FanDuel Premier League Trends to Know for Matchweek 22

The next Premier League main slate hits FanDuel at 10:00 a.m. EST on Saturday with six games and all but Liverpool playing their 22nd game of the season. For the teams recently involved in cup play, many starters were given a rest after the busy holiday season.

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

Hot

Team: Brighton

Aside from the very top of the table, most teams in the Premier League are playing inconsistently at the moment. Brighton have taken points from their last two matches and allowed just one goal. That is a nice turnaround after losing the previous two games by a goal. They now face an Everton team they have beaten in the last two Premier League contests. Everton are currently favored, but it is expected to be a tight game.

Brighton's Leandro Trossard ($14) has been the driving offensive force, creating seven chances over the past two games. He has scored at least 19 FanDuel points in those two matches. The most reliable players for much of the season have been Lewis Dunk ($11) and Adam Webster ($13). Dunk has been involved offensively despite playing at center-back, and he added an assist last matchweek. Webster scored a goal against Tottenham in Matchweek 19 and recorded a season-high four blocks last week against Chelsea.

Player: Danny Ings, Southampton ($18)

Ings got off to a slow start, but he has now scored in eight of his last 10 games. He has put up at least 20 points in those eight games, with the goal-scoring obviously accounting for the majority of his points. Ings has scored in the past two games for Southampton, with limited shots showing that he can convert with just one opportunity. He is now tied for second in the league with 13 goals scored. He is also scoring with class as his goal on New Year's Day was clinical. Ings is the only player in the league to score over half of his team's goals.

Southampton will likely have a hard time getting going against Leicester, but they surely have revenge in mind after losing 9-0 in October. Southampton beat Leicester the last time they played at King Power Stadium in league play. Leicester have one clean sheet and one fewer win than Southampton does over the last five games.

Cold

Teams: Newcastle and Wolverhampton

It just so happens that two teams that are slumping the most get to play one another this weekend. Newcastle have lost three in a row after moving to the middle of the table. Luckily for them, ninth through 16th is separated by only six points. Newcastle have been outscored 9-2 over the last three matches. They were held to less than 24% possession against Leicester in their last league game, which was at home. Their best possession number during the losing streak is 42% as they were held under 30% against Manchester United. It is hard to be a threat to the opposition when you see the ball less than a third of the match.

Wolves have lost two in a row, each by one goal. They were up a man for the last 20 minutes against Watford and had over 60% possession but could not convert. Just a quarter of their 16 shots were on target despite the extra space on the field. Only 20% of their shots were on target against Liverpool the previous week. Wolves managed the same amount of overall shots as Liverpool, but they could not convert one to a goal, though they had one disallowed on a tight offside call. Wolves are favored at home, but 1-0 is the scoreline with the safest odds.

Player: Jesse Lingard, Manchester United ($10)

Manchester United have injury problems, so Lingard needs to step up. He recently missed time with an illness, but he seems likely to be on the field this weekend. Lingard is averaging just 5.5 FanDuel points this season. His best game over the last five was six points, and he started three of those matches. Last time out against Arsenal, he committed three fouls and had just one shot.

Lingard has just one goal all year, and it came in the Europa League. His only assist of the year came in EFL Cup action. Lingard has struggled for the better part of a year and hired a new agent. He may be working his way out of Manchester United, which is not a good sign that he is trying to improve in his current situation. However, Lingard is needed this weekend in a match United should control.

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.