After a brief hiatus last week, the Weekly Shop returns for the Boxing Day fixtures as we scan the FanDuel player list and analyse some of the player targets being considered.
Assessing the schedule, there are three fixtures that leap out in terms of FanDuel potential.
Chelsea’s clash with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge looks intriguing, not least because Diego Costa’s absence could surface some new options in their starting XI. In addition, the Cherries’ rearguard also interests us: they have been a useful source of attacking points this season, but it will be their defensive capabilities that come to the fore against the league leaders.
Manchester United seek a fourth consecutive victory from a favourable match-up with Sunderland at Old Trafford. Jose Mourinho’s side will likely dominate possession, which should keep the Black Cats’ backline busy, rendering them a sure-fire option for our own FanDuel defence.
Manchester City travel to Hull City and offer up a reverse scenario. It will likely be the visitors on the front foot, with the Tigers’ new 3-5-1-1 formation presenting us with a number of defensive candidates. Pep Guardiola’s squad depth could mean more rotation, but FanDuel’s late swap feature can give us the freedom to include City assets, allowing us to use the Boxing Day teamsheets to tweak our line-ups until kick-off.
The Better Buys
We begin our festive ‘shopping’ trip by focusing on the players that will form the basis of our line-ups. These ‘better buys’ may require sizeable investment, but they have both the form and fixtures to warrant inclusion.
Manchester United’s David De Gea (£7.3m) stands out as the prime candidate to wear our keeper’s jersey. The Spaniard looks excellent value ahead of his meeting with Sunderland, having conceded just six goals in eight Old Trafford fixtures. The Black Cats have blanked in five of their last six matches on the road and, without the guile of Adnan Januzaj, may struggle to break down Mourinho’s defence to even trouble De Gea.
Burnley’s Tom Heaton (£8m) continues to catch our eye. The top shot-stopper with 78 saves, he has made 13 of those over his last two outings and boasts the best FanDuel average for goalkeepers with 17.4 points per match. Middlesbrough travel to Turf Moor as the joint worst with the Clarets for goal attempts (156) this term. That may limit Heaton’s save rate but makes the ten points for a clean sheet, available only to FanDuel keepers, appear a strong possibility.
It’s at this point that we like to highlight clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI) as the key scoring factor when considering defender selections in FanDuel.
Bournemouth’s Steve Cook (£7.9) has been unbeatable for this particular statistic over the last four Gameweeks, registering 76 CBI’s and netting a goal to provide a 33 FanDuel point average. Simon Francis has been the next best Cherries defender with 42 CBI’s, which indicates just how vital Cook will be in the clash with the league leaders at the Bridge.
Papy Djilobodji (£7.7m) also has the encouraging combination of strong CBI statistics, coupled with tough opposition. The Sunderland centre-back has a 25.8 FanDuel average over the last four rounds. Second only behind Cook over those last four with 70 CBI’s, the Senegalese faces a key battle with Zlatan Ibrahimovic which should help him maintain that impressive recent average.
We’re hoping that Diego Costa’s day off will bring Eden Hazard (£12.6m) blazing back to life as Chelsea’s principal threat. A single goal in five outings is worrying form, but he’s notched six strikes in eight at Stamford Bridge this campaign. A season average of 24.75 FanDuel points still places the Belgian in the top three midfielders, despite that dip in form.
While Kevin De Bruyne (£14.1) is the top midfielder by average in FanDuel, we have the more budget friendly Raheem Sterling (£11.7m) in our sights for City’s trip to the KCOM Stadium.
The midfielder has picked up a goal and assist over his last two and started in a central forward role against Arsenal. Mike Phelan’s side are yet to keep a clean sheet in eight matches in front of their own fans, shipping 15 goals so far.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (£11.1m) has registered 23.9 points on average this season, ranking him fifth for midfielders in FanDuel, an impressive achievement given Swansea City’s stuttering form. The Icelander has scored twice and served up three assists in the previous three run-outs at the Liberty Stadium, while West Ham arrive in Wales having conceded 17 goals in eight away fixtures.
It’s difficult to see past Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£14.6) for one of our three available forward slots.
The Swede has tallied seven goals in his last six league appearances and is the top forward for goal attempts (74) and shots on target (27) this season.
His opponents Sunderland have conceded 183 shots in the box, only Burnley (185) and Hull (184) are weaker in this regard, while Ibrahimovic is the most prolific player in the league for penalty area attempts, with 50 efforts from 16 matches.
Alexis Sanchez (£14.7m) looks to be the main threat to pierce West Brom’s rearguard effort at the Emirates. The Chilean is the stand-out pick from the Gunners’ attack, with six goals and three assists over the last five matches helping him record the best average for FanDuel forwards, with 31.6 points per match.
The Poundstretchers
It’s now time to hit the sales as we go bargain hunting, pondering some of the “poundstretchers” that can fill those berths on the fringes of our line-up, allowing us to afford some of the big names mentioned above.
We start our festive thriftiness in goal, as we consider Everton’s stand-in option.
Maarten Stekelenburg’s withdrawal through injury at Goodison Park on Monday night puts Joel Robles (£5.5m) on our radar for a trip to the King Power Stadium. The Spanish stopper provided a clean sheet against West Ham in his only full appearance this season, while Jamie Vardy’s absence through suspension for Leicester City adds to his appeal. However, be sure to check for Stekelenburg’s possible recovery ahead of the Boxing Day kick-off.
Ramiro Funes Mori (£6.6m) is another Toffee who could make the cut. The Argentine has started three of the last four and a 21-point average over those matches, with a record of 32 CBI’s and nine tackles won offering cause for optimism. Free from suspension, Phil Jagielka could return against the Foxes, though, so again look out for that Everton teamsheet.
Luis Hernandez (£5.8m) is yet another option involved in that King Power Stadium meeting. The Leicester City defender is set to start with both Christian Fuchs and Robert Huth suspended, and his current 13.3 FanDuel average should be exceeded here, as he duels with Everton’s Romelu Lukaku.
Hull City’s Harry Maguire (£6.5m) looks to present a very strong case for inclusion once again. Part of the Tiger’s three-man backline, he clearly offers the best value option among the contenders, having returned 34.75 points in the 1-0 defeat to West Ham last out. His goal threat was a big factor in that tally: Maguire has contributed eight attempts in the last four Gameweeks, more than any other Premier League defender. He’s sure to be kept busy against Manchester City, who will be looking to build on their 2-1 victory over Arsenal.
If your budget fails to stretch to including Alexis Sanchez or Theo Walcott (£10.4m), then Alex Iwobi (£8.1m) could be a consideration in the Arsenal attack. A first goal of the season in his previous home outing should have boosted his confidence, earmaking the young Nigerian as a potential differential for our line-ups.
The absence of Costa and N’Golo Kante brings a pair of kindly priced Chelsea assets into focus for their meeting with Bournemouth.
Cesc Fabregas (£8.6m) has assisted a pair of goals and netted once in four appearances since returning from the sidelines. The Spaniard is expected to start and could line-up with striker Michy Batshuayi (£7.9m).
The Belgian may well be handed the lone striker role by manager Antonio Conte. While yet to make his full debut, the summer signing will be keen to impress and picked up a goal and assist as a substitute earlier in the campaign.
We’re also eyeing up Middlesbrough’s Alvaro Negredo (£8.9m) as an intriguing differential.
Four goals in his last four outings demonstrate a marked improvement in form and confidence. Notably, the Spaniard also contributes defensively, making seven clearances in the 3-0 win over Swansea City last time out, a factor that could prove useful against Burnley. While known to be resolute in home matches, the Clarets have conceded twice in each of their last three at Turf Moor.
I will return on Saturday with our FanDuel Focus article, revealing which players made the cut and earned a spot in my line-up, along with a review of the available FanDuel contests ahead of the weekend.
