DraftKings – Thursday Player Picks

There’s just over 24 hours left until the Euro 2016 quarter-finals get underway, with DraftKings managers afforded a pair of fixtures over Thursday and Friday to assemble their eight-man squads from.

As we revealed yesterday, if you’ve yet to register, DraftKings are offering the opportunity of free entry to an upcoming contest for the quarter-finals over Thursday and Friday’s matches.

Providing you sign up via this link before 4pm on Thursday, your account will be credited with $3 by 6pm that day. Players should then use the credit amount to enter the “EUROS $13k Striker” contest on Thursday.

The first match of the quarter-finals sees Poland and Portugal go head-to-head for a place in the last four at 8pm tomorrow evening.

Both sides required extra-time to advance past the Round of 16, with Poland defeating Switzerland on spot-kicks, whilst the Portuguese progressed thanks to Ricardo Quaresma’s late winner over Croatia.

Fernando Santos’ side are the slight favourites for this one. Portugal sit fourth for attempts on goal over the tournament so far and have fired almost double the number of shots on target (23 to 12) than their opponents. At the back, it’s a similar story, with Poland conceding 33 efforts inside the penalty box to Portugal’s 20.

Wales take on Belgium in Friday evening’s 8pm encounter.

Marc Wilmots’ men are heavily favoured to advance to the semi-finals after sweeping aside Hungary 4-0 in the previous round. Certainly, the underlying stats underline the Red Devils’ attacking potential – they have registered more goals and shots on target than any side so far.

Wales, however, are second only to their opponents for goals (seven to eight) and, after squeezing past Northern Ireland, boast the highest shot accuracy (51.1%) in the tournament. In defence, Chris Coleman’s side have conceded less attempts inside the box that the Belgians and have the form to make a mockery of their underdog tag.

Fortunately, DraftKings allows us to scan the teamsheets before each fixture, adjusting your line-ups in search of some last-minute bargains.

Here’s our selection of DraftKings targets to help guide your picks ahead of Saturday’s contests.

Gareth Bale – Wales – $10200
Joint-top scorer for the tournament so far, the Wales talisman also leads the way when it comes to efforts on target – a total of 13 is five more than any player after four rounds of fixtures. As evidenced by his crucial assist in the 1-0 win over Northern Ireland, Bale will be vital to Wales’ progress and we can expect him to pose Thibaut Courtois plenty of problems as Chris Coleman’s men look to cement a place in the semi-finals.

Eden Hazard – Belgium – $8500
The Belgium wide man finally sparked into life last time out with a goal and assist in the 4-0 demolition of Hungary. More budget-friendly than team-mate Kevin de Bruyne ($9700), Hazard registered three shots and four key passes against the Magyars and, after a slow start to Euro 2016, looks to be building momentum for the last eight. It’s worth noting that Hazard is a slight doubt for the match after picking up a thigh problem.

Jakub Blaszczykowski – Poland – $6100
Restored to the starting XI for the win over Switzerland, the Poland winger grabbed the opener to take his tally to two strikes and an assist for the tournament – essentially, he’s played a part in all his nation’s goals so far. Given that he sits second for crosses and is top for successful tackles amongst Adam Nawalka’s squad, Blaszczykowski looks an excellent all-round option for our eight-man DraftKings squads.

Raphael Guerreiro – Portugal – $4900
The defender offers a reliable route into the Portugal rearguard at a time where uncertainty surrounds the right-back berth. Despite missing the final group match, Guerreiro still leads the way when it comes to successful tackles for Fernando Santos’ side and his raids down the flank have delivered 16 crosses – third highest in the squad. Having also supplied six key passes, his creativity could be vital to his nation’s prospects of progressing. Guerreiro picked up a minor muscle problem during the extra-time win over Croatia but has since returned to training earlier today, according to reports.

DraftKings contests for Thursday and Friday’s matches are now available, including the above-mentioned $3 entry “Striker” with a $13k prize pot. Those yet to register should check out this link to take advantage of the free entry offer.

DraftKings is available only to those aged 18 or over. Be sure to take note of their Terms and Conditions here.