With just two Gameweeks remaining, we once again cast our eye over the player list of our partner game FanDuel. As usualy, we assess the various contests on offer and also put forward our strongest select XI for the round ahead.
There’s a free contest again this week – the Combo Free Play has a guaranteed £50 in prizes with £20 going to the winner. It’s in the Saturday to Monday window, which covers nine fixtures.
Elsewhere, we return to the standard three windows for FanDuel this weekend. The deadline for the Saturday to Monday contests is tomorrow at 12.30pm when Leicester City roll up to the Etihad.
The Saturday-only games start at 3pm when three matches kick-off. It also includes Arsenal’s teatime trip to Stoke City.
Contests are also available that cover the three Sunday encounters, beginning with Hull City’s visit to Selhurst Park and incorporating the Monday night match-up when Chelsea host Watford.
For newcomers to FanDuel, our pre-season strategy guide can help steer your selections when building line-ups for the upcoming games.
My Strongest XI
Thibaut Courtois £7.1m
Jeffrey Schlupp £7m
Chris Smalling £7.3m
James Collins £7.7m
Sam Clucas £7.9m
Cesc Fabregas £10.1m
Leroy Sane £10.6m
Kevin De Bruyne £13m
Christian Benteke £8.7m
Fernando Llorente £9m
Josh King £11.6m
The Key Picks
For our goalkeeper slot, it was a choice between Manchester City’s Willy Caballero (£7m) and Thibaut Courtois of Chelsea. We settled on the latter, with the Blues hosting a Watford outfit that have failed to find the net in eight of their last ten away fixtures. The Belgian stopper has kept back-to-back clean sheets, while only Spurs have bettered the eight shut-outs in 17 matches Chelsea have managed at home.
However, we will have potential Chelsea rotation in mind should they earn victory at West Brom tonight. Caballero could well get a late call once the Blues teamsheet is published prior to Monday’s kick-off.
We hesitated to include Crystal Palace’s Jeffrey Schlupp in light of doubts he would be utilised as a centre-back again as James Tomkins and Scott Dann could return. However, the versatile defender may fill in for Andros Townsend on the left flank – providing an out of position defender for our line-up.
The Ghanaian has started five of the last six matches and averaged 19.85 FanDuel points over that period. Only Arsenal’s Nacho Monreal (£7.8m) has made more tackles (30 in seven matches) over the last six Gameweeks than Schlupp’s 27 in six outings.
Next up in our rearguard is Manchester United’s Chris Smalling, who is set to start at White Hart Lane as Jose Mourinho continues his rotation policy – the defender an unused substitute in the Europa League draw with Celta Vigo last night. The centre-back has made 50 clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBIs) over his last four league appearances. Only West Ham’s James Collins has made more (57).
The Hammers defender completes our line-up after shining in Slavan Bilic’s three-man back-line of late.
Collins has recorded ten more CBIs over the last six Gameweeks than any other defender, registering 81 of those actions to record a 21.9-point average. West Ham host a Liverpool side that are top for away goal attempts, producing 282 over 18 road trips, so the Reds should keep Collins busy once again.
We’ve opted for Hull City’s Sam Clucas for their must-win match at Selhurst Park. The midfielder’s industry in the centre of the pitch has seen him return three successive scores exceeding 22 points in FanDuel. Over that trio of matches, he’s scored a goal from three shots on target and made 12 tackles and 13 CBIs, highlighting his ability to bring in FanDuel points in an end-to-end role for Marco Silva’s outfit.
As mentioned, Chelsea could have won the title by Monday evening when they welcome an out-of-sorts Watford to west London. But Cesc Fabregas represents a reasonably priced route into a side that may see some players rested.
The Spaniard’s form has improved markedly over the run-in – particularly at Stamford Bridge, where he’s produced three goals and nine assists in ten outings. A 36-point average in his previous six at home shows he’s become a convincing FanDuel prospect.
Manchester City hit five goals past Crystal Palace and should be unstoppable again as Leicester City visit the Etihad, with both first choice centre-backs potentially missing for the Foxes.
We’ve doubled up on Pep Guardiola’s fluid attack, with Leroy Sane providing a relatively inexpensive option compared to his midfield team-mates – the youngster has returned four goals and a trio of assists since Gameweek 22. Over his last six matches, eight of his ten attempts have arrived from inside the box, with six of those shots on target indicating the winger is getting into promising positions.
Kevin De Bruyne’s performance against the Eagles underlined his ability to run matches and suggested the Belgian will be a key weapon in the remaining matches. A goal and a pair of assists bought his tally to five and 18 respectively this season. The midfielder has produced 11 goal attempts and the 20 chances he’s created over four outings is the most of any player – they’ve contributed to a 36-point Fanduel average.
The first of our trio of forwards should be a serious menace in aerial battles against a side that tend to concede plenty of chances from headers and set-plays. Hull make the trip to Selhurst Park having conceded the third most headed goal attempts (91) and set-piece efforts (157) this campaign.
Sam Allardyce has likely planned to make the most of Christian Benteke as a target-man to exploit the Tigers’ weaknesses. He’s top for headed attempts with 47 this season, suggesting a 15th goal is on the cards.
Swansea City travel to a Sunderland side that have conceded 32 goals in 18 home matches – the Black Cats rank second for shots conceded in the box (170) and goal attempts from set-pieces (44) in front of their own fans. That is enough reason to pick frontman Fernardo Llorente, who will be spearheading a side intent on dragging themselves away from the relegation trapdoor.
The Spaniard has scored five goals in eight starts and his threat is boosted by the more pricey midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson’s (£13.1m) convincing dead-ball deliveries.
Bournemouth’s chief threat Josh King maintained his impressive record of recent returns with an assist at Stoke City meaning the forward has only blanked in two of his last 11 outings. Benik Afobe remains sidelined, which should allow King to continue in the lone forward berth for the visit of Burnley. His 14 goal attempts and eight chances created over the last six re-affirms his status as the go-to pick from the Cherries.
Sean Dyche’s visitors have suffered on their travels this term, conceding 33 goals in 18 matches from the most shots both in (206) and out of the box (152). They’ve also yielded the most set-play opportunities (109). Those numbers made King difficult to overlook.
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 Saturday to Monday window and is £5 per entry. The top 120 line-ups will collect winnings, with £500 for first spot.
On Saturday, there’s a £3 buy-in contest which has £300 up for grabs, with a £75 pay-out to the winner and 24 of the potential 118 entries making returns.
The Sunday/Monday window has a £777 game, with a £7 entry fee. First prize is £140 and the top 29 line-ups also take a share of the winnings.
Remember the Combo Free Play this week allows you to try out FanDuel without risking any cash.
You can register for a free account at FanDuel and enter the tournament via this link.
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, please always play responsibly.
