World Cup 2014 – PlayON Semi-Finals Picks

After a couple of days’ break, the World Cup action returns with a bang this evening. Brazil take on Germany in the first semi-final at 9pm before Argentina and Holland go head-to-head tomorrow night and, as Fantasy managers fine-tune their teams, we cast an eye over PlayON’s World Cup Game, with the hours ticking down until this evening’s 7pm deadline:

There’s a BIG £1,000 GUARANTEED POT on offer today just for the Semi-Finals Gameweek. You can enter up to three different teams into the game, with the deadline for entries closing at 19.00 this evening. Enter the £1,000 GUARANTEED GAME here.

Goalkeeper – Manuel Neuer
Having served up three clean sheets in their first five fixtures, Germany square up to Brazil this evening in fine defensive form. With the hosts’ star man Neymar ruled out for the remainder of the tournament due to a back problem and the likes of lone striker Fred struggling for form, the £8.8m-priced Neuer’s chances of another shut-out certainly look promising. In Wednesday’s semi-final, Holland’s Jasper Cillessen comes in at just £8.4m – he’s conceded once in the last three and is up against an Argentina side that have scored a single goal in all but one of their previous four World Cup matches.

Defender – Marcos Rojo
Suspended for the quarter-finals win over Belgium, the left-back offers Fantasy managers the cheapest route into Argentina’s backline. Setting you back just £8.5m in the PlayON Player Price List, Rojo has already found the net against Nigeria and with Alejandro Sabella’s side keeping out their opponents in three of the last four, offers a strong chance of points at both ends of the pitch against Holland. If you’ve cash to splash, though, it’s difficult to look beyond David Luiz or Mats Hummels, at £9.5m and £9.4m respectively. Luiz has now scored or assisted in each of his last three and, as we saw against Colombia in the previous match, his set-piece duties could prove instrumental as the hosts attempt to overcome Neymar’s absence. Hummels’ winner against France in the quarter-finals took his tally to two goals and three clean sheets in four appearances, underlining his importance in both boxes for Joachim Low’s men.

Midfielder – Arjen Robben
One of the few form midfielders remaining in the tournament, it’s perhaps no surprise that, at £9.5m, the Dutchman is costlier than any other option in the middle of the park. Robben’s blank against Costa Rica last weekend was the first time he’s failed to deliver attacking returns so far – with his role up front set to continue, though, he’ll be hoping to maintain the form that has produced three goals and a pair of assists so far. With Neymar ruled out, the responsibility on Oscar to produce the goods for the hosts against Germany is magnified. His goal and assist contribution against Croatia in the opener seems a long time ago now but if Phil Scolari’s team are to prevail, the Chelsea man, at £9.2m, looks pivotal to their hopes. Coming in at £9.0m, Toni Kroos is the only midfielder to have played a part in more than one of Germany’s goals – he’s delivered a pair of assists so far and his set-piece duties were pivotal in seeing off France, after Hummels headed home his free-kick to seal a 1-0 win.

Forward – Thomas Muller
The Germany frontman will fancy his chances of getting amongst the goals in this evening’s encounter with Brazil. Phil Scolari’s team have managed just a single clean sheet so far and are devoid of the suspended Thiago Silva at centre-half – with four strikes and two assists also to his name, the £10.8m-priced Muller has played a part in six of his side’s 10 goals and looks the man most likely to end the home team’s hopes of raising the trophy. Back in contention after missing the last two matches through injury, Sergio Aguero is available for a mere £9.5m ahead of Argentina’s clash with Holland. Granted, the Man City striker failed to produce in the group stages but, as Gonzalo Higuain showed against Belgium, Alejandro Sabella’s side have options other than Lionel Messi to fall back on when the going gets tough. Robin Van Persie served up his worst display of the tournament Costa Rica last time around but on any other day, the Dutchman could have had a brace to add to his three goals so far. At £10.2m, he’ll still earn plenty of investors for Holland’s clash with Argentina – Van Gaal’s side will be buoyed by the fact that Nigeria notched twice against the South Americans during the group stages.

The semi-finals deadline arrives at 19.00 today, so get picking for the £1,000 game at www.playon.co