Euro 2020 Fantasy Football Tips – Groups C and D
In his second edition of The Preview for the Euros, Bakar previews all teams in Euro 2020 Groups C and D.
Group C – Netherlands Euro 2020 Preview
According to the bookies, Netherlands have the best combined clean sheet odds of all teams in the tournament spread over the first three matchdays which means they stand a chance of realistically keeping a clean sheet in each one of their fixtures.
De Ligt is nailed but I’m not sure he’s worth the premium over the full backs. Both full backs Dumfries and Wijndal aren’t fully nailed in the presence of Hateboer and Blind. Wijndal registered two assists in the first three World Cup qualifiers for Netherlands and is coming on the back of a season where he registered six assists for AZ too.
However, with Blind back in training his spot is in jeopardy – I’d pick him in my Euro squad if he starts both the friendlies.
Tim Krul could be a shrewd pick given the injury to Cillessen – he’s cheap and the odds suggest he should be value for money.
Berghuis has over 30 goal involvements for Feyenoord domestically this season and could translate that form to international level. He’ll be playing on the right of the front three and should be amongst the goals.
Klaassen may play in an advanced role but I don’t trust him enough as a reliable fantasy option. Depay and Wijnaldum are the obvious picks.
Wijnaldum plays in a far more advanced role for Netherlands as compared to what his role was in Liverpool. He was top among all Netherlands players for shots in the box, big chances and most importantly penalty area touches during the qualifiers which signifies the extent of his involvement for the national team.
Memphis Depay had the highest number of big chance involvements of all Dutch players in the qualifiers and as we know he likes to shoots a lot. He’s on penalties too and probably would be my first-choice pick from this team if all things were equal.
Group C – Austria Euro 2020 Preview
David Alaba is the first name which comes to mind when I speak about Austria. He has been involved in a goal or an assist in almost 40% of his international appearances which speaks volumes of his pedigree. He is likely to be playing in midfield hence will be given the license to get forward. He takes set pieces too which is one of the reasons he tops the list of big chances created during the Euro qualifiers among all Austrian players.
Arnautovic is likely to be their main man up front, provided that he recovers from his injury in due time. He topped the charts for shots in the box and big chances among Austrian players during the qualifiers and is likely to be on penalties. He’s done well domestically in China as well, scoring 19 goals this season.
Sasa Kalajdzic has over 20 goal involvements in the Bundesliga this season himself and could be a decent alternative to Arnautovic should Arnautovic play on the left or be unfit to start.
Sabitzer is worth a mention as well, he’s likely to play as the most advanced of the central midfielders but historically his goal/assist output has been better when he has played on the right wing instead.
Defensively, Hinteregger would be my pick for value. Stefan Lainer as the right back has a good attacking record – he has one goal and two assists in five games over the qualifiers.
Schlager and Bachmann are battling each other out for the goalkeeper spot. Despite having one of the best clean sheet odds in matchday one though, it’s worth pointing out that Austria conceded against North Macedonia in both qualifying games.
Group C – Ukraine Euro 2020 Preview
Yarmolenko has a good record internationally having scored the second highest number of goals for Ukraine but due to his recent injury concerns, he is not someone I would consider.
Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi is an interesting one. He is likely to be on all set pieces including penalties and topped the charts for shots for Ukraine in the qualifying stages. He is coming on the back of a productive season for Atalanta, where he accumulated 20 attacking returns and was top for assists in the Serie A as well. However, Ukraine were among the worst terms who qualified for total chances created which is why I believe they won’t score too many goals.
I don’t think they will keep a clean sheet against Netherlands in Matchday 1 but have a realistic chance of a clean sheet in both Matchdays 2 and 3. Zinchenko is playing out of position in central midfield while Karavaev has been excelling in the wing-back system playing as the right wing back should Ukraine play with that system.
If you’re looking for value though, then Mykolenko is nailed in the team – but whether or not he plays as the left-wing back isn’t certain.
Group C – North Macedonia Euro 2020 Preview
I think they will be vulnerable defensively which will expose them during the Euros. They qualified for the Euros with a negative goal difference during the qualifiers and have one of the worst combined odds for a clean sheet in any of the Matchdays in the Euros.
Leeds defender Alioski is on penalties and has 18 goal involvements in almost 40 international appearances which means he has upside if by any chance North Macedonia are to keep a clean sheet. He is the only player worth considering in my opinion.
Ristovski is worth a mention as he is cheap and likely to start as the right sided centre back. From their attackers, Goran Pandev is a veteran but this season his goal involvement internationally is almost 10% which makes him a no go for me.
Napoli midfielder Elmas has five goal involvements in his previous six starts for North Macedonia and has been the go-to-player for their attacking returns in recent times.
Are you playing the official Euro 2020 Fantasy Football game? You can view our How to Play Euro 2020 Fantasy Football Guide here with everything you need to have a successful competition.
Group D – England Euro 2020 Preview
England are one of the rare teams to have good clean sheet odds in each of the three games so it makes sense to start with a defender. Who wins the battle between Shaw and Chilwell is unclear while Walker has limited attacking threat. Stones and Maguire (if fit) are nailed. Whoever replaces Maguire should he be unfit will be worth considering due to the cheaper price tag.
Foden and Mount would be my picks in midfield. Foden has one of the best minutes per output ratio in Europe and in my opinion, he will be starting for England as he’s too good to leave out. I like him more than Mount who I believe is less explosive.
There’s uncertainty regarding the starting positions of Grealish, Rashford, Sterling and Sancho so I think they are best left ignored. The less said about Kane the better – he is simply world class and had the best xG and the highest number of big chances of all players during the Euro qualifiers.
Group D – Croatia Euro 2020 Preview
I think the very fact that Croatia are World Cup finalists means that some of their assets are overpriced by default. I would not recommend investing in their defence partly because I believe their defenders have limited upside and partly because they have been defensively shaky of late as well.
With Mario Mandzukic retired, Perisic is now their talisman. He averaged almost four shots per game and eight penalty area touches per game over the Euro qualifiers so is the attacker to own should you choose to go there.
Vlašić is likely to start on the right wing and would be the other pick I’d consider. He’s accumulated 11 goals and five assists domestically for CSKA Moscow this season and had the best minutes per chance created ratio of all Croatians in the qualifiers as well.
Group D – Czech Republic Euro 2020 Preview
Matches involving the Czech Republic generally don’t tend to be too high scoring. From the teams that qualified for the Euros, Czech Republic had one of the best xG conceded and one of the worst xG accumulated at the same time which tells me that they are a conservative side looking at the statistics.
Souček’s goal threat dried up for West Ham but he’s a different beast for the Czech Republic. He had triple the number of shots in the box and big chances than any other Czech player during the qualifiers.
Holes as a cheap asset is also worth considering. He’s likely to start alongside Souček in midfield and averaging almost a goal every three games this season. I can see one clean sheet at best here, in the opener against Scotland – if picking a Czech defender, Coufal would be my pick.
Group D – Scotland Euro 2020 Preview
I would personally steer clear of their assets. They had a negative goal difference even in the qualifying stages and conceded on average, almost two goals a game. That rules out Tierney and Robertson even though he is likely to play as the left wing back. Despite his advanced position, Robertson created on average almost one chance per game during the qualifiers which doesn’t make for great reading.
John McGinn is comfortably the only player worth considering from the attackers. He’s currently the top scorer in the World Cup qualifiers as well. It was worth noting that McGinn registered double the number of shots in the box and big chances than all other Scottish players in the Euro qualifiers.
Other Euros Content
Find all our other Euro 2020 Fantasy Football content here which includes how to play guides, further team previews, team reveals and more!
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