This evening’s couple of Group D clashes brought the curtain down Matchday 1 and affords Fantasy managers the chance to reassess their captaincy options ahead of the next four days’ worth of fixtures. Many will be wielding wildcards, while others will bring a more patient approach as we roll out the Captain Poll for Day 1 of Matchday 2:
Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic and Russia’s Alan Dzagoev were the top scorers in the first batch of matches, returning 13 points each after both bagged a brace against Republic of Ireland and Czech Republic respectively.
Dzagoev is handed the chance to continue his form as Russia square up to Poland in tomorrow’s evening kick-off. Roman Shirokov and Andrei Arshavin all picked up points from Dick Advocaat’s starting XI in the 4-1 win and will also be under consideration for the armband, while Roman Pavlyuchenko’s goal and assist contribution from the bench will perhaps cast doubts over Aleksandr Kerzhakov’s starting role, after the latter missed seven chances to find the net last Friday.
For the co-hosts, Robert Lewandowski will be looking to get amongst the goals once again, after notching in Poland’s opening day clash with Greece. Jakub Blaszczykowski provided an assist against the Greeks and will be in the mix, while Ludovic Obraniak’s set-piece duties perhaps boost his chance s of returns.
Elsewhere in Group A, the Czech Republic will perhaps be reliant on the likes of Vaclav Pilar and Jaroslav Plasil to pick up the points again. The former notched his side’s consolation in the Russia defeat, while Plasil bagged an assist after providing seven goalscoring opportunities. Tomas Rosicky’s role in the hole and Milan Baros’ place as the lone forward in a 4-2-3-1 system will also afford the pair a chance to impress.
For Greece, Dimitris Salpingidis’ contribution from the bench in the Poland game may well see him start. A 45 minute second half appearance harvested a goal, with a point also picked up for earning a penalty. Theofanis Gekas and Giorgos Samaras should maintain their roles in the front three, with the creativity of Giorgos Karagounis always liable to provide a spark for Fernando Santos’ side.
