The 2020 Euros tournament kicks-off tonight with two fancied teams, Italy and Turkey, taking centre stage in the opening match. Highlighted below are two Fantasy Euros competitions with huge prizes offered by FanTeam.
Their Euro 2020 Full Tournament offers an incredible prize pool of £1,000,000 (Yes, £1million!) with the winner taking home a cool £200,000. Tickets for participation are available at a price of £20 per ticket.
On top of the full tournament game, Fanteam have a competition for each gameweek. The Gameweek 1 Monster has prizes of £90,000 on offer and starts on Saturday 12th June at 14:00 BST.
Football is one of the most favorite sports in the U.K. The English Premier League is in the spotlight these days. And it is no surprise that lots of young people want to become professional players. Football plays a pivotal role in our culture. It has been present for years, and even the pandemic hasn’t fully terminated football matches.
If you are an up-and-rising athlete, you can get a scholarship to cover your expenses. We have put together the list of the best football scholarships in England, Canada, and the United States. This will help you decide which scholarship you prefer the most.
Eligibility and Submission Criteria
Before diving into scholarships, it is imperative to touch upon a crucial notion of eligibility and submission criteria. See, every program is unique, and the requirements may vary by the educational institution. Besides, we all know that private sponsors support numerous programs, so the committee considers their take, as well.
Since every school, college, and university reserves the right to set the requirements, it is critical to learn whether you are eligible or not right on the program’s web page. What one program asks might be unnecessary for another. Still, there is a standard list of essential components applicants must meet and send to qualify for the scholarship. When it comes to eligibility criteria, scholarships usually require meeting the following:
Be a student of 18 years of age or more
Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher
Be a citizen of the U.S. or U.K. or have a permanent residence (some programs are international, so this criterion isn’t required)
In turn, the committee often requires attaching the next documents:
Application form
FAFSA report
Letters of recommendation
Resume
Proof of leadership and commitment to service
Essay
Now, you can ask why it is important to write an essay when applying for a football scholarship. The thing is, essays help the admission officers evaluate your mindset, goals, and means to achieve them. They can also analyze your attitude toward life in general and why you need the scholarship. There are many cases when applicants received scholarships based on their essays. So, it is important to know how to write it and make it impeccable and thought-provoking. If you are clueless and writing isn’t your cup of coffee, don’t worry. You are not doomed. These guys provide Cheap College Essays, and they have been working with students for years. Experts will give you the best tips on writing an application essay so that your chances of getting the scholarship will skyrocket.
The List of Outstanding Football Scholarships in 2021
As we have learned fundamental parameters, let’s look at the best football scholarships.
ACF Bryan Cline Memorial Soccer Scholarship Program
Suppose you reside in the United States and are an Eldorado High School senior. In that case, you won’t find as good a program as ACF Bryan Cline Memorial Soccer Scholarship. Candidates must demonstrate a strong interest in sports. But it doesn’t mean every applicant must have dozens of won competitions in their record. What is far more important is the engagement in football and the demonstration of leadership qualities. The program is awarded for one female and one male student. The total award amount is $800.
Indeed, it is not the highest amount. However, ACF Bryan Cline Memorial Soccer Scholarships has long been known as a prestigious program, giving its recipients plenty of opportunities to play in prestigious teams upon graduation. The application deadline is April 2022.
Augustana College Athletic Grant
Those who live in the United States and look for athlete scholarships know Augustana Grant. The program has nurtured lots of athletes that play in different teams. The main requirement is to be enrolled in Augustana College and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 to become eligible. The great thing is that recipients can get their scholarship renewed if their average raises (or at least, doesn’t drop). Also, candidates must show outstanding athletic performance. The award amount varies, as Augustana offers institutional, state, and federal grants. It also depends on the candidate’s financial situation. Amounts range from $4,000 to $27,000. The application deadline also varies, so make sure to contact the scholarship committee.
CCU Athletics Scholarship
The Athletics Scholarship is available to student-athletes in CCU’s College of Undergraduate Studies. Candidates must be recommended for scholarship consideration by the CCU Athletics Department. The main requirement is to study at CCU and be a citizen of the United States or hold a permanent residence.
Applicants must also maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above and demonstrate outstanding academic progress (precise requirements depend on the Athletic Department, but it is always better to have high grades). Scholarship amounts vary. Prospective student-athletes should contact their coach to get more information on the topic. The scholarship committee approaches every candidate individually, so the eligibility and submission criteria are unique and subject to change.
If you crave to study in a diverse country with affluent traditions and a lovely language, Stirling University in Scotland is your go-to. The University welcomes aspiring students who have a knack for football. The scholarship was established in 2005 to honor Craig Cowans, who was among the most talented football players in the world. Recipients have an excellent chance to practice their skills in Falkirk F.C., where top-notch coaches will help them brush up on their abilities.
Talented Jock Scholarship Scheme: University of Cambridge, England
The University of Cambridge offers a scholarship to ambitious students who stand out in football and other sports. The program allows students to use first-class sports facilities and practice their finesse with diverse athletes. This way, students can enhance their performance and prepare for a professional career.
Green and Gold football scholarship, University of Alberta, Canada
The University of Alberta offers an incredible opportunity for promising student-athletes who play different sports, including football. To qualify for the program, applicants should demonstrate their football skills and maintain a minimum GPA (depending on the Athletic Department requirements). The award amount and the application deadline vary.
Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program
The Foot Locker Foundation offers 20 scholarships for talented college students. Applicants must be current high school seniors entering a four-year, accredited U.S. academic institution in the upcoming fall, be a member of a high school sports team (alternatively, candidates can attend after-school sports classes, but it must be documented), and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above. Also, candidates must be citizens of the U.S. or hold a permanent residence. The award amount is $20,000. The application deadline is set for January 08, 2022.
Welcome to Part 3 of our 3 Part preview of FanTeam’s Euro 2020 Fantasy game following Part 1 and Part 2 published earlier this week. In the first article we discussed Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France whilst in the second article we covered Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North-Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Russia. Now in this final 3rd article, we cover the remaining countries: Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
The 2020-21 season was a strange, unique year of football for all clubs in all competitions. That’s why the fact that in most countries, when the final few games of the season were played in front of (limited) crowds for the first time in more than a year they sparked such enormous enthusiasm. Now that the domestic leagues have finished though, football is immediately taking the next big step by organising the postponed 2020 European Championship. The pandemic prevented the tournament from taking place last summer, but this summer in just over a week, from June 11th to July 11th, it’s on.
Of course, as the biggest daily fantasy site in Europe, FanTeam had to get in on the upcoming footballing festivities and they did so in style. Their Euro 2020 Full Tournament offers 87,109 seats and an incredible prize pool of £1,000,000 (Yes, £1million!) with the winner taking home a cool £200,000. Tickets for participation are available at a price of £20 per ticket.
As a participant, the concept is very much similar to the regular FanTeam tournaments, like the Weekly Monsters for the Premier League, for example. Each manager needs to select a squad of 15 players from the countries participating in Euro2020, maximum 3 players from the same country, and they will get a free transfer after each round. An additional transfer will cost -4 points, but managers can also carry a maximum of 1 unused transfer over to the next round, so that they will have two free transfers then. Do check out the Euro 2020- Full Tournament for all details regarding the rules.
For the FanTeam Weekly Monster regulars, the FanTeam scoring system has undergone the following adjustments:
What changed?
Why?
Players points for a win reduced from +1 to +0.3 and players points for a defeat increased from -1 to -0.3.
To reduce the impact of a team’s performance and put more focus on the selected player, making more players desirable (especially in formats with few fixtures).
Players will be rewarded for a shot on target: +0.4 for a forward or midfielder, +0.6 for a defender, and 1 for a goalkeeper.
To reward attacking play, while reducing the amount of ties in our tournaments. A “shot on target” is simply a shot that’s going in, but is stopped by the last line of defence. This could be a goalkeeper, an opposing player ‘on the line’, or even your own teammate if they’re goal hanging. Points for a shot on target are not awarded when a goal is scored from the shot, either if the player is the scorer or is awarded the assist.
For the managers brave enough for the FanTeam ride during the upcoming European Championship, we have created a complete tournament guide. Consisting of three parts, we will take a look at each of the 24 participating countries and highlight two players of their squad who could, for more or less obvious reasons, be valuable additions to any FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squad. In the first part, we discussed Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France. In the second part of the series, we went over Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North-Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Russia. In this third and final part of our Euro 2020 Tournament preview, we’re recommending fantasy picks from Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
SCOTLAND
Date
Opponent
June 14
Czech Republic
June 18
England
June 22
Croatia
While most national teams preparing for the European Championship seem to have the completely unpredictable virus factor more or less under control, Scotland was hit hard by a recent outbreak. For their friendly encounter with the Netherlands on June 5th, no less than seven players missed out due to positive tests. As a result of this unfortunate preparation, predicting Scotland’s starting line-up for their opener against the Czech Republic (and even for their subsequent fixtures) is surrounded by even more doubt than usual.
On top of that, Scotland drew a fairly difficult group, including an undoubtedly intense battle with England on the second match day. All things considered, Andrew Robertson (5.0M) is probably one of the better Scottish fantasy picks, though his price category is competitive. With the Liverpool man, you’re at least assured of a starting spot and lots of intent going forward, where possible. Che Adams (5.0M) could be another punt for the more steely-nerved fantasy managers among us. The muscular Southampton forward is one of the players who recently tested positive, but since switching allegiance from England to Scotland recently, he’s been a regular for coach Steve Clarke (3 games: 1 goal, 1 assist) and performed well for Southampton this season.
SLOVAKIA
Date
Opponent
June 14
Poland
June 18
Sweden
June 23
Spain
In theory, Slovakia are the big underdogs in this group, but their Euro 2020 roster contains more quality and big names than many would think. The biggest of them is obviously living Napoli legend Marek Hamsik (4.5M), who is his country’s all-time top scorer (26 goals), their all-time record holder for caps (126 games) and their current captain. The attacking midfielder went a bit off the European radars after his move to China last season, but don’t doubt for a second that he is not still the big man for his country.
If your squad still needs a very budget-enabling midfielder with a security of starts this summer, then Stanislav Lobotka (4.0M) could be worth a gander. The Napoli man holds a defensive position in midfield for his country, so don’t expect too many rushes forwards for attacking returns. Still, his price tag brings him into the mix as a starting midfielder at a bargain price. If you’re really set on picking two Slovakian internationals for your FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament team, then Lobotka wouldn’t be the worst choice.
SPAIN
Date
Opponent
June 14
Sweden
June 19
Poland
June 23
Slovakia
Spain probably has one of the favourable draws in terms of their group for Euro 2020. Though Sweden, Poland and Slovakia are no walk-overs, la Furia Roja should be able to qualify for the knock-out stages relatively comfortably. That’s why we would consider a heavy investment in Alvaro Morata (10.0M). The Juventus striker is a nailed-on component of Spain’s attack, which explains his price tag as well. While his club went through a mediocre season, the former Real Madrid forward managed to record an excellent 20 goals and 12 assists in 40 games. For his country, Morata has netted 19 times in 39 encounters so far and he’ll get plenty of chances to build on that figure during the group stages.
One of the players with the job of providing Morata with a good service is Dani Olmo (8.0M). The RB Leipzig star can play as an attacking midfielder and on either wing, thanks to his outstanding right foot. He got 7 goals and 12 assists from 46 games this season, and on a crowded Spanish midfield, he might be one of the sure starters. On the one hand, his price tag is somewhat inflated as there is a lot of competition in his price category, but on the other hand, Spain are fancied by some for the European title and Olmo has all the qualities to become one of their best performers.
SWEDEN
Date
Opponent
June 14
Spain
June 18
Slovakia
June 23
Poland
The last-minute absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to injury naturally dominated Sweden-related football news, but the nation can cling to the fact that qualification for Euro 2020 was achieved without their superstar. One of the players that helped compensate for Ibra’s retirement during the qualifiers was Alexander Isak (5.5M), who is going into the European Championship in good form. This season, he scored 17 goals and gave 2 assists in 44 games for Spanish side Real Sociedad. Not bad for a 21-year old. Looking at Slovakia and Poland particularly, Isak looks to carry some differential potential at an acceptable price on FanTeam.
The Sociedad forward will most likely be joined in the Swedish attack by Dejan Kulusevski (6.0M), who is probably the nation’s most exciting talent at the moment. In a mixed season for Italian giants Juventus, his first in the black and white jersey, the right winger has been a bright spot for the Bianconeri. He scored 7 goals and provided 7 assists in 47 outings for his club this season and it’s at him that the Swedish fans look for sparks of creativity. It would be better from a fantasy point of view if Kulusevski was classified as a midfielder on FanTeam instead of as a forward, but the youngster still has some differential potential.
SWITZERLAND
Date
Opponent
June 12
Wales
June 16
Italy
June 20
Turkey
Switzerland pretty much cruised through a qualification group with Denmark; finishing first, scoring 19 goals and conceding just 6. It should be noted though, that 10 of those goals were scored in Gibraltar and that the other two teams in the group were the Republic of Ireland and Georgia. So, in reality, the Swiss are a rather goal-shy team, which is why our first fantasy pick from their roster is Ricardo Rodriguez (5.0M). The Torino FC left-back is known for his attacking impulses and his excellent left foot, which is why he is on regular set-piece duties, including penalties, for the Nati as well.
For our second Swiss fantasy pick, we are staying at the back with goalkeeper Yann Sommer (5.0M). For a nailed-on starting goalie for a defensively focussed side in a group where goals might end up being scarce, his price tag is not too bad. He played 39 games for Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach this season (9 clean sheets) and reached the knock-out stages of the Champions League, while he defended his country’s goal 61 times already (25 clean sheets). As part of a double “cheaper goalkeeper” approach, or even as a starting goalkeeper, Sommer could be a valuable addition to your FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squad.
TURKEY
Date
Opponent
June 11
Italy
June 16
Wales
June 20
Switzerland
Turkey’s group is not easy, but the Crescent Stars might just get something out of it. They created the best defensive outfit in the whole of Euro 2020 qualification and a majority of the squad are active in Europe’s strongest domestic leagues. One of those stars is playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu (5.5M), Turkey’s most expensive fantasy asset on FanTeam. The AC Milan man is instrumental to Turkey’s attacking play and chance creation, and he plays in a very advanced midfield or wing position while being classified in the game as a midfielder. At 5.5M and with an interesting group stage ahead, Calhanoglu could be a decent shout.
When looking at Turkey though, our recommendation is to mainly focus on their defence. Coach Senol Gunes has turned his side into a formidable defensive unit and neither of their opponents in the group are currently known as particularly free-scoring teams. Our eye is on right-back Zeki Celik (4.5M), who seems to have the spot nailed down. He is half a million cheaper than the likes of Soyuncu and Demiral, and he is coming of a spectacular domestic title victory in the Ligue 1 with Lille. Celik played 35 games for the French side this season, and managed 4 goals and 3 assists.
UKRAINE
Date
Opponent
June 13
Netherlands
June 17
North-Macedonia
June 21
Austria
The Ukraine boast a solid, decent team with chances of making it through their group and the most important player is probably Ruslan Malinovskyi (5.5M). The attacking midfielder from Atalanta, where he played 43 games this season and scored an impressive 10 goals while giving another 12 assists, is the man who needs to connect the Ukrainian midfield with their attack. For his country, he currently sits on 6 goals and 5 assists from 35 games, and considering their current group, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him improve on those tallies in the group stage.
In Illya Zabarnyi (4.0M), the Ukraine also saw a promising youngster break through at a European top club this season. At the age of 18 years, the central defender made his way into Shaktar Donetsk’s starting eleven and subsequently into his country’s starting eleven. Coach Andriy Shevchenko has recently partnered him with Mykola Matvienko at the back and the expectation that he will do the same when Euro 2020 kicks off. Like that, Zabarnyi could represent really good budget-enabling value as the fifth defender in your FanTeam squad.
WALES
Date
Opponent
June 12
Switzerland
June 16
Turkey
June 20
Italy
We all more or less know the Gareth Bale (6.0M) story of the past few years by now. The Welshman seemed back to his best at times this season while on loan at his old club Spurs, scoring 16 goals and giving 3 assists in 34 games spread over all competitions, but what we’ll remember most is his inconsistency this season. This probably also explains why Wales’ absolute main man is priced at just 6.0M on FanTeam. Goals might come at a premium in this group, but at that price, Bale should probably be part of your FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squad.
The Dragons have made a habit of being involved in low-scoring affairs, scoring just 10 goals during the Euro 2020 qualifiers and conceding just 6. This made us look at the Welsh defence for our second fantasy pick. Ben Davies would be the stand-out option, but 5.5M feels overpriced for him, especially if he ends up playing centrally. Instead, we’ve gone with right-back Connor Roberts (4.5M), who comes at a budget-friendly price. Don’t expect an abundance of attacking returns, but out of the sturdy bunch in the Welsh backline, he’s the most forward-orientated one.
Welcome to Part 2 of our 3 Part preview of FanTeam’s Euro 2020 Fantasy game following Part 1 published yesterday. In the first part, we discussed Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France. For this second part of the series, we will be going over Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North-Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Russia and in the third and final part of the series we will cover the remaining countries: Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
The 2020-21 season was a strange, unique year of football for all clubs in all competitions. That’s why the fact that in most countries, when the final few games of the season were played in front of (limited) crowds for the first time in more than a year they sparked such enormous enthusiasm. Now that the domestic leagues have finished though, football is immediately taking the next big step by organising the postponed 2020 European Championship which will be closely watched by online betting platforms such as Esport in 22bet. The pandemic prevented the tournament from taking place last summer, but this summer in just over a week, from June 11th to July 11th, it’s on.
Of course, as the biggest daily fantasy site in Europe, FanTeam had to get in on the upcoming footballing festivities and they did so in style. Their Euro 2020 Full Tournament offers 87,109 seats and an incredible prize pool of £1,000,000 (Yes, £1million!) with the winner taking home a cool £200,000. Tickets for participation are available at a price of £20 per ticket.
As a participant, the concept is very much similar to the regular FanTeam tournaments, like the Weekly Monsters for the Premier League, for example. Each manager needs to select a squad of 15 players from the countries participating in Euro2020, maximum 3 players from the same country, and they will get a free transfer after each round. An additional transfer will cost -4 points, but managers can also carry a maximum of 1 unused transfer over to the next round, so that they will have two free transfers then. Do check out the Euro 2020- Full Tournament for all details regarding the rules.
For the FanTeam Weekly Monster regulars, the FanTeam scoring system has undergone the following adjustments:
What changed?
Why?
Players points for a win reduced from +1 to +0.3 and players points for a defeat increased from -1 to -0.3.
To reduce the impact of a team’s performance and put more focus on the selected player, making more players desirable (especially in formats with few fixtures).
Players will be rewarded for a shot on target: +0.4 for a forward or midfielder, +0.6 for a defender, and 1 for a goalkeeper.
To reward attacking play, while reducing the amount of ties in our tournaments. A “shot on target” is simply a shot that’s going in, but is stopped by the last line of defence. This could be a goalkeeper, an opposing player ‘on the line’, or even your own teammate if they’re goal hanging. Points for a shot on target are not awarded when a goal is scored from the shot, either if the player is the scorer or is awarded the assist.
For the managers brave enough for the FanTeam ride during the upcoming European Championship, we have created a complete tournament guide. Consisting of three parts, we will take a look at each of the 24 participating countries and highlight two players of their squad who could, for more or less obvious reasons, be valuable additions to any FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squad. As we said in the intro, in the first part, we discussed Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France. For this second part of the series, we will be going over Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North-Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Russia.
GERMANY
Date
Opponent
June 15
France
June 19
Portugal
June 23
Hungary
The 2014 World Champions are once again one of the favourites for the title this year, especially now that coach Joachim Löw decided to recall two very experienced players after not counting on them for over two years. Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller (8.5M) are both expected to form important cogs of Germany’s formation and we believe the latter can have some serious fantasy value on FanTeam as well. Competition is fierce up front for the Germans, but Müller has shown time and time again over the past years that there are few players around with a keener eye for the target than him, whether it be in the form of a goal or an assist.
The major advantages of picking the rather expensive Joshua Kimmich (8.0M) are that he is as nailed-on as they come for a title contender, not afraid to try and force something in attack, and a very regular set-piece taker for the national team. The 26-year old midfielder/right-back once again had a good season for his side Bayern Munich with 14 assists and 6 goals from 39 games in all competitions. If the consistent Kimmich can carry this form into the Euros, he could be an interesting addition to any FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament game.
HUNGARY
Date
Opponent
June 15
Portugal
June 19
France
June 23
Germany
In a qualification group with Azerbaijan, Croatia, Slovakia and Wales, Hungary finished fourth, but they managed to clinch a Euro 2020 spot by clinching a place in the tournament play-offs, in which Iceland were denied in dramatic last-minute fashion. The Hungarians are one of the big underdogs this summer and as a result, their squad boasts some budget/differential value. As a matter of fact, every Hungary player on FanTeam is priced at 4.5M. In a group with France, Germany and Portugal though, the Magyars will be up against some of strongest opposition possible. Having said that, we did pick two players who could be outfield selections for your squad. Hungary are not expected to claim any clean sheets in the group stage, but there could be save points on the table for their goalkeeper, especially knowing that Peter Gulasci (4.5M) is their man between the sticks. The giant RB Leipzig goalie is undisputed as his country’s #1 and could be a decent choice as second keeper for your squad. At the other end of pitch, the same pretty much goes for Adam Szalai (4.5M). The 33-year Mainz man has not had the best of seasons, but he is always important for his country. Just over the last international break, he scored in back-to-back games against Poland and San Marino to bring him to 23 goals in 70 games for Hungary. At his price, he could be good bench material and should play all 3 group games (whereas some star players could be rested for their final group match).
ITALY
Date
Opponent
June 11
Turkey
June 16
Switzerland
June 20
Wales
The Azzuri qualified for Euro 2020 with relative ease, winning all of their ten qualifiers with only Belgium scoring more than their 37 goals. Italy can be considered a bit of a dark horse for this summer and one of the men in the spotlights will undeniably be Lorenzo Insigne (8.0M). In the Italian offensive line, he is probably the most nailed-on option, which can be even more valuable when you remember that the Napoli man is registered as a midfielder on FanTeam. Combine that with a favourable group and it becomes hard to ignore Insigne.
With our second fantasy pick from Italy, we are staying on their left flank with Leonardo Spinazzola (5.5M). The AS Roma left-back played 39 games this season (2 goals, 8 assists) and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, practically all of it as a starter for his team. Group A looks like a low-scoring one, so a tireless, very forward-thinking full-back from the group’s favourite for the victory sounds like a shrewd choice. His price tag is not the lightest, but we think he could definitely be worth it.
THE NETHERLANDS
Date
Opponent
June 13
Ukraine
June 17
Austria
June 21
North-Macedonia
After an embarrassing absence at two consecutive major tournaments, the Dutch are back for Euro 2020 and ready to announce themselves. Though serious doubt surrounds the appointment of Frank de Boer as national team coach, the Holland squad does boast a lot of world-class talent. Stand-out fantasy pick for us Memphis Depay (8.5M), who is their most expensive player on FanTeam, but also their central man in attack. The striker is classified as a midfielder on FanTeam, which only adds to his appeal, as he is a nailed-on starter either as number nine or on the wing. The Netherlands are expected to win their group and Depay is supposed to be one of the players leading that effort.
The second Dutchman we’re recommending to put on your watchlists is Steven Berghuis (6.5M). The Feyenoord talisman with the velvet left foot is De Boer’s first choice on the right side, where he gets the freedom to cut inside and have a go at goal quite often. The combination of his very acceptable price tag and the seemingly favourable group stage fixtures has us thinking that Berghuis has the potential to become one of the major differential picks for the FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament.
NORTH-MACEDONIA
Date
Opponent
June 13
Austria
June 17
Ukraine
June 21
The Netherlands
In Part 1 of this series, we mentioned that Finland were one of two teams making their debut at a major international tournament. Well, North-Macedonia is the other. In a qualification group with Austria, Israel, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia, the Red Lynxes finished third (behind Austria and Poland), but they managed to clinch their first ever European Championship participation via the play-offs and their Nations League performances, overcoming Kosovo and Georgia in the process.
In terms of interesting players for FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squads, there is no way around Goran Pandev (4.5M). At 37 years old, the striker currently playing for Serie A side Genoa, is still going very strong for his country and he can now prepare himself for a European Championship in the autumn of his career. The former Lazio Roma and Inter Milano man is a living football legend in his country, which makes sense considering he is both the national team’s top scorer and the most-capped North-Macedonian player of all time. At 4.5M and with relatively favourable opposition coming up, the old fox Pandev might be worth a punt. Another North-Macedonia FanTeam asset worth considering is Leeds left-back Ezgjan Alioski (4.5M). We don’t expect him to record a clean sheet in the group, but his constant bombing forward might just result in an attacking return. Over the past three years, he scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists for his club, while he already has 7 goals and 12 assists from 42 games for his country.
POLAND
Date
Opponent
June 14
Slovakia
June 19
Spain
June 23
Sweden
For many years, when you think of the Polish football team, you think of Robert Lewandowski (9.0M). The Bayern Munch striker is probably the best Polish footballer ever, which really is saying something considering the country’s long and rich footballing history, but the numbers speak for themselves. For Bayern, he has scored 294 goals and given 65 assists in 329 games, while he has 66 goals and 23 assists from 118 games for Poland to his name. At 9.0M, and with Slovakia and Sweden in the group, we’re not sure you can omit Lewandowski from your team.
Poland are a team that aims to lean on its attack on its way to success, which is why we have opted for Piotr Zielinski (5.0M) as our second Polish fantasy pick. The Napoli midfielder, who played 47 games (10 goals, 13 assists) for the Italian side this season, is largely responsible for feeding cute balls to the men in front of him. Though Poland are not expected to walk over any of their opponents in this group, qualification for the knock-out stages looks like a more than realistic goal, which means that Zielinski could make a mockery of his price in the first games of the tournament.
PORTUGAL
Date
Opponent
June 15
Hungary
June 19
Germany
June 23
France
We just wrote that it’s impossible getting around Lewandowski when talking about Poland, so what about Portugal then? The defending European champions drew a difficult group, but everything is possible when you have Cristiano Ronaldo (10.0M). The Juventus superstar is now 36 years old, but there is no way he’s going to slow down now. He is Portugal’s all-time top scorer, all-time most-capped player and their current captain, and despite the strength of their group for the upcoming Euros, we dare say that 10.0M could very well turn out a bit of a bargain.
Those fantasy managers looking for a decent set-and-forget goalkeeper should probably put Portugal shot stopper Anthony Lopes (5.5M) on their scouting lists as well. The Lyon number one is currently preferred over Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio by national team coach Fernando Santos and could represent good value despite the difficulty of Portugal’s group. Lopes leads a pretty sturdy defensive set-up of a team where attacking-wise, everything runs through Ronaldo, which is why a defensive Portuguese pick could be a good idea. In that case, Lopes looks like a dependable choice that doesn’t ruin your budget plans.
RUSSIA
Date
Opponent
June 12
Belgium
June 16
Finland
June 21
Denmark
Despite not being the strongest Russian roster in recent years, there is some good value to be found among Russian fantasy assets, especially when looking at the group. On a good day, Russia can put each of these teams to the test, though Belgium did outclass them twice in the qualification group stage. In any case, the stand-out option in terms of Russian fantasy assets is probably striker Artem Dzyuba (5.5M). He is involved in practically any attacking Russian move, which largely explains how he got to 29 goals and 15 assists in 51 games. That’s quite an average and at his price on FanTeam, he could represent extraordinary differential value.
Attacking midfielder Aleksandr Golovin (6.0M) is another key man for the Russian national eleven. The AS Monaco man played 21 games for the French side this season, and managed to make a mark by scoring 6 times and providing 9 decisive passes. For Russia, the 25-year old currently sits on 37 caps (5 goals, 12 assists), and 2 of those goals and 7 of those assists were recorded during the qualifying phase for Euro 2020. Golovin is one of the team’s major creative outlets and his regular set-piece duties add to his appeal as a differential, budget-friendly pick.
Welcome to Part 1 of our 3 Part preview of FanTeam’s Euro 2020 Fantasy game. In this first part, we discuss Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France. For the second part of the series, we will be going over Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North-Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Russia and in the third and final part of the series we will cover the remaining countries: Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
The 2020-21 season was a strange, unique year of football for all clubs in all competitions. That’s why the fact that in most countries, when the final few games of the season were played in front of (limited) crowds for the first time in more than a year they sparked such enormous enthusiasm. Now that the domestic leagues have finished though, football is immediately taking the next big step by organising the postponed 2020 European Championship. The pandemic prevented the tournament from taking place last summer, but this summer in just over a week, from June 11th to July 11th, it’s on.
Of course, as the biggest daily fantasy site in Europe, FanTeam had to get in on the upcoming footballing festivities and they did so in style. Their Euro 2020 Full Tournament offers 87,109 seats and an incredible prize pool of £1,000,000 (Yes, £1million!) with the winner taking home a cool £200,000. Tickets for participation are available at a price of £20 per ticket.
As a participant, the concept is very much similar to the regular FanTeam tournaments, like the Weekly Monsters for the Premier League, for example. Each manager needs to select a squad of 15 players from the countries participating in Euro2020, maximum 3 players from the same country, and they will get a free transfer after each round. An additional transfer will cost -4 points, but managers can also carry a maximum of 1 unused transfer over to the next round, so that they will have two free transfers then. Do check out the Euro 2020- Full Tournament for all details regarding the rules.
For the FanTeam Weekly Monster regulars, the FanTeam scoring system has undergone the following adjustments:
What changed?
Why?
Player points for a win reduced from +1 to +0.3 and players points for a defeat changed from -1 to -0.3.
To reduce the impact of a team’s performance and put more focus on the selected player, making more players desirable (especially in formats with few fixtures).
Players will be rewarded for a shot on target: +0.4 for a forward or midfielder, +0.6 for a defender, and +1 for a goalkeeper.
To reward attacking play, while reducing the amount of ties in our tournaments. A “shot on target” is simply a shot that’s going in, but is stopped by the last line of defence. This could be a goalkeeper, an opposing player ‘on the line’, or even your own teammate if they’re goal hanging. Points for a shot on target are not awarded when a goal is scored from the shot, either if the player is the scorer or is awarded the assist.
For the managers brave enough for the FanTeam ride during the upcoming European Championship in June 2021, we have created a complete tournament guide. Consisting of three parts, we will take a look at each of the 24 participating countries and highlight two players from each country who could, for more or less obvious reasons, be valuable additions to any FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament squad. In this first part of our Euro2020 preview series, we are going over these 8 countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland and France.
AUSTRIA
Date
Opponent
June 13
North-Macedonia
June 17
Netherlands
June 21
Ukraine
Austria’s group could be worse, which makes them one of the teams where potential budget value could be found. The first name popping into your head when thinking of the Austrian national team is David Alaba (5.0M), former Bayern Munich star and brand-new Real Madrid recruit. He is not cheap, but we can see him booking at least one clean sheet in the group and even more importantly, Alaba plays in the middle for his country and regularly takes on set-piece challenges as well.
Our second Austria fantasy pick was between Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer (5.5M), and we ended up going with the latter. The RB Leipzig midfielder, who is rumoured to be in Juventus’ good books for this summer’s transfer window, forms an extremely dynamic and technical midfield with the previously mentioned Alaba for Austria. His versatility allows him to shine anywhere in the middle, but he performs best further up front and sometimes even all the way up front. This also explains his 9 goals and 7 assists in 39 games for Leipzig this season.
BELGIUM
Date
Opponent
June 12
Russia
June 17
Denmark
June 21
Finland
On paper, Belgium look to have been drawn in one of the most favourable groups of the tournament. As a result, we can imagine several of their players becoming popular fantasy picks at the start and over the course of the group stages. Every Belgian and every football enthusiast got a bit of a scare when Kevin de Bruyne (12.5M) had to come off after a collision with Antonio Rüdiger in the recent Champions League final, but the City midfielder has fortunately been cleared for inclusion in Belgium’s Euro2020 squad, although it looks like he could miss the opening match against Russia. Still, he should be a top pick for the tournament. KDB is one of the best midfielders in the world, instrumental to his squad and with a kind opening schedule.
One of the players who will be looking to profit from De Bruyne’s genius is Romelu Lukaku (11.5M). With 24 goals this season, the Inter Milan striker ended seventh on the goalscoring rankings of Europe’s five biggest leagues, playing a key role in his club’s domestic title success. For Belgium, Lukaku is not only a nailed-on starter, but also their all-time top scorer with 59 goals from 91 games. We’d be surprised if he doesn’t net at least once during the group stages.
CROATIA
Date
Opponent
June 13
England
June 18
Czech Republic
June 22
Scotland
Croatia drew a pretty tough group with England, Czech Republic and Scotland, but they’re quite a good bunch themselves as well. Somehow, they keep producing top-class talent for the national team and they can combine it with some of the biggest names in world football. One of those well-known, experienced names is Ivan Perisic (8.0M). The Inter Milan midfielder/winger will be playing his 100th game for the national team on June 13th (27 goals, 22 assists), and with Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic having retired from the national team, Perisic will be looked at by the nation as a principal source of goals.
In the more affordable category of players, Croatia also offers a few interesting fantasy picks, like Mislav Orsic (5.5M). The 28-year Dinamo Zagreb winger has had a phenomenal season with 24 goals and 9 assists in 51 games, including a hat trick against Spurs in the Europa League Round of 16, and will be looking to carry that form into the European Championship. He currently sits on just 8 caps for Croatia (2 assists), but he’ll likely build on that tally as it will be difficult for coach Zlatko Dalic to keep him out of the starting eleven in his current form.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Date
Opponent
June 14
Scotland
June 18
Croatia
June 22
England
One of the lesser known squads comes from the Czech Republic this summer, but that doesn’t mean that it boasts no quality. On the contrary, the Czechs have the roster to create a hard-working, hard-to-beat unit, and the Premier League fans and FPL managers among us will definitely recognize a few of this season’s most popular FPL assets. Top of the list is Vladimir Coufal (5.0M), who had a fantastic debut season for West Ham at right-back this season. He’s strong, dynamic and loves to whip in crosses, leading to a more than decent 10 assists in all competitions. Coufal is an essential part of the Czech Republic’s set-up, both defensively and offensively, which might make him worth his price tag.
Tomas Soucek (5.0M) is another key part of the Czech squad who earns his living in the Premier League, at the Hammers, just like Coufal. And just like Coufal, Soucek had a great first full season in England. As a defensive midfielder, he has shown a keen tactical sense and an outstanding physique, as well as an excellent feeling for timing his forward runs. His 10 goals and 1 assist this season did not just appear out of thin air, after all.
DENMARK
Date
Opponent
June 12
Finland
June 17
Belgium
June 21
Russia
At first sight, the Danish team seems to contain some very interesting targets as they combine quality players from top clubs, a decent overall team, relatively affordable player prices and a schedule with potential. No player embodies this combination more than Christian Eriksen (7.0M). The Inter Milan star is central to most of what Denmark do in attack and he is also first-choice for practically every set-piece. The team is built around him and coach Kasper Hjulmand gives him all the freedom he needs to do what he does best.
In a group with Switzerland, Ireland, Georgia and Gibraltar, Denmark conceded 6 goals in eight Euro2020 qualifier games, which is a decent average. The Danes can defend well and are not afraid to lean on their defence to book a result when necessary, which is why our eye fell on Simon Kjaer (4.5M). The central defender is a nailed-on half of the Danish central duo and represents certain budget-enabling value. We don’t expect too much from him against Belgium, but the Finland and Russia games could be interesting in terms of clean sheet potential.
ENGLAND
Date
Opponent
June 13
Croatia
June 18
Scotland
June 22
Czech Republic
Harry Kane (13.5M) is the most expensive player in the entire FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament game, so we contemplated whether picking him as part of our recommendations would be too easy or not, but there’s simply no getting around the Spurs man. England have a tough three games waiting for them and we would surprised if any of them end up being a very high-scoring one, but Kane is Kane. He has been spectacular at Spurs this season and he’s surrounded by a better team at the Three Lions, so he’s probably worth that considerable chunk of budget.
At the other end of the pitch, Harry Maguire (6.5M) is key to England’s hopes and dreams of European success. We were first set on Champions League winner Ben Chilwell for this pick, but with Luke Shaw coming off a great season, Maguire looks to be the only nailed-on defensive asset on the English team roster. Do keep an eye on his fitness in the build-up to the tournament, but he could be a good set-and-forget option during the group stages (and beyond, hopefully). Also do be aware that Trent Alexander-Arnold (aka TAA) has been ruled out of Euro 2020 through injury and is likely to be replaced in the England squad by James Ward-Prowse (another dead-ball specialist) or perhaps Jesse Lingard (England already have 3 quality 20/21 trophy-winning right-backs in their squad: Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier & Reece James).
FINLAND
Date
Opponent
June 12
Denmark
June 16
Russia
June 21
Belgium
Finland are one of the two countries making their European Championship debut, having never previously qualified for a major tournament. The Fins are definitely the underdog in Group B and though we don’t recommend focusing too much on their fantasy assets, the Finnish squad does contain some interesting differential / budget value, starting with Teemu Pukki (5.0M). The Norwich City striker, where he recorded 26 goals and 4 assists this season to help the club back to the Premier League, is probably the biggest name in the national team and the man all Finnish eyes will be on this summer. In the bargain striker category for the FanTeam Euro 2020 Full Tournament, there are few better options available.
Staying in the budget category, we’ve also highlighted goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky (4.0M). Finland will probably not keep many clean sheets this summer, but they might be a goldmine for save points (0.5 points per save). With Hradecky, Finland have a very experienced quality man between the sticks. He’s a starter for Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where he kept 10 clean sheets in 37 games this season. For Finland, his totals sit at 25 clean sheets from 64 games at the moment, which is not bad at all and which is why we think that your squad could do a lot worse than having Hradecky as your second goalie.
FRANCE
Date
Opponent
June 15
Germany
June 19
Hungary
June 23
Portugal
France are one of the absolute favourites for the Final this summer, but they will have to sweat for it. They were drawn into Group F with Germany, Portugal and Hungary, making this the “Group of Death” of the upcoming European Championship. Our first fantasy pick from Les Bleus is part sentiment and part stone cold fact: Karim Benzema (10.0M). The French forward has been a mainstay at Real Madrid for an incredible 11 years already, in which he played 559 games and scored 279 goals (plus 144 assists), but wasn’t called up for international duty for the past six years due to some private issues. Coach Didier Deschamps has now decided to recall the Madrid superstar and we’re expecting him to make an immediate impact as France’s starting number nine (Extra: he’s also less expensive on FanTeam than teammates Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann).
Much of France’s international footballing success in recent years is down to a rather defensive approach to games, building a very solid unit of world-class talent based on defensive discipline and speedy killers up front. Keeping that in mind, we figured that a defensive fantasy pick from France could be a smart investment. Seeing as all of France’s supposed starting defenders are priced at 6.5M, we have chosen right-back Benjamin Pavard (6.5M) as our Bleu. He had some injury issues this season, but nevertheless still featured in 36 games (1 goal, 2 assists), for German giants Bayern Munich. Pavard is pricey, but he’s also a starting and attack-minded right-back for one of the best teams in the tournament, hands down.
Man City’s 2020/21 season has been one of their most impressive in recent years. Pep Guardiola’s side have already secured their third Premier League title in four years and a fourth consecutive EFL Cup.
One of the great achievements of the 2020/21 City side is their progress in the Champions League. The elite competition has been the holy grail for the Citizens since the Abu Dhabi United Group took over at the club in 2008.
After consecutive years of elimination in the quarterfinals, City reached the Champions League final, and the current City side have the chance to etch themselves into the club’s history books as the best ever. With such an undisputable dominance of the domestic league, it’s understandable that punters are backing City on betting.co.uk to lift their first European trophy to usher in a new era of dominance from the blue side of Manchester.
Three Premier League Titles in Four Seasons
Since 2008 take over, City have won five Premier League titles. But, following Pep Guardiola’s appointment in 2016, the club has won the Premier League three times in five seasons, each secured impressively.
City’s first title win under Guardiola came in his second season in charge (2017/18), when his side won 100 points, scored over 100 goals and won 32 of their 38 matches, the highest points total any team in Premier League history. The 19-point gap between City and second-placed Man United highlighted the quality of the squad and Guardiola’s talent as a coach.
Despite walking the Premier League in 2017/18, Guardiola’s second title win was more impressive. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool mounted a serious title challenge in 2018/19, and the Reds finished second on 97 points and lost one match throughout the season – a crucial 1-0 defeat to City.
Although it was an impressive title challenge, the Reds couldn’t stop City from securing back-to-back Premier League titles.
This season, Guardiola’s side have impressed once again in the Premier League. However, the gloss of their fifth top-flight title win in 10 seasons was taken off by a poor start to the season, and a slow finish to their Premier League campaign.
City won just three of their opening eight Premier League matches. But a 19-match unbeaten run, which included 17 consecutive wins, helped the Citizens climb to the Premier League summit between November and March. However, compared to previous campaigns, the relentlessness of City has worn off later in the season. The champions have lost four of their last 10 matches in the league.
Also, any title challenge from a draw-happy United side never materialised, allowing City’s exceptional winning streak to earn them another top-flight title.
Champions League Success
Undoubtedly, City’s 2020/21 Champions League campaign has been their best ever. After elimination in the quarter-finals between 2017/18 and 2019/20, Guardiola’s side showed the ruthless streak in this season’s competition to reach the final.
City have won 11 of their 12 Champions League matches and brushed aside top-quality opposition in Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals and Paris St Germain in the semi-finals, both who City defeated 4-1 on aggregate.
The Best Ever?
Guardiola’s management of a talented squad showed throughout the season. In early April, City on track for the quadruple of the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Remaining so competitive so late in the season highlights how impressive the 2020/21 City team have been. Compared to previous seasons, with reliance on 30 plus goals from Sergio Aguero in 2017/18 and from Raheem Sterling in 2018/19, City’s effort has been based on sharing the responsibility this season.
Fringe players Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gündogan have been used effectively by Guardiola, and both are among City’s top-scorers this season with 14 and 17 goals respectively.
Guardiola’s use of squad players has worked well with emerging talents like Phil Foden and Fernan Torres, who have 15 and 13 goals respectively in all competitions this season.
There has been no other City squad with this level of depth, quality and potential in recent years. This, combined with Guardiola’s excellent squad management, has guided the Citizens to one of their most impressive all-around seasons ever.
As part of FISO’s special series of weekly articles on FanTeam, Europe’s biggest daily fantasy football provider, we will actually be entering the team we write about each week into the game. Our article will focus on an Early Entry for their Fantasy Premier League tournament held each week in order to help you identify game rules, tactics and the most promising players per gameweek, so you can win some of that large prize money.
Our FISO team below will be entered into this week’s £4.50 entry Season Finale with £9,000 on offer to the winner bringing plenty of excitement to Sunday’s Premier League action. Join the discussion on FISO’s FanTeam forum.
Before moving onto our team selection, we want to highlight a couple of FanTeam rules that they apply to their Weekly Monster competition and that represent some of the major differences when comparing the game to the FPL. Do though check out the Predicted Line-Ups for the Premier League clubs as well as the latest injury news (click on ‘Team’ to sort per club rather than the default ‘date’) before finalising your picks.
Number one is that FanTeam have a rule called the ‘safety net’. The safety net comes into play when a selected player does not start in the Weekly Monster, because the game will then automatically replace this player with the next lowest-priced player from the same position (GK, DEF, MID, FOR) in the same team. This is regardless of whether or not your selected player does take to the field later in the game. This rule helps people who have entered a team into the Weekly Monster not to worry too much about whether their selected players will start or not, particularly if they know there are cheaper players for that same club in that same position who should start instead.
Number two is that FanTeam also have a ‘stacking penalty’ for the Weekly Monster, which penalises teams that have selected more than one defenders/goalkeeper from the same club. The stacking penalty comes into play when you pick more than one defensive player (defenders or goalkeepers) from a particular club and this club records a clean sheet. The points awarded for this clean sheet will decrease by 1 point for each additional defensive player from the same club that you have selected. The stacking penalty has a maximum of minus 3 points. This rule helps stop multi-entrants from gaining an advantage by submitting block defence teams. A reasonable tactic can be to select two players from two different clubs for your Goalie and 3 Defenders, which would see you incur just 2 single-point deductions if you nail both clean sheets correctly.
Our team entered in the Season Finale in gameweek 38
With all 20 teams kicking-off at 4pm on Sunday and team news available for an hour beforehand, there will be no need to second guess team line-ups. Our 11 players will be made up from Man City, Spurs, Burnley and West Ham.
Man City
Man City should bounce back from their surprise defeat during the week, despite having their focus on the Champions League final. Torres (who was unlucky to be the sacrificial sub early in GW37 after Cancelo’s red card), KDB (proving his match fitness) and either Jesus or Aguero should make up our Man City 3.
Spurs
On paper a tough fixture at 5th placed Leicester for 7th placed Spurs after another defeat in GW37 (against Aston Villa) but that does mean Spurs players are priced lower than normal. Kane will be keen to get on the score sheet in his duel with Salah for the Golden Boot and we expect Son and Bale to support him in that quest in what could be his final game for Spurs.
Burnley
The bottom placed club, Sheffield United, take on Burnley in their final match which gives Chris Wood a good chance of adding to his late season goal glut. Pope (likely to be fit) and Tarkowski also have a more than decent chance of keeping a clean sheet against goal-shy Sheffield.
West Ham
Finally, we’re going with full-backs Cresswell and Coufal to keep Southampton at bay and perhaps get an assist or two in the Hammers’ quest for European football next season.
“Is Mo Salah taking the Golden Boot at Anfield on Sunday or will it be Kane at the King Power?”
The day has finally arrived. The final gameweek of what has probably been the craziest, most unpredictable Premier League and FPL season in (recent) memory. The COVID-19 pandemic, the Super League wannabe-coup, a few weather postponements and the usual entertainment that is the Premier League made this one of the most challenging seasons for FPL managers all over the world.
Even though the champions have been crowned already and the relegated teams have been determined, there is still quite a lot to play for on this final game day:
Top four finish (+ 5th place)
Chelsea, Liverpool, Leicester
6th place (Europa League)
West Ham, Spurs (3 points behind), Everton (but goal difference inferior by 8 compared to Hammers)
7th place (Conference League)
Arsenal, Leeds
Enjoy the last round of Premier League fixtures of this 2020/21 campaign and we hope that you’ve enjoyed our gameweek previews again this season. To those who have read them, occasionally or every week, thank you! We appreciate it and we hope that it made your FPL season just a little bit better. It’s been a pleasure and count on us being back for the build-up to the 2021/22 season with detailed team and season previews to give you that edge right from the start.
Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 38 is set at 14h30 (UK time) on Sunday, May 23rd.
We had big hopes for Mo Salah (£12.9m) last weekend against a Burnley side on the way to the beach, but we were disappointed. Three Liverpool goals, but no direct involvement from the Egyptian saw him record just 3 FPL points. Also, it meant that he is still on par for the Golden Boot with Harry Kane, who blanked as well. Both are on 22 goals and it might come down to the very final day of the season to decide who will be this year’s sharpest shooter. That’s also why we are repeating Salah as our stand-out premium fantasy pick for gameweek 38. The Reds are facing Crystal Palace at home and they need a win to secure Champions League football next season, so we’re assuming Momo is going to get plenty of chances to clinch both a top-4 spot and the top scorer’s title.
Non-premium picks
Our first non-premium fantasy pick then is Patrick Bamford (£6.6m), who has represented exceptional value this season. Starting at £5.5 million, the Leeds striker currently has 16 goals and 11 assists to his name, which is outstanding. He added a goal and an assist to those totals last weekend against Southampton for a 12-point haul. Leeds seem to be playing their own attacking game until the end and Bamfy is as nailed-on as they come as their main man up front. They are facing relegated West Brom at Elland Road on Sunday and it’s interesting to note that Bamford recorded a brace of assists against them back in gameweek 16. This time around, the Baggies have nothing left to play for. All this probably explains why the Leeds man is currently the most transferred-in forward in the build-up to GW38.
The thing about Michail Antonio (£6.6m) in GW38 is that he is nailed-on as a striker in a team that needs a result in order to secure European football for next season. He came off the pitch last weekend with a goal and 3 bonus points against West Brom, which brought his totals to 10 goals, 5 assists and 116 FPL points for the Premier League season. Over the last six games, Antonio ranks first amongst strikers for expected goals and second amongst strikers for expected goal involvement (so goal or assist). The Hammers are hosting Southampton on Sunday and with the Saints having nothing left to play for but honour, we can see the English striker getting a lot of opportunities in this one.
The budget enabler
A goal in each of his last 6 games, a price tag of just £4.8 million and a current ownership of just 2.8% That must be a mistake, right? Well, it isn’t, because with his winning goal against Sheffield United last weekend, Joe Willock became the youngest player in Premier League history to achieve that feat and just the third Newcastle player to do so, after Papiss Cissé and a certain Alan Shearer. Away at Craven Cottage on Sunday, he can even join Alan Shearer as the only Magpie with 7 consecutive games with a goal, which makes him an interesting budget-enabler for those FPL managers considering a major final match day move to surge up the rankings. Since securing safety, Newcastle are fourth amongst all teams when it comes to expected goals, while Fulham are seventh worst for expected goals conceded. Sounds like a really interesting match-up for a last day of the season, if you ask us.
A differential pick or two
One important thing to keep in mind when it comes to Manchester United this gameweek is that three days later, they are playing the Europa League final. Combine that with the fact that they have secured second place in the league already and it’s not hard to imagine there will be some changes to the United side turning up at Molineux on Sunday. That creates room for punts and we picked Alex Telles (£5.3m) as an interesting target. First-choice left-back Luke Shaw will likely be rested for the clash with Wolves, which opens the doors for the Portuguese set-piece specialist to show his skills. Wolves are not the same when it comes to defending set-pieces without Willy Boly and at the same time, they struggle up front as well. Just 7 goals in the last ten games is not a very scary total. Telles sits in just 0.5% of all teams at the moment.
Last weekend, our premium pick Salah did not deliver, but his team mate (and one of our differential picks for GW37) Sadio Mané (£11.6m) did. The Senegalese international recorded 6 FPL points, courtesy of an assist and a clean sheet, after giving an assist in GW36 as well. With Diogo Jota confirmed out, Mané will start up front with Salah and Firmino against Crystal Palace at Anfield, and with the Reds needing a win to secure Champions League football, we see few better differential options than Mané. He has gone a little bit under the radar this season as all all eyes were on Salah for a similar price tag, but the winger has still amassed 9 goals and 11 assists in the league after 37 games. He sits in just 6.7% of all teams, so a straight swap for, for example, a premium European-final-bound United or City asset is a ballsy, but potentially very rewarding move.
The captaincy
For our captaincy decision this week, we went between the two battlers for the Golden Boot, Harry Kane and Mo Salah, and we’ve ended up choosing the latter. Liverpool have much more to play for, they are a better team and a much more favourable fixture. Kane is, of course, completely fixture-proof and having an incredible season with 22 goals and 13 assists in the Premier League alone, but we’re expecting Salah to outperform him and win the topscorer’s title.
These two players will probably be the most popular GW38 captain picks this week, but an outfield captain could be rewarding as well, especially for the FPL managers still in a close race for first spot in their mini-leagues. The likes of Patrick Bamford at home to West Brom, Sadio Mané at home to Crystal Palace and Antonio against Southampton could all deliver this weekend. Even Burnley’s Chris Wood can be considered for the Clarets’ away game against Sheffield United, as the New Zealand striker has 5 goals and 1 assist to his name from the last five games.
Fantasy football is a hugely popular activity across the United Kingdom. Research suggests that around 7 million play the official fantasy game of the Premier League with many playing similar games across several different websites.
Whilst many fantasy squads contain the more obvious names of the Premier League, other players like to scout the market for bargains. Some will inevitably look at players from the newly promoted sides.
A look at Norwich City
Norwich went up as winners of the Championship during the 2018/2019 season but struggled in their Premier League campaign and went straight back down. This is a story that has been replicated this season. Following promotion from last season’s Championship, Fulham and West Brom’s stay in the Premier League was cut short after relegation. English Premier League relegation odds had indicated they were favourites to go down from the early stages of the season.
Norwich will have to sign new players if they want to avoid the same fate as last time, otherwise odds on the Premier League next season will no doubt have them as one of the favourites to get relegated.
Teemu Pukki once again played a huge part in Norwich gaining promotion during their last campaign. He will want to improve on the eleven goals he scored in his last season in the Premier League. One of the highlights of that season for Pukki was scoring the important third goal in a 3-2 win over Manchester City during the earlier stages of that season. Alongside Pukki, Emi Buendia and Todd Cantwell are potential bargains for any fantasy football manager looking for value ahead of next season.
Watford’s strengths
Like Norwich, Watford will be looking to improve on their last season in the Premier League. A glance over Watford’s statistics from their successful promotion campaign shows that Ismalia Sarr was their top scorer with 13 goals. Despite the promotion, The Hornets only managed 63 goals in 46 appearances. They will need to improve in this area of the pitch against the tougher defences of the Premier League.
If you want to sign Watford players for your fantasy squad, it might be worth looking at their defence. They had one of the best defences in the Championship and with Ben Foster as the goalkeeper, they have a player with lots of Premier League experience. The likes of William Troost-Ekong might be worth exploring as cheaper substitute options in next season’s fantasy games. The Watford defender has played in the World Cup for Nigeria and has experience in Serie A so should be able to perform at a higher level.
Patrick Bamford will almost certainly be more expensive in next season’s Fantasy Football after a promising debut campaign in the Premier League. He should still be cheaper than many of the league’s top attacking players. Ollie Watkins is another player who took on the challenge of playing in the Premier League as he moved from Brentford in the Championship to Aston Villa last summer.
Both players will inspire some of the players moving up from the Championship and make the gamble of including newly promoted players appear more tempting.
Sports betting has been synonymous with sporting exploits for centuries, with a history long outlasting that of casinos. In the UK, many players prefer to spend time in online casinos, with a contributing factor in integrating sports betting into their provision. A variety of bonuses are provided for players that integrate the two components to provide a seamless amalgamation of the very best sporting and gambling action in one place.
Features of Sports Betting in the UK
Almost every bookmaker offers a plethora of options for an astonishing array of sporting events. Despite the obvious variations in sports and following rules, the main types of bets can be categorised in three primary formats; single, express and systems. As with any format of gambling, there are some important rules to adhere to when making online sports bets;
1 – Research potential bookmakers before placing a bet.
2 – Study your chosen bookmakers’ rules and features.
3 – Deposit a safe amount of your funds into your gaming account.
4 – Choose a sport and competition on which to place a bet.
5 – Collect and analyse information about the sporting event.
6 – Decide on the amount you are willing to bet.
Utilising this simple checklist allows you to enjoy a safe experience when gambling to make good, consistent money while gambling. You will need to study sporting events professionally. Only a detailed analysis of a player or a team will help make the right decision when gambling.
Online Gambling in the UK
In the field of virtual entertainment, Great Britain ranks first in the world. The market brings about two billion pounds annually to these shores, and yet, at the same time, the development of the gaming industry continues to grow. Until 2014, virtual establishments aimed at residents of the UK operated under the jurisdiction of other islands, notably those of Malta, Alderney, Gibraltar and others like Genesis Casino, find out more at casinorange.com. Since then, however, income from businesses and the money from British gamblers remain in the country.
Modern virtual casinos are renowned for having the following features;
– Convenient interface
– Quick payments
– The ability to deposit money in different currencies
– A wide range of methods for deposits and withdrawals
– An extensive range of games and entertainment
– Bonus systems in place for customers
The versatility of online casinos has put significant pressure not traditional bookmakers for a considerable degree of time. As such, the latter finds themselves being forced out of the market. Analysts forecasts have indicated that complete replacement or integration will occur in just a few short years. With the convenience of various gambling practices all on the same platform, the pull of online casinos has slowly taken over the competitive market.
Sports events in the virtual casino – How is it combined?
With online gambling taking various forms, the merging of sports betting with regular bookmakers seems, to all extents and purposes, a logical progression through players life-cycle. The ability to do this with the advancement of technology has created the variety available at an online casino today.
Separating funds is an important consideration when choosing a site that facilitates both betting and gambling. There are only a limited number of bets that can relate to a sporting event on some sites, whilst, in a virtual casino, there are hundreds of different entertainment options that combine both areas.
Conclusion
As with all gaming and betting scenarios, it is important to establish the best circumstance for you and your requirements. Whilst elite gamblers may spend their time trawling online for the very best odds for any given scenario or game, the majority of modern players want the convenience of both sports betting and casino games in one easy-to-use format, thus providing further support to the evidence that collating the platforms to one system serves to benefit the majority of players.
Therefore, for the foreseeable future, it seems pertinent to state that leading online casino sites will continue to integrate sports betting into their platforms to cater to the desires of their players, providing stiff competition for even the biggest bookmakers in the world.
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