Welcome to our regular Friday afternoon analysis of the upcoming FanDuel contests. As usual, we will run down the available games and prize money, in addition to putting forward our strongest XI for the weekend matches, providing some final tips on player selection.
FanDuel contests are again available over three time frames or “slates” this weekend.
The full ten-fixture slate starts with the London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal at 12.30pm.
There are seven matches in the Saturday-only window. Beginning at 3pm, it ends in the evening after Spurs’ encounter with Middlesborough.
Sunday’s slate offers two match-ups with both Manchester sides involved – the deadline here is 1.30pm.
Remember that, whatever contests you choose to enter, with FanDuel’s late-swap feature you can switch your players right up until kick-off. So, if you’re playing a full slate contest, you can tweak your line-up before the later kick-offs at 3pm and 5.30pm, and again prior to Sunday’s matches.
FanDuel are again rolling out an offer for new accounts for this set of fixtures: users that sign up today can receive £5 in free credit, no deposit is required.
Use the promo code “SCOUTFIVER” when registering your account to claim the offer.
Also, a reminder that you can still join the Fantasy Football Scout FanDuel Social League.
While we’re in week three of a four-Gameweek contest, you can still compete for the weekly prizes on offer – it’s free to enter. Full details follow later in this article.
If you’re just getting started with FanDuel, then hopefully our Weekly Shop and line-up analysis below will offer some immediate help for the forthcoming round of fixtures. For further help, we recommend that you take in our strategy guide which discusses more of the concepts behind squad selection in FanDuel.
My Strongest XI
Joel Robles – £6.7m
Ben Davies – £6.8m
Antonio Barragan – £7m
Harry Maguire – £8.6m
Tom Davies – £7.3m
Matt Phillips – £8.5m
Dele Alli – £11.7m
Kevin De Bruyne – £13.7m
Troy Deeney – £8.3m
Christian Benteke – £9.2m
Romelu Lukaku – £12.1m
The Key Picks
Although we strongly considered Spurs’ Hugo Lloris at £6.8m, we couldn’t overlook Joel Robles’ recent performances. The Everton keeper made five saves and a pair of clearances at Stoke City last time out to score 17.25 despite conceding a goal.
A trio of clean sheets in the preceding three matches has given the stopper a FanDuel average of 20.4 points over his last four. A fifth clean sheet (worth ten points to keepers in FanDuel) in a seventh start could certainly be on the cards with Bournemouth the visitors to Goodison Park.
Our criteria for the selections is clear. The task is to target solid underlying numbers of clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), as well as tackles won, when selecting FanDuel defenders. However, we must also consider potential attacking returns and the fact that we need to preserve funds for a big spend elsewhere in our squad.
Danny Rose’s injury has opened the door for a budget-friendly Ben Davies to claim a place in the Spurs rearguard and in our line-up. While Mauricio Pochettino’s defence is unlikely to severely tested by visitors Middlesborough, we’re taking the risk of Davies being involved at the other end of the pitch. The full-back created a chance, made five clearances and won a tackle after replacing Rose at Sunderland.
Meanwhile, we’re expecting Aitor Karanka’s backline to face a challenging afternoon at White Hart Lane, with Spurs eager to bounce back from the draw at the Stadium of Light. Antonio Barragan should offer value here: his eight tackles last time out, more than any other defender, helped the right-back register 31 in FanDuel. Only three defenders have made more tackles (78) than the Spaniard this season.
Once again Hull City’s Harry Maguire claims a berth in our selection. The visit of Liverpool to the KCOM Stadium should provide the centre-back with the opportunity to record plenty of points from defensive actions: he made ten CBI’s at Old Trafford in the previous outing. Another shot on target against United also highlights his recent attacking threat, which could bring further returns against an often fragile Liverpool defence at set-pieces. A 25.6 point FanDuel average over the last six Gameweeks validates Maguire’s price-tag.
After recent performances, Everton’s Tom Davies is understandably no longer at the extreme budget end of the market. The Toffees midfielder scored 18.25 FanDuel points last time out in his fourth consecutive start, even without attacking returns. A goal and a pair of assists over the last four has provided a 21.3 point average, enough to earn the starlet selection in our XI ahead of his meeting with Bournemouth.
Matt Phillips has blanked in his last three but remains the preferred option from the West Brom line-up for a Hawthorns meeting with Stoke City.
The Potters have conceded 12 goals in their last four away matches, while Phillips has contributed four assists and a pair of goals in the previous five on home turf.
We’re hoping the goalless draw at Sunderland re-ignites some form from the Spurs attack for their meeting with Middlesbrough. Dele Alli is our selection here, due to his eight goals over last seven matches and a kinder price tag than Christian Eriksen (£13.3m) and Harry Kane (£13.6m).
Gabriel Jesus’ display on his first start for Manchester City against West Ham may have captured the headlines and the hearts of many Fantasy managers, but we’ve opted for the steady presence of Kevin De Bruyne from Pep Guardiola’s outfit.
With goals in his last two outings, the Belgian is back among the top five rated midfielders in FanDuel with a 24.42 average. The 4-0 victory and a sparkling performance at the London Stadium should guarantee that City have their tails up, suggesting that a resurgent Swansea City face a testing afternoon.
Watford host a Burnley side who have lost all but one of their ten trips away from Turf Moor. Troy Deeney is our weapon of choice from the Hornets after back-to-back goals and three in his last five outings. The forward’s physicality could come in useful against the Clarets: 10 CBI’s over the last two shows he can be an asset in both boxes.
We were tempted to opt for Wilfred Zaha (£8.3m) from the Crystal Palace line-up ahead of a meeting with basement-dwellers Sunderland. The winger returned from the Africa Cup of Nations to score 19 points at Bournemouth in midweek, just below his healthy 20.5 FanDuel average.
However, we’ve finally settled on target-man Christian Benteke, who recorded 25.25 FanDuel points with a goal on the South Coast. The Belgian’s 30 headed goal attempts ranks him top for that metric this season, while the Black Cats’ 63 attempts from headers conceded is the worst record in the league.
Romelu Lukaku has blanked in his last two outings, but a couple of goals and an assist in his previous pair of Goodison Park matches indicates that home comforts may lead to a revival. The visitors Bournemouth have suffered on the road of late: Eddie Howe’s side have conceded three goals in four of their last five away trips, suggesting that they are set for a gruelling afternoon on Merseyside.
This Week’s Contests
Once again the largest pot on offer this weekend covers all ten matches across the full weekend slate. The Fan Favourite contest has £2500 in prize money and the top placed participant will collect £500. It’s a £5 entry and the top 120 places can win prizes.
FanDuel also have a £500 single-entry contest running over the full weekend slate. This has a £4 buy-in with £100 going to first place. Prizes are available down to 34th position.
The Saturday Special has a £950 pot, the entry here is £3 and the top prize is £150. Finish in the top 73 places and you can win cash.
On Sunday there’s a £1,400 Special contest – this is £7 to enter with £280 going to top spot. The top 47 places qualify for prizes in this one.
FanDuel Social League Standings
A strong second Gameweek return of 190.25 ensured Illusions retains top spot in the overall standings of our free to enter FanDuel social league.
The competition continues for the next two Gameweeks with weekly rewards as well as overall prizes based on competitors’ best three weekly scores.
Each Gameweek, the top scoring manager will receive a £25 Amazon voucher,and each of the top five highest scorers will get a £10 FanDuel credit.
Scooping the top prize in week two, which took place in Gameweek 23, was Allezlechef with a score of 250.5. His punt on Gabriel Jesus paid off, with the Manchester City youngster’s goal and assist against West Ham bringing him 33.75 points.
His best performer was Gylfi Sigurdsson, who netted and assisted in Swansea City’s 2-1 victory over Southampton. The Icelander brought in 50.5 points to his winning XI, which has also helped him take second spot in the league’s overall leaderboard, six points behind Illiusions’ total of 469.5
Those joining Allezlechef in winning a £10 FanDuel credit as the top five highest second week scorers are benjenkins31, invertebrate, Joecu and Mikess.
The highest ranked FFScout moderator and contributor in the overall rankings is Anorak, who is in 11th place.
The overall rankings table can be found here.
The deadline for entry for the next round is 12:30pm on Saturday.
Existing FanDuel customers, as well as those new to the game, are free to take part, although it is worth noting that this is only available to UK-based customers.
You must be over 18 years of age, resident in the UK, and of legal capacity to register with FanDuel and open an Account. If you sign up, always play responsibly.
