The UEFA EURO 2016 tournament is set to kick off on Friday, June 10, and football (or soccer) fans from all over the world are gearing up for that event, which pits Europe’s top national teams against each other in one of the most prestigious tournaments not called the World Cup. However, it’s clearly this year’s biggest football/soccer event, and in this new fantasy game/app, you can pick a squad of 15 players and compete against players from all over the world, making changes to your lineup as you go along. There are also multiple modes to choose from in this game, ensuring that there’s more than one way for you to have fun playing fantasy football based on the UEFA EURO 2016 tourney.
With that said, we shall now be taking you to our exclusive UEFA EURO 2016 Fantasy tips, tricks and strategy guide – we shall start out with some general tips, but we shall also include some of our picks for top players, including some of whom we believe could be “sleepers,” or unexpected successes on the pitch, and players whom you may want to avoid due to injury problems or other reasons.
1. The Basics Of The Game
For starters, there are two game modes – Fantasy ’16, which is the conventional fantasy mode where you select 15 players (11 starters + four reserves), making sure that your budget does not exceed €100 million. There are also some other restrictions to keep in mind, such as not having no more than three players from a single team during the group phase. (This number will increase as the tournament progresses from stage to stage.) You will also need to choose a captain, whose score will be doubled after all fixtures in a match day are completed. You’ll also have a limited number of free transfers, and player prices are subject to change as the tournament goes on and player performance during the event gets taken into account. So with that in mind, it’s very important that you make all necessary changes before the stipulated deadline.
Daily 7 mode is much simpler – you just pick the seven best players regardless of price or position, and watch the points roll in during a match day. Likewise, you’ll be competing against other players in leagues, so our main tip here is to research on player stats (goals, goals conceded, assists, etc.) and gravitate mainly toward the most expensive players available, as they’re almost always the best. The website whoscored.com is one site where you can view detailed football stats beyond the usual appearances/caps and goal statistics.
2. Prioritize Goal Scorers
Below, we’ll be listing specific players, but speaking in general terms, you want to select goal scorers. Goals will net you the most number of fantasy points – if a goalkeeper or defender scores, you get six points, if a midfielder scores, you get five, and if a forward scores, you get four. That means it’s far more valuable if someone like Spain’s Jordi Alba (a defender) scores a goal, as compared to someone like Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (a forward). Still, forwards score far more goals than everyone else, so it may make sense to choose a 4-4-3 formation so you’re able to select three forwards. It’s usually the forwards who register assists, with midfielders often contributing well in that category, and they’re worth three points – make sure you take this into account when you’re researching on player stats.
3. Make Sure Your Goalkeeper And Defenders Are Likely Starters
Talking about defensive stats, your goalkeeper and defenders will get four points each if they play at least 60 minutes and don’t concede any goals – it’s extremely important that you pick players who are expected to start! Midfielders who play at least 60 minutes and do not concede any goals while on the pitch, so picking an expected starter isn’t as important for your midfielders as it is for keepers and defenders.
4. Beware The Minus Points
Some stats in UEFA EURO 2016 Fantasy are actually negative stats, which means you will lose points if someone registers them. You’ll lose a point each for penalties conceded, yellow cards, and for every two goals a defender or GK concedes. Own goals will cost you two points, and red cards will cost your team three points. Keeping these negatives in mind, you should exercise caution with those players who frequently get sent off due to red cards. You don’t want any hot-head costing you a good three points, after all.
5. Do A Lot Of Research
Last, but not the least, we should reiterate a point we made earlier about the importance of research. Not only should you check sites such as whoscored.com for detailed football stats; you should also be up-to-date on the latest news and rumors, particularly with regards to injuries and starting lineups/lineup changes. It’s a standard rule in all types of fantasy sports – you want to be well-read and up to date, so that you don’t end up with an injured, slumping, or soon-to-be-in-the-doghouse player in your lineup when he shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
List Of Recommended Players
Goalkeepers
Goalkeepers cost the least among all the players in this game, and since keeper is arguably the most important position you’ll want in this game, you can go all-out for the top GKs. Hugo Lloris of France and Manuel Neuer of Germany are both valued at €6 million, so go spring for them; also valued at €6 million is Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois, who is also considered as top goalkeeper. Also, if you’re going for a Spanish goalkeeper, you want David de Gea, and not Iker Casillas – they’re both valued at €5.5 million, but the better choice here would be the younger guy. Most pundits expect de Gea to start at UEFA EURO 2016 anyway.
Defenders
Selected Mats Hummel for your team? Time to head to the transfer wire and swap him out for someone else, as the German defender is currently injured. Spanish defenders Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique (both €6.5 million) can be counted on for the occasional score, but you might want to exercise caution as both are frequently-carded players in La Liga, with Ramos’ reputation for red cards quite well-known. Instead, Toby Alderweireld of Belgium (also €6.5 million) may be a safer bet, but since it seems as if the Belgians are popular picks among players so far, keep in mind that you’re only allowed a maximum three players from one team during the group stage!
Keeping that in mind, you may also consider Jerome Boateng of Germany, who costs €6 million and can be counted on for the odd assist, and Matteo Darmian of Italy, who is valued at €5.5 million.
Our top sleeper choice would be Eric Dier of England, who can be had for just €5 million. You want to select him, and not his teammate Ryan Bertrand, who is listed as doubtful. At €4.5 million each, you’ve also got Jason Denayer and Jordan Lukaku from Belgium, adding to your options if you’re looking for a good defender on the cheap – as long as you haven’t hit your Belgian quota just yet.
Midfielders
You may be better spending a little more in the midfield to get some decent goal-scorers and/or good passers for assists, preferably both – for that reason, you may want to avoid Andres Iniesta (Spain, €8 million) despite his name recall, as he may be a bit overpriced. Instead, you can select someone like Anthony Martial (France, €9 million), who hasn’t played much internationally, but has been putting up some good numbers for Manchester United. Likewise, France’s Paul Pogba (€8.5 million) is a great scorer and assist man for Juventus and a solid pick, but those yellow cards may be a concern. And if you can afford it, Belgian midfielders Kevin De Bruyne (€10 million) and Eden Hazard (€9.5 million) are also good choices.
Also avoid Kamil Grosicki of Poland and Borek Dockal of the Czech Republic as they’re currently showing up with that dreaded medical symbol next to their name.
We’ve got even more Belgian midfielders to suggest if you’re looking for a sleeper pick. Axel Witsel and Moussa Dembele cost €6.5 million and €6 million respectively – they don’t put up good goal-scoring numbers and don’t pick up a lot of assists, even for midfielders, but they start regularly, and they play for a team that’s heavily favored to win it all. Likewise, France’s N’golo Kante costs just €5.5 million and is becoming popular as a sleeper pick, same with Germany’s Emre Can, who is also valued at the same amount of money.
Forwards
Looking for a top forward? If you can afford him, then you want Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo on your team. With 58 goals in 126 caps, or almost half a goal per match, he’s as tried-and-tested as you can get, though he is the most expensive player available, with a price of €12.0 million. You may probably get more value from your money if you get someone like Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, €11.0 million), Antoine Griezmann (France, €10.0 million), or Romelu Lukaku (Belgium, €9.0 million) as your high-priced forward. Harry Kane (England, €8.5 million) makes for a good value pick – he doesn’t have much international experience, but for a young player, he’s been putting up some big numbers for Tottenham in the Premier League.
Talking about sleepers, you might want to consider England’s Jamie Vardy (€7.0 million), who’s largely untested but coming off a sensational season for Leicester City in the Premier League. Ireland’s Shane Long (€6.5 million) is another potential sleeper. As for players to avoid, Ireland’s Robbie Keane and Jon Walters are currently listed as injured or doubtful, so if you’ve got them in your lineup, go switch them out for someone else ASAP.