Fantasy Football tips and advice: Euro 2020 best players for matchday two
Matchday one of Euro 2020 provided some surprise results, alongside plenty of goals, action and fantasy football points.
For players of the game, points came from some unexpected places. Belgium defender Thomas Meunier grabbed 15 while Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky boasted 13 - that was more than most expected him to return from the entire tournament.
Big hitters such as Romelu Lukaku, Ciro Immobile and Cristiano Ronaldo delivered with goals, while other bargain options such as Vladimir Coufal justified inclusion as he returned nine points in Czech Republic's win over Scotland.
The fixture list and the constant nature of group stage football means that the turnaround between deadlines is tight. While players can make changes before, if they want to see all the games before committing to changes they will only have a window starting at 10pm and finishing at 2pm the next day.
For matchday two, there is an argument to be played for playing the Limitless chip. That allows a player to make unlimited changes for one matchday only - think the 'Free Hit' chip on FPL.
That's because the wildcard could come into play in the third and final game of the group stages, with the chance to then make unlimited changes again before the round of 16 gets underway.
It's a good way to maximise points return give the transfer limit during the knockout stages. You can make a further three before the quarter-finals, five before the semi-finals and five again before the final. Sticking to the nations expected to progress should limit the number of changes needed as the tournament reaches the latter stages.
To help with the decisions going into matchday two, we've picked out five players worth including in any teams.
Andriy Yarmolenko
- Position: Midfielder
- Nation: Ukraine
- Cost: €8.5m
- Fixture: North Macedonia
This could be a selection that leaves the team after matchday two but Andriy Yarmolenko's performance against the Netherlands suggests that he could be a really good pick for Ukraine's clash against North Macedonia.
Yarmolenko scored a screamer as they lost 3-2 in a thriller on Sunday night and they should be set for more goals as they face a North Macedonia side who conceded three in defeat to Austria.
The West Ham man is a midfielder on this game and while his €8.5m cost may put some off, his selection rate of just 1% shows that he will provide points that many, many other players don't have.
There is also the advantage of him being a midfielder but playing as part of an attacking trio, which means that he will gain five points per goal rather than the four of a forward. He also picked up a bonus point for his goal in Amsterdam coming from outside the area.
Given the quality and pace in Ukraine's attack on Sunday, we could expect this to be a game where Yarmolenko doubles his tally for the tournament. It's a selection that requires slightly more of the budget but one that should deliver.
Burak Yilmaz
- Position: Attacker
- Nation: Turkey
- Cost: €8m
- Fixture: Wales
Turkey's xG figure in their defeat to Italy was 0.52 and 0.43 of that was Yilmaz's shot in the 92nd minute. That was the second-best opportunity of the game as well - only Ciro Immobile's goal had a higher xG figure (0.59).
Wales struggled to get to grips with Switzerland's attackers in their opening game. Breel Embolo, who got the goal, finished the game with six total shots while his strike partner Haris Seferovic had four. Allowing as many opportunities to a striker like Yilmaz, particularly after the season he has enjoyed, will surely lead to a goal at some stage.
Yilmaz was a player highlighted pre-tournament and this looks like the perfect game to get tally going. Wales' issues in defence were clear against Switzerland and Turkey do have the quality to exploit that. At the time of writing, 91% of teams don't have the striker so points are on offer that many others wouldn't have.
Turkey having their game on the Wednesday of matchday two also means that Yilmaz is a starting captaincy option with the potential to switch the armband to someone else if he doesn't strike. Managing fixtures in this way is a good way to maximise points return.
Kalvin Phillips
- Position: Midfielder
- Nation: England
- Cost: €5m
- Fixture: Scotland
Kalvin Phillips wasn't a player that was particularly appealing on fantasy football before the tournament got underway. A defensive midfielder for Leeds, it was expected that he would be battling Declan Rice for the role at the base of midfield.
However, that wasn't the case in England's opening game victory over Croatia. Phillips ended up operating as more of a 'number 8' midfielder, contributing as much in attack as he did in defence which resulted in the assist on Raheem Sterling's goal.
After that man of the match performance, it's difficult to see how he doesn't feature in the same role against Scotland on Friday. While Phillips did get an assist, he should have had a goal as well and he may be a real value bet in the goalscorer market.
That translates to more points on fantasy football but he's only in 1% of teams at the moment. Given the attention he gained from Sunday's performance at Wembley, we should expect that figure to be much higher on matchday two.
Kylian Mbappe
- Position: Attacker
- Nation: France
- Cost: €12m
- Fixture: Hungary
You'll have to free up a fair bit of budget to bring in Kylian Mbappe, and perhaps this is best if you're playing the Limitless chip which allows unlimited transfers for one matchday, but it feels like a missed opportunity not to have the forward in when France face Hungary.
Nothing more needs to be said about Mbappe that we don't already know. He is a quality player whose pace causes serious problems and he can score goals. Hungary is France's easiest game in the group and one they will target for goal difference given how they're also up against Germany and Portugal.
This is the type of game where Mbappe needs to demonstrate just why no player is more expensive than he is on the game.
Leonardo Spinazzola
- Position: Defender
- Nation: Italy
- Cost: €5.5m
- Fixture: Switzerland
Another player flagged up prior to the tournament and he delivered on opening night with nine points in Italy's 3-0 victory over Turkey. Alongside points for a clean sheet and featuring for 90 minutes, he claimed the assist on Ciro Immobile's goal.
It's hardly a surprise to see attacking returns when we consider his 2020/21 season. The 28-year-old finished the campaign with two goals and eight assists for Roma in all competitions.
Switzerland failed to secure victory over Wales, and while Italy may not keep a clean sheet in this game, they could enjoy some success down the left and Spinazzola could make up for lost defensive points with another assist.
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