World Cup 2014 – FantasyiTeam – Matchday 1 Round Up

After yesterday’s trio of fixtures finally brought Matchday 1 to an end, we take a look at how things stand in the FantasyiTeam game. One of the first Fantasy games to get up and running this summer, it’s proven a popular option for many users on the site and with both Brazil and Mexico handed a pair of fixtures in the opening round, loading up on both proved a canny tactic:

A free-to-play Fantasy football app, FiT is available on a number of mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch and Android. We’ll be supporting FiT throughout the summer and have an official Fantasy Football Scout League, with a £500 Amazon voucher available to the winner. There’s also the small matter of a £5k holiday available as the prize to the overall FiT World Cup winner.

With only a few hours until Holland’s clash with Australia gets Matchday 2 underway at 5pm, we assess the state of play in the Fantasy Football Scout League and cast an eye over the top scoring players thus far:

Fantasy Football Scout League

Phil Stevenson sits at the Scout League summit after picking up 140 points in Matchday 1. Starting with Fred and Neymar up front in a 4-3-3, Phil played his free three transfers in the previous round and also used the option to purchase a fourth (which costs 100 FiT Credits), to play the fixtures, thus rotating Alexis Sanchez, Edinson Cavani, Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi as his third forward.

In second spot is Peter Pickin, who registered 127 points in Matchday 1. Peter chose a different approach altogether and rolled out a 4-5-1 formation and, with most of his transfer activity based around midfield, Robben and Muller were the chief protagonists along with Neymar and Oscar. So far, Peter has played the market better than any other manager in our top five, with his team value moving from an initial £75.0m to £76.2m

Also on 127 points is John Palin. He ended the Gameweek with a 4-4-2 formation after also deciding for four transfers, purchasing Cavani, Benzema, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to play alongside captain Neymar up front.

Gregory O’Neill, Warren Grant and David Clarke are all tied for fourth with 125 points apiece. The variety in tactics continues, with Gregory ending in a 3-5-2 formation – he also handed Neymar the armband and drafted in the likes of Sanchez, Cavani, Benzema and Messi. Warren also utilised a 3-5-2 and, having begun the Gameweek with Neymar on board, sold the Brazil forward before buying him back for last night’s goalless draw with Mexico – already, he’s parted company with the Barcelona star once again in light of his upcoming blank.

David opted for Fred and Oribe Peralta as his double Gameweek forward in a 4-3-3 formation. This allowed him to rotate the third forward slot, switching from Sanchez to Benzema to Messi to Ronaldo to Romelu Lukaku – while the latter two trades failed to pay off, Thomas Muller and James Rodriguez both delivered the points in the midfield three.

If you haven’t joined already, we’ve already set up an official Fantasy Football Scout league. The league name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 4915.

The Top Scorers

Germany’s Thomas Muller leads the way after delivering a 20-point haul in the 4-0 rout of Portugal. Classified as a midfielder in href=”http://bit.ly/FFS-FiT”>FantasyiTeam, the Bayern man benefitted from a change in tactics as Joachim Low rolled out a 4-3-3 and fired a hat-trick in the opener – with games against Ghana and USA to follow, he’s already risen from £7.5m to £7.7m in the transfer market.

Karim Benzema’s two goals and an assist helped the Frenchman serve up 15 points in a 3-0 drubbing of Honduras. Rising from £9.8m to £9.9m, his prospects of further returns are boosted by back-to-back clashes with Switzerland and Ecuador – neither side impressed defensively in their opener.

Investment in Mexico’s five-man defence was a wise move for their double against Cameroon and Brazil. With Guillermo Ochoa unbeatable between the posts, Miguel Herrera’s side registered two clean sheets – the keeper, along with the likes of Rafa Marquez, Paul Aguilar and Miguel Layun proved to be excellent value and registered 14 points apiece. Mexico are without a fixture in Gameweek 2 of the FantasyiTeam game, though, and with player prices altering every six hours, owners will surely be looking for replacements.

The same applies to Neymar and the Brazil squad. An opening day double against Croatia was followed by a disappointing blank in last night’s stalemate with the Mexicans and the Barcelona man – currently priced at £10.6m – is being quickly sacrificed as Fantasy managers look for alternatives to lead the line in Gameweek 2. Unsurprisingly, Neymar proved to be his nation’s top scorer over their opening pair of matches, with a total of 14 points just eclipsing Oscar’s 13 points.

Dutch duo Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie both delivered double-figure hauls in the 5-1 rout over Spain. Handed a role alongside the United man in a 5-3-2, the former – classified as a midfielder in the FantasyiTeam game – matched Van Persie’s two-goal haul and leads the way by 14 points to 12. Robben has leapt to £7.8m in price from a low of £7.6m, while Van Persie has now risen to £10.0m ahead of a very enticing showdown with Australia – both look set for major investment ahead of this evening’s 5pm kick-off.

Joel Campbell’s goal and assist in Costa Rica’s shock win over Uruguay ensured he was the best value forward in Gameweek 1, with. Upcoming games against Italy and England have proven a deterrent, though, and has resulted in his price dropping from £6.3m to £6.2m.