This article will give an insight into my Euro fantasy chip strategy and team selection. I have decided to play my Wildcard in Euro Matchday 2 and Limitless chip in Matchday 3, which goes against the common strategy among Fantasy players. A lot of people have asked me why I have chosen to approach the chips in this way so I will explain why I have chosen to do so.
Fixtures have played a big part in my scheduling of the chips. When I compare the fixtures of Matchday 2 and Matchday 3, the latter appeal way more. In Matchday 3, big sides Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Spain have excellent fixtures. They face North Macedonia, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia respectively; arguably the weakest four teams in the competition. The talk of the town is that these big sides will play weakened sides but I don’t agree. Germany and Spain are unlikely to be through by then, whilst Belgium and Netherlands will be keen to finish top of their respective groups.
The likes of Lukaku and Depay are hunting the golden boot so for that reason I think they should start. Furthermore, you can cover Matchday 2 with cheaper alternatives such as Russian, Ukrainian, Swedish and Italian assets, whereas they are harder to find in Matchday 3. In summary, value is easier to find in Matchday 2 in my opinion. We will also have information about in and out-of-form players in Matchday 3 – limitless is the most important of these two chips should you be using both in the Group Stages, so it could be easier to use in Matchday 3.
Team Selection~ Wildcard Team for Euro Matchday 2
Remember, my team is just based on Matchday 2, as I am playing limitless in Matchday 3.
On Wednesday, I have chosen Alexandr Golovin, Mario Fernandes, Domenico Berardi, Leonardo Spinazzola and Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Despite Russia disappointing in their opener against Belgium, I fancy them to beat Finland relatively comfortably. They play on home soil and are overall the superior team. Fernandes is about as attacking defender as you can get, he plays basically as a wing-back and has three goals in his last six international starts. Added to that, Russia are primarily a defensive side and Finland only managed ONE shot against Denmark. In my opinion, Golovin is Russia’s best player. He managed 12 goal involvement in only 19 appearances for Monaco last season and two goals and seven assists in only seven qualifying starts. He also takes set-pieces and is likely to get the full 90 minutes – something I think is very important. I also think Finland will play with more of an attacking edge than they did against Denmark, which should play into Golovin’s hands. Despite not making my squad, I also like Artem Dzyuba – he is Russia’s goalscoring talisman, takes penalties, and should get at least a couple of chances.
Unsurprisingly, I have opted for triple Italy. They have impressed me most of any team so far and their players represent fantastic value. Berardi is an absolute steal at 6 million: he takes some set-pieces, looks nailed, had an excellent domestic goal record this season and tallied an impressive four shots and created five chances in the opener. Insigne is only slightly better in my opinion, and saving 2.5 million looks a wise choice. Switzerland aren’t an awful side, but Italy should dominate and prove too strong. As well as Berardi, I am opting for the defensive double up of Spinazzola and Di Lorenzo.
Alessandro Florenzi has been ruled out of the Swiss game, so Di Lorenzo will start at just 5 million! I actually prefer Leanardo Bonucci to Di Lorenzo, but can’t find the extra 0.5 million – I noticed Italy had many set-piece strategies up their sleeve against Turkey, and the Swiss have just come off conceding a goal from one against Wales. Bonucci is their main set-piece threat. That being said, Di Lorenzo totaled an impressive three goals and seven assists in the Serie A last season. If you watched the Italy game you will know how impressive Spinazzola was, he really did get forward. He had two shots and the most touches in the final third of any defender in the Euros so far. Italy never looked like conceding against Turkey, only conceding three shots. Once again they have the privilege of playing in Rome.
On Thursday, I am tipping Ukrainian attacking double Ruslan Malinovskyi and Roman Yaremchuk, as well as Dutch attacking talisman Memphis Depay.
Ukraine impressed against Holland and should be on course for a high-scoring win against North Macedonia. I think set-piece specialist Malinovskyi is the pick of the 7 million midfielders this matchday. He scored eight and assisted 12 in the Serie A last season. He was involved in the most goals in qualifying, with three goals and four assists in eight starts. Malinovskyi was fourth in Europe for most shot-creating actions per 90 minutes last season. That is a record that beat Kevin de Bruyne; just bettered by Messi, Neymar, and Di Maria. He is another player that will play the whole game barring injury.
I do prefer Andriy Yarmolenko’s prospects but unfortunately, he is 1.5 million more; he has penalty-taking duties and plays in a more advanced role. Marlos could be a gem at 6 million after the injury to Oleksandr Zubkov. He should start and got two assists in his 45 minutes in the final pre-tournament friendly. Yaremchuk provides a good value at 7 million. He scored in the opener, totaled 22 goals and seven assists in 40 appearances in all competitions last season, and was Ukraine’s top scorer in qualifying with four goals and two assists in six starts. He is most likely to score goals for Ukraine.
Despite disappointing in Matchday 1, I still like the look of Depay for this Matchday. He takes a share of set-pieces and penalties, and has seven goals and four assists in ten caps. Netherlands are once again at home, playing an Austrian side that I thought gave away a lot of chances on the break against North Macedonia. Against a better side like Netherlands, they’ll get punished.
The following day, I currently have Swedish keeper Robin Olsen, Czech’s Tomas Soucek and England’s Kieran Trippier.
Firstly, Sweden have a nice fixture on paper against Slovakia. Sweden are focussed on defence so Marcus Danielson, Lustig Augustinsson and Olsen appeal to me as Fantasy options, and are nice budget options. Olsen is a good shot stopper, should Slovakia have enough chances for him to score some points. Despite Slovakia putting two past Poland, they only had an xG of 0.42 and Sweden boast a better defence than Poland.
Soucek is a bit of a punt, but he recently scored a perfect hat-trick in the 6-2 win over Estonia. Just like he does for club, he really does offer a penalty box threat, running to meet crosses from deep. Croatia conceded the most set-piece goals of all Nations League A teams, are without defender Dejan Lovren and did not impress me against England. Furthermore, I rate Czech Republic and can see a high scoring game.
I think Trippier will retain in his space at left-back as Southgate doesn’t tend to change things around when they are working. England’s clean sheet chances look good against Scotland and he is a set-piece master.
On the final day, I have the French triplet of Antoine Griezmann, Benjamin Pavard and Hugo Lloris as well as Spanish midfielder Dani Olmo.
I actually see Griezmann as France’s best attacking option: I like his free role, he will probably take penalties and gets a good share of set-pieces. Griezmann is Les Bleus’ joint top scorer this campaign with five goals in 12 appearances. He also got three goals and nine assists in 10 qualifying caps – which doubled the number of goal involvements from Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe is best against a high line – opposite to the Hungarian’s approach, and I think Benzema and Griezmann suit that more. I have decided to go with double defence rather than double attack to not only save cash, but for safety. I would be very surprised if Hungary scored after the game against Portugal, but I did think they frustrated Portugal very well. Hungary only managed 0.18 xG, Pavard and Lloris look set for at least six points.
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Further reads, resources from ALLABOUTFPL on Euro Fantasy Football and FPL
Euro 2020 Fantasy | Matchday 2 Captaincy Picks and Analysis
Euro Fantasy Matchday 2 | Best Limitless Team and Options for MD2
Euro Fantasy MD2 Differentials: Looking for an Edge in the Group Stage
EURO Fantasy Chip Strategy: What to do with the Elusive Boosts?
Beginner’s Guide to EURO Fantasy: How to Play, Rules, Scoring and Tips
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Dan @CoysFPL
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