FanDuel Focus – Gameweek 15

Welcome to our regular Friday lunchtime assessment of FanDuel’s contests and key player picks.

As usual, we will scan the prize pots and entry cut-offs, while also offering a final analysis of player targets, courtesy of my strongest eleven man line-up.

This week FanDuel are rolling out an offer for those yet to register an account, whereby users that sign up and deposit £10 will also receive £20 in free credit.

Through the offer when you deposit of £10 you’ll get £5 free credit in your account to use each week, for the next four weeks. Use the promo code “FFS30” when signing up here to claim the offer.

The weekend contests are again split over three windows.

Remember that whatever contests you choose to enter and the deadlines that apply, the FanDuel late-swap function means it’s possible to consult the team sheets and change non-starters in later matches, right up until kick-off.

The full ten-fixture slate gets starts with Everton’s visit to Vicarage Road at 12.30pm on Saturday.

There’s also separate Saturday and Sunday slates.

The Saturday only games begin at 3 pm with six matches, including the early evening encounter between Leicester City and Manchester City at the King Power Stadium.

On Sunday it’s an earlier start as Chelsea welcome West Brom to Stamford Bridge, with the action wrapping up with West Ham’s trip to Anfield that evening.

If you’re starting out with FanDuel, the player picks below will offer a useful first step for this weekend but we also recommend that you take a look at our earlier strategy guide for further tips.

This examines the type of players to target in the various positions, based on the average scores they would have accrued if the FanDuel scoring was applied to last season.

My Strongest XI

Wayne Hennessey £6.4m
Aaron Cresswell £6.9m
Gareth McAuley £7.3m
Michael Dawson £8m
Adnan Januzaj £5.4m
Wilfried Zaha £7.8m
Emre Can £8.5m
Yaya Toure £8.7m
Gylfi Sigurdsson £11m
Diego Costa £14.6m
Alexis Sanchez £15.4m

The Key Picks

As usual, we’ve opted to shop for a bargain in goal, so Wayne Hennessey claims the keeper’s jersey.

The Welsh shot-stopper has started the last three matches for Crystal Palace and secured Alan Pardew a first clean sheet of the campaign against Southampton last time out. His opponents Hull City have averaged less than ten attempts per match this term and failed to net in three of their last six outings at the KCOM stadium.

I was all set to opt for West Ham’s Arthur Masuaku in the defence, although with news of Aaron Cresswell‘s return to fitness, I’ve merely orchestrated a straight swap.

Deployed at wing-back on the left, we envisage that Cresswell should provide his fair share of defensive points in the clash with Liverpool at Anfield, facing up against the lively Sadio Mane and Nathaniel Clyne. He could also be a factor for us going forward, linking with Dimitri Payet down that flank with Andy Carroll perhaps their target man for crosses up front.

Three goals so far this term for Gareth McAuley demonstrates the centre-back’s goal threat ahead of a trip to Stamford Bridge. The West Brom asset also sits fourth in the defender rankings with 51 clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI’s) registered over the last four Gameweeks, indicating that he’ll harvest points during a busy shift against Chelsea. Although flagged up as a doubt by Tony Pulis this morning, we expect the centre-back to be in contention, with his battle with Diego Costa surely a key factor.

Hull City’s Michael Dawson is now the top defender in FanDuel in terms of average points scored (25.1), having made 45 clearances in his six appearances since his return from injury. Visitors Crystal Palace have averaged over 27 crosses per away match, which should give Dawson plenty of chances to pick up more clearance points as he battles to contain Christian Benteke and their threat at set-plays.

Interestingly, Hull and Crystal Palace have both conceded the most headed attempts on goal (37) this season, suggesting that Dawson could also be a threat in the Eagles box having already scored twice this season.

It also highlights that Wilfried Zaha‘s supply to Benteke could prove decisive.

The Eagles winger blanked in the win over Southampton last time out but served up an assist in each of his previous five outings, scoring a second goal of the season at Swansea City in his last away trip.

Our next pick finds a berth in our line-ups as a budget enabler. We’ve had to limit our spend in midfield in order to fit our preferred striker pairing, so Sunderland’s Adnan Januzaj gets the nod.

The winger is yet to provide attacking returns this campaign but could benefit from Sunderland’s vibrant attacking form. We feel that Januzaj is set to replace a sidelined Duncan Watmore for the trip to a Swansea side that have leaked seven goals in their last two matches at the Liberty Stadium.

Liverpool’s Emre Can faces a West Ham outfit that are second (33) behind Swansea (44) for big chances conceded. The German is in flourishing form, having scored three goals in five appearances, plus an assist at Bournemouth last time out. Nine chances created and 17 tackles over that period highlights that the midfielder is benefiting from a box-to-box role for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Ilkay Gundogan’s (£9.1m) inclusion for the midweek draw with Celtic in the Champions League points towards a third league start for Yaya Toure. The Manchester City midfielder proved he’s capable of returning hauls, notching a brace at Selhurst Park to help return 46.5 points. The Ivorian provides us with some cut-price cover for City’s visit to a struggling Leicester City.

Swansea’s dire performance at White Hart Lane may have reduced Gylfi Sigurdsson‘s average in FanDuel but a still respectable 22.73 points per match indicates how impressive his form was prior to that defeat.

The Icelandic playmaker is the Swans’ key game changer, scoring a pair of goals and providing three assists in the preceding four matches. Only Burnley (39) have conceded more chances than Sunderland (38) from set plays on the road which hints that Sigurdsson’s role at dead-balls could be key.

We’ve opted for the two top scoring strikers in our attack, with both facing favourable home fixtures.

Diego Costa‘s form is not only be defined by that ruthlessness in front of goal, the Blues frontman has also created 24 chances (worth 3 points apiece) to provide five assists, highlighting his influence in Antonio Conte’s side.

Alongside the Chelsea man, we just could not overlook Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez.

In addition to his 11 goals, the Chilean has now fired 20 shots on target: only the suspended Sergio Aguero (25) and Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrihimovic (23) have registered more. Sanchez is also a big creative force, laying on 35 chances so far this season, more than any other FanDuel forward.

It’s difficult to see Stoke City taming an on-fire Sanchez at the Emirates, while Costa’s consistency, having returned a goal or an assist in 12 of 14 Gameweeks, ensures his selection.

This Week’s Contests

The full weekend slate boasts the biggest prize pot on offer: the aforementioned £4000 Fan Favourite contest has a £5 buy-in and there’s a £750 prize available for top spot.

There’s a £1000 contest for Saturday, which has a £3 entry fee and pays out £100 to the top participant.

The Sunday Special is a £1400 pot with £280 going to first place, it has a £7 buy-in.

You can register for a free account at FanDuel via this link. Remember to use the code FFS30 when you sign up to receive £20 free credit once a £10 deposit is made.