Welcome to Friday’s regular breakdown of forthcoming contests as we roll out a nominated “strongest XI” for our partner game FanDuel.
Once more there are three windows to consider over the weekend, with the complete ten-fixture slate covering the Saturday to Monday timeframe. You can enter line-ups into these contests right up until the first 12.30pm kick-off at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Bournemouth.
The Saturday-only window starts with five fixtures at 3pm and culminates with the evening clash between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield.
Lastly, there’s also a Sunday/Monday slate. This begins with Everton’s encounter with Spurs at 1.30pm on Sunday followed by Sunderland hosting Manchester City in the tea-time encounter. The London derby on Monday night marks the end of the weekend action with Chelsea visiting West Ham at the London Stadium.
If you are just starting out with FanDuel, then hopefully our suggested line-up below can help with your first selection. However, we would also recommend looking over our strategy guide that goes into more detail on the type of players you should be targeting.
My Strongest XI
Jordan Pickford £6.3m
Tyrone Mings £7m
Andrea Ranocchia £7.9m
Bryan Oviedo £7.7m
Tom Huddlestone £6.5m
Nacer Chadli £8m
Raheem Sterling £12.1m
Gylfi Sigurdsson £12.7m
Jamie Vardy £8.3m
Manolo Gabbiadini £9.3m
Zlatan Ibrahimovic £13.9m
The Key Picks
When selecting a goalkeeper in FanDuel, it’s customary to target the ten points on offer for a clean sheet. We’ve gone for an alternative strategy this week by seeking out save points (worth three each).
Jordan Pickford will most likely concede as Manchester City roll up to the Stadium of Light. However, the Sunderland asset should make plenty of saves – he’s averaged 4.8 per appearance this campaign. A haul of 17.75 points in the 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park last time out demonstrates Pickford’s ability to bring in returns, despite leaking goals.
We focus on clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI’s) when picking out defenders in FanDuel, paying most attention to the backlines that will be under sustained pressure.
Hull City’s recent acquisition Andrea Ranocchia ticks both boxes. The centre-back has impressed over his first four outings for the Humberside outfit – registering 12 tackles and 46 CBI’s to contribute a 22.69 average. He visits a Leicester City side revived by caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare – they’ll be keen to build on Monday’s stunning win over Liverpool and should stretch the Tigers’ defence.
Manchester United have produced more crossed balls than any other side at home this season – accruing 375 over 13 Old Trafford encounters. Combined with a need to thwart an in-form Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Bournemouth rearguard should be kept busy in Saturday’s early kick-off.
While Steve Cook would be our go-to choice – our funds don’t quite stretch to fit in his £8.6m price-tag, so we’re hoping that fellow centre-back Tyrone Mings will fill in again for the absent Simon Francis. Mings could provide great value if he can reach the 26 points accrued last time out at West Brom – recording ten CBI’s and three tackles. FanDuel’s late swap feature means we can switch in a player in the later kick-offs if necessary – Crystal Palace’s Mamadou Sakho is a potential option at £6.9m.
Our final defender has made 16 tackles and 24 CBI’s over his first three matches for the Black Cats. That’s helped Bryan Oviedo score a promising 24 points per match on average so far for his new club. The left-back should bring in the points again as he attempts to silence a marauding Raheem Sterling on Wearside.
Our midfield budget ‘enabler’ this week is Hull City’s Tom Huddlestone. He gets the nod after a string of robust performances for Marco Silva’s revitalised side. Sitting second amongst midfielders for CBI’s (34) over the last four Gameweeks, his combative qualities look set to come to the fore at the King Power Stadium against a buoyant Foxes. Set-piece duties add to Huddlestone’s appeal – a penalty against Burnley means he’s delivered an average of 22.75 points over those four rounds.
Next up, we’ve turned to West Brom’s Nacer Chadli as a differential pick for the visit of Crystal Palace. The midfielder has stepped up as a provider lately, delivering an assist in each of his previous three outings at The Hawthorns. A recent goal at West Ham – a fifth of the season – was another reminder of the Belgian’s attacking threat. A fourth consecutive 20+ points score should be achievable against an Eagles defence that have conceded a pair of goals per away tie on average this term.
We’ve opted for Raheem Sterling from a fluid Man City attack that have scored ten goals in their last two in all competitions. The winger’s 14 goal attempts and nine chances created have resulted in a goal and four assists in his last six league matches. That’s bought Sterling’s tally to nine goals and 16 assists in 34 appearances across all competitions, a level of reliability that reflects just how much he’s flourished under Pep Guardiola’s guidance.
Gylfi Sigurdsson was one of the first names in our line-up this week, ahead of an enticing home tie with Burnley. The midfielder sits third behind Christian Eriksen (£12.4m) and Paul Pogba (£13.2m) for average FanDuel points – registering 25.49 per match this season. Only Sunderland (124) have conceded more attempts from set pieces than the Clarets (119) – the Icelander’s dead-ball deliveries should be a key weapon for Paul Clement’s side, then.
Jamie Vardy burst back into life following Claudio Ranieri’s sacking, scoring a stunning brace against Liverpool on Monday night. While he’s only found the net in four league outings, his ten attempts over the last four outings hints that Monday’s display could be the catalyst for the Foxes striker to find some consistency. Only Bournemouth (14) have conceded more big chances than his opponents Hull (12) over the previous four Gameweeks.
Manolo Gabbiadini has made an instant impression for Southampton, scoring a trio of goals in his first two league matches before notching a brace against Manchester United in the EFL Cup final. The Italian forward scored 30.75 points in FanDuel against West Ham, followed by 52 at the Stadium of Light in his last league outing. A trip to Vicarage Road shouldn’t faze a player that’s just netted twice at Wembley.
Our main investment in attack this week had to be on Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The spearhead of an in-form Manchester United outfit, the Swede now has 26 goals in 38 outings after also bagging a brace at Wembley last weekend. Worryingly for Bournemouth, the forward has mustered 64 attempts and created 12 chances in 12 Old Trafford league outings.
This Week’s Contests
The largest prize pot this weekend covers all ten matches across the full slate. The Fan Favourite has £2,500 in prize money with the top placed participant collecting £500. It’s £5 per entry and there are prizes available right down to 120th place.
Saturday offers two £300 pots that are both £3 to enter. One contest is a double-up with 50 players winning, the other has a £75 prize for the winner, with cash awarded down to 24th spot.
The Sunday/Monday special is a £777 game; it’s £7 to enter with £140 going to top spot and prizes available down to 29th position.
