road, but Norwich have won just two matches at Carrow Road and Wolves are unbeaten in their last six away games. Traore is coming off his second-best FanDuel game of the season with a goal and four fouls drawn against Tottenham. He has drawn at least four fouls in three of the last four matches. The most encouraging part of Traore's performance last week is that all three of his shots were on target as he has struggled to challenge the opposition keeper this season. Norwich allow 16.6 shots per 90 minutes, the second-most in the league. They also have a poor goals against number that sits at a touch more than two goals per match. Only Southampton have allowed more goals than Norwich.

Dan Gosling, Bournemouth ($10)

Gosling has not been on the field much, but his showing last week likely warrants more playing time. Gosling's stat line against Chelsea included a goal, three blocks, two chances created, four interceptions, and two tackles. His play made the difference for Bournemouth, and he was rewarded with the game-winning goal. Prior to last week, Gosling had only appeared as a substitute. However, he did start 20 games last season for the Cherries. His defensive numbers were more impressive than his offensive output last season, but his recent showing is promising for a Bournemouth attack that needed a jolt. Burnley's defense has not been as stingy as usual this season as they have allowed 29 goals, five more than Bournemouth.

Defenders

Frederic Guilbert, Aston Villa ($12)

Guilbert has been a solid value play for much of the campaign. He has scored more than 16 points in half of his games and is coming off a 16.9-point performance against Sheffield where he had a season-high seven clearances. Guilbert has contributed at least one interception in all but one game and at least two tackles in all but four matches. Guilbert does have two assists this season and a match against Southampton, the worst defensive team in the league, is a good opportunity to add another.

Çağlar Söyüncü, Leicester ($11)

Söyüncü's salary has decreased over the season, but Leicester's form has not. Söyüncü has only one game below 12 points since September 21. Clearances have been his most consistent statistical category as he has six games with at least eight clearances. Söyüncü has at least one block in four of the last five matches. He will be needed against a very good Manchester City attack that also leads the league in the most inaccurate crosses per match. Söyüncü should be able to use that to his advantage and rack up more clearances. Söyüncü does have one goal and one assist this season, but he is better at building the attack based on his composure at the back. He is completing nearly 90% of his passes from the back line even though he is consistently among the team leaders in touches each match.

Enda Stevens, Sheffield ($11)

Stevens is in one of his most consistent stretches of the season. His DFS average is up to 14 points per match after scoring at least 16 FanDuel points in each of the last four games. Unlike the other two defenders, Stevens has been able to get forward and join his team's attack fairly often. He has created a chance in seven of the last eight games while contributing one goal in that stretch. Of course, he does contribute defensively, as well. His five interceptions last week against Aston Villa were a season high, and he has eight tackles and six clearances in this great four-game stretch. Sheffield have allowed just 16 goals in 17 games, so clearly they are tending to their defensive responsibilities. However, it is Stevens' ability to get involved offensively that brings up his ceiling.

Keeper

Vicente Guaita, Crystal Palace ($11)

Guaita is coming off a nine-save performance that salvaged a point for Crystal Palace. That came after three straight clean sheets in which he notched three saves apiece in each. He has added six clearances over the last four matchweeks. Guaita will now face a Newcastle team that averages just one goal per game and was shut out by Burnley last weekend without getting a shot on target. Guaita has the second-best average of any expected starting keeper on the slate. Guaita may move over the normal $12 threshold used for value plays given the stretch of opponents coming up, starting with a Newcastle team that struggles to convert.


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.