Welcome to our midweek look at FanDuel’s contests and key picks for the eight-fixture slate that takes place this evening.
The deadline for tonight’s contests is 7.45, with FanDuel’s late-swap feature allowing you to tweak your line-ups right up until the first kick-off.
As always, we put forward our strongest starting XI and analyse the reasoning behind the selection of those assets.
If you’re new to FanDuel, our Gameweek player picks should hopefully offer some guidance in the short-term but, if you fancy delving into some deeper tactics, we recommend you look at strategy guide.
This takes a more in-depth look at the types of players that warrant selection across the various positions, based on the average FanDuel scores they would have picked up if the scoring was applied to the 2015/16 campaign
My Team
Hugo Lloris £7m
Marcos Rojo £6.9m
Phil Jones £7.4m
Michael Keane £7.9m
Sofiane Boufal £7.1m
Chris Brunt £7.7m
Yaya Toure £8.7m
Dimitri Payet £11.2m
Marko Arnautovic £7.7m
Harry Kane £13.9m
Diego Costa £14.5m
Key Picks
Hull City travel down to North London having mustered a woeful 77 shots in the box this season, fewer than any other side in the league. That makes Hugo Lloris (£7m) stand out as the keeper most likely to earn the ten points available for a clean sheet from tonight’s matches.
Encouragingly, Spurs have claimed four shut-outs in seven matches in front of their own fans this term, conceding only four goals at White Hart Lane.
With Crystal Palace flinging crosses into the box at Selhurst Park, we’ve doubled up on a visiting Manchester United rearguard.
With Christian Benteke a big target for the Palace supply, it should see our United pair return plenty of clearances, interceptions and blocks (CBI’s) – a key source of points for defenders in FanDuel.
Both Marcos Rojo (£6.9m) and Phil Jones (£7.4) should retain their places after confident displays against Spurs last time out.
The Argentinian has now made 10 or more clearances in four successive outings. Over the last four Gameweeks, he’s the top defender for CBI’s (with 65) and has averaged 25 FanDuel points. Meanwhile, Jones has also turned in a steady string of performances, producing 20+ points per match and accruing 47 CBI’s over the same spell.
Burnley’s away form indicates that Sean Dyche’s side will concede at the London Stadium, yet as no points are awarded to defenders for clean sheets in FanDuel, Michael Keane (£7.9m) earns a spot for his strong CBI numbers.
Prior to Gameweek 16, only Hull City’s Curtis Davies (209) has registered more of those key defensive actions than the Clarets centre-back (197).
Keane may well be tasked with keeping Andy Carroll silenced, which adds to the appeal with aerial duels and heavy clearance numbers on the cards.
Last week, we pinpointed Southampton’s summer signing Sofiane Boufal (£7.1m) as one to watch.
The Moroccan duly delivered his first league goal for the Saints and recorded a successive score of over 27 points. Six chances created and five fouls drawn (worth 0.5 points in FanDuel) across his previous two matches indicate that he should carry a threat against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium.
West Brom’s Chris Brunt (£7.7m) has recorded an average of 26 points over three starts at the Hawthorns, picking up a goal and assist against Watford in the previous outing in front of his own fans. Craig Dawson’s suspension could see Brunt withdrawn into defence, but we don’t see that as a negative.
The Baggies asset has won seven tackles, created five chances and struck three shots on target over that trio of home fixtures. Visitors Swansea City have conceded 12 goals over their last four away trips and could be vulnerable to Brunt’s set-piece delivery.
Manchester City host a Watford side that have leaked nine goals in their previous two away matches.
While it’s worth checking the teamsheet as Pep Guardiola shuffles his squad, Yaya Toure (£8.7m) made a second-half appearance against Leicester City and was utilised in a forward role. The Ivorian scored a brace against Crystal Palace a few weeks back and could also be on penalty duties in Sergio Aguero’s absence.
West Ham are winless in six matches, yet Dimitri Payet (£11.2m) has maintained a strong average of 22.8 FanDuel points this campaign.
A goal and two assists over his last three outings highlights his importance to Slaven Bilic’s under pressure side.
The Frenchman is the top midfielder for both chances created (47) and attempts from set plays (14) this season. That bodes well as Burnley drop by with the worst record for attempts conceded from dead-ball situations (76).
To fit in our other two forwards in our budget, we’ve turned to Stoke City’s Marko Arnautovic as a differential against Southampton. The Austrian has contributed a pair of assists in his last four at the Bet365 Stadium, averaging 18.8 points over those outings.
An in-form Harry Kane (£13.9m) just can’t be ignored against a porous Hull defence that have conceded the most goals in the league (32).
The Spurs striker has notched five goals in his last three at White Hart Lane – that includes back-to-back braces against Swansea City and West Ham, scored from eight shots on target (worth five points apiece).
Similarly, we couldn’t overlook the consistency of Diego Costa (£14.5m) following his winner against West Brom.
The Chelsea man has tallied five goals in his last six outings and is now the top forward in FanDuel, with an impressive 33.9-point average.
Costa’s all round play has also become a factor – 17 chances created over the last six Gameweeks is the most for forwards, helping him to a trio of assists.
Tonight’s Games
The largest pot for tonight’s matches is the £2000 Wednesday War Chest with £400 reserved for first place. There is a £5 entry fee for this contest.
There are also several other contests available, including head-to-heads with £1 buy-ins and 5, 10 or 22 player contests with varying entry fees.
You can register for a free account at FanDuel via this link.
