Our first player picks article for PlayON’s World Cup Game is here. With the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez all priced firmly in the premium bracket, we scour the market for some value budget buys – our goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders all cost less than £9.0, while our trio of recommended frontmen all come in under £10.0m:
PlayON is running Gameweeks (where you pick teams and enter one-on-one and multiplayer games) for all groups as well as for each individual group so you can pick players from all 32 countries or from just the four countries in a particular group. Fantasy managers must save their team of XI two hours prior to the start of each Gameweek, with the deadline for Round 1 All Groups and Round 1 Group A at 19.00 this evening. A new addition to PlayON for the World Cup is being able to pick multiple teams, so you can pick up to three different teams in each Gameweek, thus increasing your chances of success.
New game types for the World Cup are multiplier games, where you can double or treble your money, as well as limit entry games so rather than playing against hundreds of people, you can enter games with a maximum of five, 10 or 20 entrants. In-play games are also due to be released over the coming days.
Goalkeeper – Thibaut Courtois
The Belgian keeper arrives on the back of another superb season between the sticks on loan to Atletico Madrid. Courtois has maintained his club form over the last couple of friendlies with back-to-back clean sheets to his name, and priced at £8.3m in the PlayON Player Price List, affords Fantasy managers the cheapest route into Marc Wilmots’ backline for a plum clash with Algeria. Alternatively, Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera comes in at just £8.1m for a game against Costa Rica – like Courtois, the Fenerbahce stopper is more budget-friendly than any of his nation’s first-choice defenders. Switzerland’s number one Diego Benaglio is even kinder on the budget at just £8.0m – he’s looking for a third successive clean sheet when Ottmar Hitfeld’s side face Ecuador in Round 1.
Defender – Ricardo Rodriguez
The left-back is available for £8.1m in the PlayON Player Price List for Switzerland’s clash with Ecuador. We’ve talked up Rodriguez’ prospects in a number of recent articles after he served up five goals and nine assists for German side Wolfsburg in the season gone by – clearly, the left-back poses a real attacking threat, whilst the above-mentioned defensive displays also bode well for his Fantasy prospects. Chile’s Mauricio Isla will set you back £8.5m for a showdown with Australia. Nailed-on down the right either in a four-man backline or as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 formation, his runs down the flank are fundamental to Jorge Sampaoli’s tactics and up against a side with a single goal over their last two friendlies, the chances of a clean sheet seem promising. Mathieu Debuchy comes in at £8.6m for France’s game against Honduras. Les Bleus are in sparkling form at the back – with a single goal conceded in their previous five fixtures, they look a strong shout for defensive returns in their opener.
Midfielder – James Rodriguez
Columbia’s young midfielder is a man in form right now and arrives on the back of a season which saw him serve up nine goals and 12 assists for Monaco. Rodriguez’ trickery and impact in the attacking third looks key to unlocking a stubborn Greece defence and bearing in mind team-mate Juan Cuadrado is pricier at £8.6m, Rodriguez could be a real bargain buy for our four-man midfields at just £8.1m. Belgium’s Kevin de Bruyne is also relatively friendly on the budget for an encounter with Algeria. Available for £8.6m, the Wolfsburg youngster had a storming end to the season after a winter transfer from Chelsea – four goals and four assists over qualifying was double the number of any team-mate and underlined his potential from wide right. Coming in at £8.5, Yaya Toure could be poised for some investment as Ivory Coast take on Japan. Fielded as the most advanced central midfielder in a 4-3-3, the City midfielder is expected to shrug off a minor injury doubt and will be looking to continue the formidable displays that saw him find the net 20 times for the Premier League champions.
Forward – Oscar Peralta
Mexico’s top scorer in qualification, the 30-year-old takes up £9.8m of your PlayON budget for tomorrow’s match against Cameroon. Bearing in mind no other Mexican player scored twice during the qualifiers, Peralta’s eight goals highlights just how crucial he will be for Miguel Herrera’s side and with games against Brazil and Croatia to follow, a win in the opener looks essential if they’re to stand a chance of progressing. Russia’s Alexander Kokorin is available for just £9.1m ahead of a clash with South Korea. A nailed-on starter, the youngster likely to get the nod for the central role in a 4-3-3 ahead of Alexander Kerzhakov though could also be utilised wide left by Fabio Capello – he produced 10 goals and nine assists in 22 league appearances for Dynamo Moscow last term Switzerland’s Josip Drmic is another man in form. Setting you back £9.4m for a clash with Ecuador, he’ll be hoping to replicate the form that saw him fire 17 goals for relegated Nurnberg in last season’s Bundesliga as Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side look to get three points on the board before squaring up to France next week.
Pick your team for the Round 1 All Groups or Round 1 Group A gameweeks by 19.00 this evening at www.playon.co
