Spain and Italy’s opener proved further disappointment for Fantasy managers earlier this evening. The likes of Andres Iniesta was heavily backed in Day Three’s Captain Poll but failed to produce the goods as the Azzurri’s switch to 3-5-2 saw them capture a draw.
The other two in Spain’s front three, David Silva and Cesc Fabregas, were amongst the points as the City man provided an assist for Cesc’s equaliser, though captaincy owners of the Italy starting front pair will be looking to switch the armband, after Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano both drew a blank.
Those who captained Mario Mandzukic will undoubtedly be keeping the armband on the Croatia man after a double in this evening’s win over Republic of Ireland. Fantasy managers who handed Nikica Jelavic the armband may be tempted to roll the dice one last time tomorrow but, with only two of the 12 teams scoring more than once in the opening six games, plenty may decide to stick.
For many, tomorrow now offers another chance to pick up a decent captain points haul. France take their 21 game unbeaten run into the early kick-off against England and, with Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema both in eye-catching form, the pair will find many backers, despite an upturn in English resilience in their two games under Roy Hodgson. Ashley Young comes into contention for their opponents, though doubts remain over whether it’ll be Andy Carroll or Danny Welbeck to lead the line alongside the United man.
Looking at Sweden’s and Ukraine’s form at the back, perhaps the evening game offers the best opportunity. The Swedes have returned a single clean sheet in their last eight, while Oleg Blokhin’s side have kept out the opposition just once in their previous six. Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks a strong bet, then, while Ola Toivonen, Seb Larsson and Kim Kallstrom all offer decent opportunities of picking up the points. For the co-hosts, Andriy Yarmolenko, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Shevchenko will all be hoping to get their campaign off to a strong start.
