Our regular Friday lunchtime article scans FanDuel‘s weekend contests and volunteers my best XI, generated from the thoughts gathered in yesterday’s Weekly Shop article.
FanDuel has four contest entry deadlines for this weekend.
The Friday night kick-off at Goodison Park begins the weekend-long contests that include all 10 fixtures of the round, so lockdown for those is 8pm this evening.
The contests that cover the action on both Saturday and Sunday begin with Liverpool’s trip to the Liberty Stadium at 12.30pm.
There’s also separate Saturday and Sunday slates, both of which have four fixtures each. The Saturday only games begin at 3pm, while our Sunday line-ups must be entered by the 12 noon kick-off at Old Trafford.
Remember that, with the late-swap function; you can scan the team sheets and sort any non-starters in your line-ups, right up until the contest matches kick-off on each day.
If you’re yet to sign up for FanDuel, you can register for a free account via this link.
When you do, be sure to enter the promocode “SCOUT” and FanDuel will refund your first paid entry fee, up to £10, as free entry credit if you don’t win cash.
New FanDuel players should also consider our strategy guide, published earlier in the season – this examines the types of players to target across the various positions, based on the average scores they would have accrued if the scoring was applied to the 2015/16 season.
Now let’s assess my strongest FanDuel XI for this weekend.
My Team
Petr Cech £7.3m
Bruno Martins Indi £6.1m
Jan Vertonghen £6.3m
Virgil Van Dijk £8.4m
Fernandinho £7.9m
Robert Snodgrass £8.9m
Adam Lallana £9.6m
Michail Antonio £11.9m
Jermain Defoe £8.5m
Theo Walcott £9.7m
Zlatan Ibrahimovic £15.3m
The Key Picks
Arsenal have kept three successive clean sheets in all competitions, though, as usual, David Ospina deputised for Petr Cech (£7.3m) for the midweek visit of FC Basel. The Gunners’ backline was otherwise identical to the defence that kept out Chelsea last weekend and, with Shkodran Mustafi installed as an assured presence alongside Laurent Koscielny, Arsene Wenger’s rearguard look far more dependable.
I’m more than happy to commit to Cech ahead of Sunday’s trip to Burnley, then. Sean Dyche’s side are likely to sit deep and offer stubborn resistance, promoting the chances of another Arsenal shut-out. Cech has also averaged three saves per match so far this season.
Stoke City seem unlikely to keep out Manchester United at Old Trafford, but with defensive actions bringing big points in FanDuel, I can see Mark Hughes’ defence being kept busy and generating profit across the back four. This makes the budget-friendly Bruno Martins Indi (£6.1m) a viable pick.
The imposing centre-back will have the unenviable task of attempting to shackle Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which should guarantee plenty of opportunities to earn clearances and interceptions. Since joining the Potters, the Dutch international has recorded 26 clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI’s) in three league outings, more than any of his team-mates.
Available for just £6.3m, Tottenham Hotspur’s Jan Vertonghen looks a steal for the visit of Manchester City.
Only five defenders have recorded more than the Belgian’s 67 CBIs this term and, whether he be deployed at centre-back or left-back, I believe he’ll generate big defensive points as he bids to stave off the waves of attack from the league leaders.
My first criteria when seeking out FanDuel options at the back is normally the traditional defensive actions, but a goal threat is always handy to have in the mix.
Virgil Van Dijk (£8.4m) notched on three occasions for the Saints last season and has made five attempts this campaign. He travels to a Leicester City side that looked vulnerable at set pieces in the 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford last weekend. Van Dijk is also a key player for CBI – only Hull City’s Curtis Davies (£10.1m) has made more.
After much deliberation, I’ve opted for Manchester City’s Fernandinho (£7.9m) over the similarly priced Ilkay Gundogan (£7.7m).
The combative Brazilian is well suited to the FanDuel scoring system, earning 26 CBIs, in addition to producing 10 tackles and five chances so far. Fernandinho also claimed a second goal of the season in the midweek Champions League stalemate with Celtic, demonstrating his all-round appeal.
Robert Snodgrass (£8.9m) has unquestionably been Hull City’s stand-out performer this season. He’s averaged a score of 25.08 points in FanDuel while maintaining an alluring mid-range price-tag.
Set-piece duties are a key factor with the Scot and have helped him to 10 chances created and six efforts on target thus far. The Tigers’ visitors Chelsea have conceded twice or more in five of their six league matches, elevating Snodgrass in my thinking for this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp appears to be bringing the best out of Adam Lallana.
The Reds midfielder has scored three and served up as many assists this season, to achieve an average score of 25.8 FanDuel points.
As we mentioned in the Weekly Shop, there are currently plenty of options in the Liverpool midfield but, in my view, ex-Saints duo Lallana and Sadio Mane (also £9.6m) provide the most enticing value ahead of the encounter at the Liberty Stadium.
West Ham’s form may be underwhelming but, with Slaven Bilic’s men desperate for a result against newly promoted Middlesbrough, I’m willing to go on considering Michail Antonio (£11.9m).
There’s no question that the powerful winger has been the chief goal threat and the big positive for the Hammers’ faithful this term.
Antonio remains top scoring midfielder in the league with five goals and only Philippe Coutinho‘s (£13.7m) tally of 25 attempts on goal is superior to his 22 efforts, eight of which have found the target.
Jermain Defoe (£8.5m) notched a brace against Crystal Palace last weekend to double his tally for the season. The veteran remains the focal point in attack for David Moyes’ side and he’ll be their key man for the visit of West Brom. Only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (32) and Sergio Aguero (19) have recorded more shots than the ex-Spurs frontman, which earns him a shirt in my XI.
After another convincing performance in which the Gunners forward netted both goals in the win over FC Basel, I’ve plumped for Theo Walcott ahead of the pricier Alexis Sanchez (£14.3m).
Always a goal threat when selected, Walcott looks a different proposition this season and appears to be flowing with confidence on the right flank, having been backed by Arsene Wenger. With three goals and two assists registered so far, I’m backing him to torment Burnley’s Stephen Ward and emerge from the trip to Burnley with profit.
Finally, I’ve gone for the aforementioned Zlatan Ibrahimovic as our representative from the United attack ahead of the collision with struggling Stoke.
Zlatan may have blanked in the 4-1 win over Leicester, but having only failed to score in three out of 16 home league matches last season, I’ve got to back him against the Potters ailing defence.
Alternatively, Marcus Rashford has to be a consideration; the youngster has netted in three of four league appearances and is available for a very reasonable £9.3m in FanDuel this weekend.
This Week’s Games
The Saturday/Sunday time frame has the biggest pot of the weekend – the £6000 Fan Favourite contest has a £5 buy-in and £600 first-place prize.
There’s also our Fantasy Football Scout challenge which is £1 to enter with a guaranteed pot of £200 on offer.
The main game for the Saturday-only slate is a £1500 special, it has a £3 entry fee with £200 going for first place.
There’s a similar contest for Sunday, a £1500 pot with a £3 entry. The deadline is 12pm but late swap is available for the players you select in the three later kick-offs.
Remember, you can register for a free account at FanDuel via this link.
When you sign up, enter the promo code “SCOUT” and FanDuel will refund your first paid entry fee, up to £10 as free entry credit if you don’t win cash.
