EURO 2020 Fantasy Football Matchday 1: What the numbers say
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
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UEFA.com crunches the figures to find out which players are predicted to score heavily in the opening round of UEFA EURO 2020 fixtures.
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Predicting which Fantasy players are going to perform on a given matchday is a difficult task. Through crunching the numbers, a projected points total for each player has been calculated. Goals, assists, clean sheets and the likelihood of playing are the main parameters used in our projections. Ahead of Matchday 1, UEFA.com crunches the numbers to find out which players are predicted to perform well.
As ever, check the latest team news and predicted line-ups before making your selection.
GOALKEEPERS
Player | Price | Country | Opponents | Gameday | Projected points |
Gianluigi Donnarumma | €5.5m | Italy | Turkey | Friday 11 June | 6.5 |
Thibaut Courtois | €6.0m | Belgium | Russia | Saturday 12 June | 6.4 |
Rui Patrício | €5.5m | Portugal | Hungary | Tuesday 15 June | 6.1 |
Wojciech Szczęsny | €5.0m | Poland | Slovakia | Monday 14 June | 6.0 |
Kasper Schmeichel | €5.0m | Denmark | Finland | Saturday 12 June | 6.0 |
Italy's superb defensive record over the past couple of years is a major factor in why the algorithm favours Gianluigi Donnarumma over all other goalkeepers. Including their two warm-up friendlies, the Azzurri have kept eight consecutive clean sheets so Fantasy managers have understandably been targeting their defensive assets. Thibaut Courtois, meanwhile, has also been given a strong chance of a clean sheet with Belgium having conceded just three goals over the course of qualifying.
Frugal Fantasy managers may be tempted by either Wojciech Szczęsny or Kasper Schmeichel – both of whom come in at a budget friendly €5.0m. Poland kept an impressive seven clean sheets in their ten qualification games while Denmark have kept their opposition out in six of their last eight competitive matches.
DEFENDERS
Player | Price | Country | Opponents | Gameday | Projected points |
Alessandro Florenzi | €6.0m | Italy | Turkey | Friday 11 June | 7.1 |
João Cancelo | €6.0m | Portugal | Hungary | Tuesday 15 June | 7.0 |
Rúben Dias | €6.0m | Portugal | Hungary | Tuesday 15 June | 7.0 |
Jason Denayer | €4.5m | Belgium | Russia | Saturday 12 June | 6.9 |
Jordi Alba | €6.0m | Spain | Sweden | Monday 14 June | 6.7 |
John Stones | €5.5m | England | Croatia | Sunday 13 June | 6.6 |
Leonardo Bonucci | €5.5m | Italy | Turkey | Friday 11 June | 6.5 |
Thomas Meunier | €5.5m | Belgium | Russia | Saturday 12 June | 6.5 |
Pau Torres | €4.5m | Spain | Sweden | Monday 14 June | 6.4 |
Andy Robertson | €5.5m | Scotland | Czech Republic | Monday 14 June | 6.4 |
The defenders projected to perform well are a mix between those with strong potential for clean sheets and some more attack-minded options. The algorithm has selected two defenders each from Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal, with perhaps the most appealing of those being full-back/wing-back assets Alessandro Florenzi (Italy), João Cancelo (Portugal), Jordi Alba (Spain) and Thomas Meunier (Belgium). Each has the potential to make attacking contributions in their respective fixtures and therefore offer the prospect of double-figure point returns for Fantasy managers on Matchday 1.
Outside of those four teams, John Stones and Andy Robertson are fancied to perform well for England and Scotland respectively. Stones enters EURO 2020 off the back of an excellent season for Manchester City in which he found the net five times, while Robertson looks set to operate in a wing-back role at EURO 2020 and illustrated his attacking potential by recording an assist against the Netherlands in a recent warm-up friendly.
MIDFIELDERS
Player | Price | Country | Opponents | Gameday | Projected points |
Ferran Torres | €8.0m | Spain | Sweden | Monday 14 June | 8.3 |
Lorenzo Insigne | €8.5m | Italy | Turkey | Friday 11 June | 8.2 |
Serge Gnabry | €9.5m | Germany | France | Tuesday 15 June | 8.0 |
Christian Eriksen | €9.0m | Denmark | Finland | Saturday 12 June | 7.9 |
Tomáš Souček | €6.5m | Czech Republic | Scotland | Monday 14 June | 7.6 |
Georginio Wijnaldum | €8.0m | Netherlands | Ukraine | Sunday 13 June | 7.6 |
Bruno Fernandes | €10.5m | Portugal | Hungary | Tuesday 15 June | 7.5 |
Mason Mount | €7.0m | England | Croatia | Sunday 13 June | 7.2 |
Diogo Jota | €8.5m | Portugal | Hungary | Tuesday 15 June | 7.1 |
Phil Foden | €8.0m | England | Croatia | Sunday 13 June | 7.1 |
Having made a superb start to his international career, Ferran Torres is highly fancied in the projections as three-time European champions Spain kick off their EURO 2020 campaign against Sweden in Seville. Torres has scored five times in his last four competitive international appearances and is likely to form part of Luis Enrique's front three. That positional advantage is also the case for Italy's Lorenzo Insigne, who scored 19 Serie A goals for Napoli this season and is available as a midfielder in EURO 2020 Fantasy Football.
Despite a taxing opening fixture against current World Cup champions France on Matchday 1, Serge Gnabry has been given a strong chance of scoring Fantasy points for a Germany side that can never be underestimated. The Bayern man's scoring rate in national colours is highly impressive, with 16 goals in just 22 appearances.
There is plenty of competition in both the Portuguese and English attacking midfield ranks, but the algorithm has sided with Premier League quartet Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota, Mason Mount and Phil Foden for Matchday 1, while former Tottenham creator Christian Eriksen – Denmark's main assist threat – is a tasty differential option as he features in just 5% of teams at the time of writing.
FORWARDS
Player | Price | Country | Opponents | Gameday | Projected points |
Romelu Lukaku | €11.0m | Belgium | Russia | Saturday 12 June | 9.2 |
Cristiano Ronaldo | €12.0m | Portugal | Hungary | Tuesday 15 June | 8.7 |
Robert Lewandowski | €11.5m | Poland | Slovakia | Monday 14 June | 8.5 |
Harry Kane | €11.5m | England | Croatia | Sunday 13 June | 8.4 |
Memphis Depay | €10.0m | Netherlands | Ukraine | Sunday 13 June | 8.1 |
Kylian Mbappé | €12.0m | France | Germany | Tuesday 15 June | 8.0 |
Ciro Immobile | €10.0m | Italy | Turkey | Friday 11 June | 8.0 |
Burak Yılmaz | €8.0m | Turkey | Italy | Friday 11 June | 7.8 |
Gerard Moreno | €6.5m | Spain | Sweden | Monday 14 June | 7.5 |
Teemu Pukki | €7.0m | Finland | Denmark | Saturday 12 June | 7.3 |
The list of forwards is loaded full of premium-priced assets, with Fantasy managers forced to fit just three strikers into their squads. Top of the pile according to the projections is Romelu Lukaku, who is a strong contender to finish as top scorer at EURO 2020. Lukaku was on target in Belgium's final warm-up friendly against Croatia, which took his tally for his country to a national record-extending 60 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé will also set you back a sizeable sum but could easily live up to their value if they hit form – and there is very little to choose between them when it comes to their projected points on Matchday 1.
As the tournament draws nearer, the slightly cheaper Memphis Depay and Ciro Immobile are proving increasingly popular among Fantasy managers. Dutchman Depay – who features in almost a fifth of all teams at present – is bang in form having scored 12 goals in his last 12 games for club and country, while Immobile has struck on his last three starts for Italy and prospective owners will have the security of ensuring he is in the starting XI for the opening fixture of EURO 2020.
If on the lookout for a more affordable options, then the prospects of Turkish striker Burak Yılmaz – another player potentially featuring on the opening day – are worth a closer look, while Gerard Moreno comes into the tournament following a fine season at Villarreal and Teemu Pukki will undoubtedly be Finland's biggest threat in front of goal.