For the second time this week, we look ahead to the contests offered in our partner game FanDuel for the upcoming round of matches. As always, we’ll also propose our preferred XI to provide some guidance when piecing together your squads.
It’s the second round of the FanDuel Survivor tournament this weekend – if you entered, then be sure to check if you made it through the first knock-out stage in Gameweek 30.
FanDuel have the usual three windows in which you can enter line-ups over the Gameweek. The time frame that covers all ten fixtures from Saturday to Monday begins with Watford’s visit to White Hart Lane at 12.30pm tomorrow.
The deadline for the Saturday-only contests is 3pm, with five kick-offs in the traditional afternoon slot. It also includes Chelsea’s teatime trip to the Vitality Stadium.
Contests are also available that include the two Sunday ties and Arsenal’s encounter at Crystal Palace on Monday evening.
If you’re selecting your first FanDuel line-up this weekend then our tips below should offer some guidance. In addition, we have this handy pre-season strategy guide available to offer some insight on how to build a squad from scratch.
MY STRONGEST XI
Victor Valdes £7.3m
James Collins £6.2m
Yohan Benalouane £6.9m
Craig Cathcart £7.4m
Darron Gibson £6.2m
Chris Brunt £7.9m
Manuel Lanzini £9.2m
Dele Alli £12.2m
Son Hueng-Min £10m
Romelu Lukaku £12.5m
Sergio Aguero £14.1m
THE KEY PICKS
We’re confident of strong returns from our pick between the sticks – Middlesbrough’s Victor Valdes has collected 19+ points on eight occasions this term and could easily reach that again with Burnley rolling up to the Riverside Stadium. The Spaniard has registered 20 saves and two clean sheets to accrue a 14.8-point FanDuel average over his last six matches. Encouragingly for his chances of scooping the ten points on offer to goalkeepers for a clean sheet, only Boro (128) and Watford (131) have mustered fewer attempts away than the Clarets (137).
Veteran managers of FanDuel will be aware that defenders don’t benefit from shut-out points – it’s clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI’s), as well as tackles, that are the key scoring actions in this position.
As a result, we return to James Collins following a score of 18.5 points midweek at the Emirates, where he made 11 CBI’s. The West Ham centre-back should provide good value again – Swansea travel to the London Stadium and are top for crosses (170) over the last six matches.
Although Leicester City have excelled of late, they face a stern test at Goodison Park. Everton have won six successive matches in front of their own fans, securing five clean sheets and scoring 22 goals in the process.
Romelu Lukaku has been the main protagonist for the Toffees during that run so we’ve opted for the Foxes Yohan Benalouane as he attempts to silence the Belgian forward. The kindly-priced centre-back should retain a spot with Wes Morgan likely to miss out again – we’re expecting him to improve on the 14.3 points he’s averaged over three outings (in which he’s registered 26 CBI’s).
For similar reasons, we’ve drafted in Watford’s Craig Cathcart with a busy afternoon incoming at White Hart Lane. Over his last six starts, the centre-back has produced a reasonable return of 37 CBI’s and 11 tackles and registered a 16.6-point average, which he should exceed against Spurs.
We needed an ‘enabler’ to help afford our pair of big-hitters up front so have pinpointed Sunderland’s Darron Gibson as a cheap option, who should at least contribute some defensive points as Manchester United visit the Stadium of Light. The budget midfielder scored 18.75 points when the other Manchester side visited recently, making six tackles, so we’re hoping for another combative display.
Southampton make the trip to West Bromwich having conceded 11 goals in their previous six on the road. It should be a tight encounter between the two mid-table outfits, which means that Chris Brunt’s dead-ball deliveries could well be a factor. The Baggies midfielder has a 21.9-point average in home starts, having tallied three goals and as many assists at the Hawthorns this season.
Swansea’s match-up with West Ham is set to be an end-to-end scrap, with a pair of porous defences having conceded 26 goals between them over their last six outings. Up steps the Hammers’ Manuel Lanzini for our line-up, then – the Argentine has notched goals in four of last five home matches to contribute a 36.6-point average over that run. The Welsh outfit have conceded the most big chances in away ties (41) of any side in the league.
We’ve doubled up on the Spurs attack as they host Watford seeking to maintain pressure on Chelsea at the summit. It’s difficult to overlook Dele Alli – he’s now netted four goals and served up three assists from nine chances created and as many shots on target over his last five matches. The midfielder’s all-round involvement and importance to Mauricio Pochettino’s side is highlighted by him picking up points from eight different actions at Swansea.
We’ve paired him with forward Son Hueng-Min, who recorded back-to-back goals with his late equaliser at the Liberty Stadium. The South Korean has provided attacking returns in the league once every 95 minutes on average – registering nine goals and six assists despite limited pitch time. Promisingly, the Hornets visit North London having conceded in their last nine away matches.
While Romelu Lukaku continues to struggle away, the league’s top scorer is an irresistible selection at home. He’s found the net in his last six matches at Goodison, scoring ten goals in total. Opponents Leicester have struggled away from the King Power Stadium this season, keeping a single clean sheet in 14 matches and yielding eight goals in their last four road trips.
Sergio Aguero is back to being a consistent menace, with four goals and an assist over his last six outings contributing to a 24.6-point FanDuel average. A home tie with Hull makes going without the Argentine a potentially foolhardy decision – the Tigers have a woeful away record, leaking the most away goals (35) in the league, including nine over their last three road trips.
THIS WEEK’S CONTESTS
The largest pot this weekend is again the Fan Favourite, which has £2,500 in prize money – it’s in the full ten-fixture window and is £5 per entry. The top 120 placed line-ups will collect winnings, with £500 for first spot.
There’s also a double-up game in this window, with £,1000 available. It’s a £10 buy-in and the top 50 players win.
On Saturday, there’s a £3 buy-in contest which has £500 up for grabs, with £100 being paid to the winner and 43 of the potential 197 entries making returns.
The Sunday/Monday window has a £777 game with a £7 entry fee – first prize is £140, while the top 29 line-ups also take a share of the winnings.
If you’re involved in the Survivor contest then remember to enter a team into the second round.
You can register a free account on FanDuel via this link.
