After finishing the qualifying campaign with 28 points, the second highest after England, Austria booked their place at Euro 2016 in style.
The road to France included a 4-1 win away to Sweden, twice beating Russia and keeping six clean sheets across 10 games. This included an impressive run of 603 minutes without conceding.
In total just five goals were scored against Austria, who notched an incredible 22 times, an average of 2.2 goals a game. Austria, who face Portugal, Hungary and Iceland in Group F, look poised to provide Fantasy managers with a strong source of points at both ends of the pitch.
Expected line-up
(4-2-3-1)
Almer
Klein – Dragovic – Hinteregger/Prödl – Fuchs (C)
Baumgartlinger – Alaba
Harnik – Junuzovic – Arnautovic
Janko
Key Fantasy Options
Goalkeepers & Defenders
Robert Almer is Austria’s No.1 keeper; he’s nailed on and played every minute of the European qualifiers. Priced at 5.0 in the UEFA McDonalds Game he looks a decent option.
Ramazan Özcan (4.0) and Heinz Lindner (4.0) are the second and third choice goalkeepers. They won’t start any of the games unless Almer gets injured.
Christian Fuchs (6.0), Aleksandar Dragovic (5.0) and Florian Klein (5.0) are all nailed on. Among this trio Fuchs should be well known for his recent Fantasy Premier League heroics but looks a bit pricey at 6.0. He has the highest offensive point potential of all the Austrian defenders, though, with three assists during the qualifiying campaign. As with his role at Leicester he’s also on some corners and free kicks.
For price reasons my first choice out of the bunch is Dragovic. He’s a very good centre-back and one of the main reasons why Austria are doing so well at the moment. Absolutely nailed on but I wouldn’t expect many attacking points.
Klein is also kinder on your wallet, but he failed to register any assists during qualifying so you get what you pay for.
Watford man Sebastian Prödl (4.5) and Martin Hinteregger (4.5) are competing for the other slot alongside Dragovic. They have both played the full 90 minutes five times in the qualification and offer some decent goal threat. But with lack of security of starts, drafting in one of this pair should only be advised if the other is injured. It is also worth noting that Hinteregger has two own goals on his 2015/16 record for his club side Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Spurs centre back Kevin Wimmer (5.0) is most likely only the fourth choice centre-back. Markus Suttner (4.0) and Andrea Ulmer (4.0) are left-backs and clearly behind Fuchs in the pecking order. Michael Madl (4.0) is a centre-back for Fulham and is probably only in the Euro squad in case there are some injuries. Avoid all of this quartet.
Best picks: Almer or Dragovic. Fuchs if money is no object. Maybe even an Almer & Dragovic double-up.
Midfielders
David Alaba is clearly the first name that comes to mind here. He may be a defender for Bayern Munich and play as a defensive midfielder for Austria but he looks a strong source of points as number one penalty and free kick taker. Duyring qualification he notched five goals and three assists. Of these, three came from penalties. At a price of 7.0 he looks a good third or fourth midfield option.
Julian Baumgartlinger (5.5) plays in the double pivot alongside Alaba. He’s a good player but definitely not a good Fantasy option given he poses very little attacking threat.
Zlatko Junuzovic plays just behind the striker but is not a constant source of points. During qualification he recorded two goals and four assists and is more frequently the assister of the assister. He does take some corners but for 0.5 more, Alaba offers far more attacking potential.
Stefan Ilsanker and Cristoph Leitgeb (both 5.0) are the third and fourth choice players for the double pivot but they could also come into play if Junuzovic gets subbed. They probably won’t start any of the games though.
The same lack of game time goes for Alessandro Schöpf (5.0) and Jakob Jantscher (4.5) on the wing. Avoid these as well.
Gyorgy Garics (4.5) is classified as a midfielder in the UEFA McDonalds game but in reality he is Austria’s second choice right-back after Klein. This reverse out-of-position player status makes him another to shun.
Best picks: Alaba or Junuzovic
Forwards
Marc Janko (7.5) is clearly Austria’s main striker. With seven goals and three assists he is in fact the best Fantasy option in the squad as well as being absolutely nailed on. However, he does tend to get subbed off around the 75 minute mark and can be injury prone. He scores a number of headed goals but is also good with his feet with a powerful shot.
Rubin Okotie is somehow the second choice after Janko. He isn’t a great player but has scored two very important goals v Russia and Montenegro, securing Austria two 1-0 victories. He costs 5.0 but will only start if Janko gets injured. You can expect frequent sub appearances in the region of 15 to 25 minutes from him though.
Marco Djuricin (5.0) and Andreas Weimann (5.5) are best avoided. They may not even make the final squad.
Attacking midfielders Marko Arnautovic and Martin Harnik (7.0 each) offer strong goal and assist threat but are sadly are listed as forwards in the UEFA McDonalds game. Arnautovic scored three times and assisted two goals in qualifying. Harnik did even better with four assists and three goals to his name, but can be subbed off early and is known for patchy displays.
Lukas Hinterseer (5.5) and Marcel Sabitzer (5.0) are merely back-ups for Arnautovic and Harnik and should also be listed as midfielders. I don’t expect them to start so best to avoid them.
Best picks: Janko or Arnautovic.
Conclusion
Dragovic looks the pick of the defenders in terms of points potential and value. There’ a chance I’ll double up with him and Almer too, especially as the Hungary and Iceland games look good for clean sheets. Portugal didn’t score many goals in the qualifiers, but surely a clean sheet against them would be a big surprise.
Attacking wise they face three tough defences which gave little away during qualification. Alaba looks like the best bet because he’s on penalties and free kicks. Junuzovic could be a good midfielder punt. Meanwhile, up front, while Janko and Arnautovic offer the chance of goals I think other nations will have far better options for Fantasy managers.
7 years, 10 months ago
thanks for this. Will definitely put one or two Austria players in. Some bargains there - partic the goalkeeper and in midfield.