It’s the eve of Euro 2020 and that also means it’s the return of fantasy football with Euro 2020 Fantasy keeping us entertained throughout the next month.
For those used to playing Fantasy Premier League, the Euro 2020 Fantasy game offers the exciting prospect of selecting players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe that you don’t get to select while playing FPL. There are plenty of options for fantasy managers throughout the 24 teams and here is how my team will line up ahead of the deadline on Friday night.
GOALKEEPERS
In goal, I have opted for Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma (€5.5m) and Finland’s Lukas Hradecky (€4m). Hradecky is a great bench option considering he is the cheapest player while Donnarumma is part of one of the best defensive teams in the tournament, and conceded only 4 goals in 10 qualifying games for Italy.
DEFENCE
With plenty of budget defenders expected to start for various teams at Euro 2020, I have opted to not spend too much on my defence with all 5 of my defenders costing only €4.5 million each.
I have opted for two Danish defenders Simon Kjaer (€4.5m) and Joakim Maehle (€4.5m) considering they have a home fixture against Finland – ranked 54th in the world – on Matchday 1. Additionally, Pau Torres (€4.5m) and Jason Denayer (€4.5m) play for two of the best defensive teams in the tournament – Belgium and Spain – and they both have a relatively easy fixture in Matchday 1 against Sweden and Russia respectively.
And finally, the last choice for my backline is Dutch defender Owen Wijndal (€4.5m) who is expected to start at wing-back for the Netherlands and could provide some returns at both ends of the pitch.
MIDFIELD
In midfield, I have prioritised players that should start in the front three for their respective national teams. Ferran Torres (€8m) is one of the stars of the next generation for Spain and has a great record for La Roja, scoring 6 goals in only 8 starts. Diogo Jota (€8.5m) is also expected to play in the front three for Portugal and has a favourable fixture in Matchday 1 against Hungary.
David Alaba (€5.5m) monopolises all set-pieces for Austria and is a great budget enabler for the squad as Austria face the lowest-ranked team in the tournament (North Macedonia). And finally, rounding up my midfield is Mason Mount (€7m) from England and Domenico Berardi (€6m) from Italy, two attacking midfielders that are expected to start on Matchday 1.
FORWARDS
Like most managers, I have spent most of my budget on the forwards and have gone for three heavy hitters in the form of Romelu Lukaku (€11m), Cristiano Ronaldo (€12m) and Memphis Depay (€10m). Belgium, Portugal and Netherlands all play relatively weak opposition during Matchday 1 and the majority of the points are expected to come from these premium strikers.
Romelu Lukaku is one of the must-have players in the game after coming off a prolific season with Inter Milan where he scored 30 goals in 44 domestic games. Cristiano Ronaldo was the top scorer for Portugal in qualifying with 11 goals while Memphis Depay is the main man for Netherlands, bagging 34 goals and assists for Lyon last season in all competitions.
Shivaan Shah