FiT

World Cup 2018 – Fantasy iTeam – Attacking Differentials

Our Fantasy iTeam coverage continues as the minutes tick down until the start of World Cup 2018.

After looking at the rule set of our partner game, we kick-started our look at the player list with an analysis of some big-hitting differentials in defence .

Next up, we focus on the attacks, checking out those potential armband options in midfield and up front who have been largely ignored.

With that in mind, our list offers at least one differential from all eight groups for those Fantasy managers prepared to look beyond the obvious.

Midfielders

A trio of players dominate the midfield popularity stakes, with Belgium pair Kevin De Bruyne (30%) and Eden Hazard (24%) joined by Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho (23%).

With the likes of Paul Pogba, Mohamed Salah, Isco and Toni Kroos all owned by 12% and upwards, it leaves a host of ready-made alternatives to consider not only for our starting XIs but also the armband itself.

Willian – priced at £7.1m, the winger chipped in with four goals and five assists in qualifying and was second only to Neymar for key passes for Brazil.

Indeed, when on the pitch, Willian was involved in 45% of his side’s goals, almost double his more popular team-mate Coutinho’s 23%.

Selected by just 5.8% of FiT managers, the Chelsea wide man has the chance to plunder the points against Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E.

Dries Mertens – stationed in a central support role alongside team-mate Hazard in a 3-4-2-1, he arrives in Russia on the back of 18 goals and six assists for Napoli in Serie A.

Mertens was involved in more goals (12 to 11) than Hazard in qualifying, serving up five goals and seven assists in qualifying, yet is owned by a mere 3.9% of FiT managers.

Setting you back £7.2m, his first two matches against Panama and Tunisia, look hugely favourable before Roberto Martinez’s men face England in their final Group G fixture.

Sadio Mane – a key player for Senegal as they look to progress past Poland, Japan and Colombia in Group H.

Priced at £7.0m, Mane was involved in seven of his nation’s 15 goals in qualifying, thanks to two goals and five assists.

Depending on formation, the Liverpool winger could even play through the middle, either in a support role or as a striker. Yet just 7.4% have taken the plunge so far.

Dele Alli – with Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling proving more popular, the Spurs midfielder (priced at £7.0m and owned by 7.2%) can offer an intriguing differential.

England’s first two matches, in particular, bode well for Alli’s prospects, with clashes against Tunisia and Panama preceding their head-to-head with Belgium.

He may have only bagged one goal and two assists in qualifying, yet Alli was second only to Kane for shots, efforts in the box or attempts on target in that run.

Forwards

Four strikers are head and shoulders above their rivals in terms of popularity.

With Lionel Messi (44.2%), Neymar (34.4%), Antoine Greizmann (32.6%) and Cristiano Ronaldo (25.9%) all owned by over a quarter of squads, there is plenty of room for differentials up front.

Edinson Cavani – the Uruguay frontman makes his way to Russia on the back of 28 goals and six assists for PSG last season.

Yet with team-mate Luis Suarez selected by over 12%, Cavani has earned just 5.5% backing for showdowns with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia’s dodgy defences.

Priced at £8.0m, he scored double the number of goals (ten to five) than Suarez during the qualifiers and looks an ideal differential in Group A.

Diego Costa – Spain’s joint-top scorer in qualifying with five goals, despite being limited to just five appearances due to his stint on the sidelines as a result of a protracted transfer from Chelsea back to Atletico Madrid.

While an opening Group B clash with Portugal is by no means straightforward, the subsequent two – against Iran and Morocco – hand Costa the platform to fire in the goals.

Priced at £7.8m, the target man resides in just 2.9% of FiT line-ups prior to tomorrow’s kick-off.

Olivier Giroud – the France striker is expected to recover from a head injury in time to lead the line against Australia on Saturday.

With Group C encounters against Peru and Denmark also to follow, Giroud – owned by just 3.1% – could be a very effective pick up front, with Greizmann and Kylian Mbappe far more popular.

Priced at £7.3m, Giroud was their joint-top scorer in qualifying, netting on four occasions, while no team-mate has fired more goals in recent friendlies (three).

Sergio Aguero – clashes with Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria promote the stock of Argentina’s fit-again frontman.

Having returned from injury with a goal off the bench against Haiti in their final warm-up friendly, Aguero could now usurp Gonzalo Higuain in the starting XI.

Priced at £7.9m in FiT, he is currently backed by just 5.1% of managers due to the popularity of team-mate Messi for that trio of Group D fixtures.

Timo Werner – after leading the line – and scoring – in Germany’s final summer friendly against Saudi Arabia, Werner is expected to get the nod ahead of Mario Gomez in Joachim Lowe’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

Far more mobile than his strike rival, the RB Leipzig frontman bagged 13 goals and seven assists in 28 Bundesliga outings last season.

Three goals in as many qualifying appearances underlines his potential ahead of Group F matches against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea yet, despite costing £7.6m, he’s been backed by only 7.6%.

Radamel Falcao – with 10.8% opting for Colombian playmaker James Rodriguez, his team-mate has earned a mere 1.7% backing for head-to-heads with Japan, Poland and Senegal.

Priced at £7.5m, Falcao looks an ideal alternative for the Group H favourites and arrives in Russia on the back of some fine domestic form for Monaco.

In 26 Ligue 1 appearances in 2017/18, the 32-year-old plundered 18 goals and four assists.

Robert Lewandowski – the top scoring player in qualifying with 16 goals, the Poland striker remains largely ignored for Group H encounters with Senegal, Colombia and Japan.

Just 5.7% own Lewandowski, who is another forward with outstanding form for his club in 2017/18.

A total of 29 goals and two assists in 30 Bundesliga appearances is indicative of his points potential for a FiT price of £8.1m.

Fantasy iTeam

Fantasy Football Scout is supporting Fantasy iTeam, a free World Cup game available on a number of mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch and Android.

We have an official Fantasy Football Scout League open to UK users only, with a £1000 of Amazon vouchers to give out, split between the top three performers.

There’s also the small matter of £10k worth of prizes available in the main competitions: Overall World Championship and Manager of the Gameround.

Click here for details and here to sign up.

Our League name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 1887.

Please note, users must be over 18 and based in the UK to join our league.

World Cup Data
We’re delighted to offer World Cup data as an early addition to our regular season offering to help those playing Fantasy games over the summer.

We’ve secured Opta data, not only for the tournament itself, which begins on June 14 but also from the Qualifying Rounds for Europe and South America and for international friendlies involving the participating nations. This includes all the matches played right up to the tournament kick-off.

Just to stress, this World Cup offering comes packaged with the regular Fantasy Football Scout membership.

Check out this new trailer previewing the World Cup content below…

Paul Is certain he won't make the same mistakes next season. Follow them on Twitter

1,328 Comments Post a Comment
  1. You never give me your Man&…
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Going BB

    A) Meza, Uzoho
    B) Nandez, El Kajoui

    1. TEKKERS FC
      • 9 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      tough i got el kaj and meza

    2. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      I’ve got A, not decided on B.B. yet though

    3. CROCosta
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      if bench boosting, B is the pick

  2. Binimini
    • 5 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Playing in a league with similar scoring to McDonald's but no subs mid round. Leave out 4 players for round 1 of these 15:

    GK: Lloris, Patricio

    DEF: Umtiti, Pique, Meunier, Miranda, Thiago Silva

    MID: Özil, Isco, David Silva, Di Maria, Draxler

    FWD: Mbappe, Jesus, Lukaku

    1. Ghost Gooner
      • 10 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Spanish players and Draxler

  3. HNI
    • 10 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Gosh loving member fixture ticker or is it changed for everyone?
    So good to sort team for first 8 fixtures instead of limited 5 till 2nd international break WC. Mancity and Manutd look lovely 🙂

  4. LewanGOALski
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Good to go?

    Muslera - Uzoho
    Meunier - Danilo - Pavard - Varela - Dalsgaard
    Muller - J-Rod - Carrasco - Ljajic - C.Sanchez
    L.Suarez - G.Jesus - Lukaku

  5. TherryOnWii
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    When is the Russia line up going to be announced?

    1. Cheeseoid
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      15:00 BST

  6. IdrissaGueye
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Lewandowski and Paulinho
    Or
    Neymar and Cueva
    (First game only)

    1. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Lewandowski & Cueva and upgrade elsewhere?

      1. IdrissaGueye
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 9 months ago

        Need brazilian attacking cover though

        1. caldracula
          • 8 Years
          5 years, 9 months ago

          Use the 2.5 difference to upgrade a mid to a Brazilian?

          1. IdrissaGueye
            • 8 Years
            5 years, 9 months ago

            Got James and muller so the 2.5 would go on cueva to paulinho

        2. caldracula
          • 8 Years
          5 years, 9 months ago

          Or go Jesus and Cueva and upgrade elsewhere

  7. ktongue
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Who's the best 5m midfielder for McDonald's WC?

    1. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Nandez

      1. ktongue
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 9 months ago

        Already got three players from URG. I currently have Aldawsari for a punt.

  8. FDMS All Starz
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Greizmann or Jesus?

    1. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Flip a coin

    2. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Actually I’d go Griezmann and then a Brazilian mid

  9. caldracula
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Uzoho

    Godin Kimmich Danilo Tagliafico

    Coutinho Eriksen Meza Nandez

    Lewandowski Cavani

    Pickford, Meunier, Sanchez, Lukaku

    BB or GTG?

  10. 1justlookin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Kudriashov not starting is a bit of a shock like.

  11. CROCosta
    • 5 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    need help with one last dillema
    A) Muslera, Miranda, JRod, Hamad
    B) Allison, Varela, Willian, Meza

    1. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      B

  12. SmilersKnife
    • 5 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    I'm playing wildcard after GW2. I have Muslera and Varela for Uruguay in defence. But just seen that Salah is starting against them. Might have to swap.

    Aside from England and Belgium, which teams have the best opening fixtures?

    1. SmilersKnife
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      and France...

    2. CROCosta
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Belgium, England, Denmark, Uruguay, all the rest at least 1/2 bad games. If wc in group stage i would rather after day 1 - stock now on belgium, marroco, france, colombia and switch to spain, portugal, brazil, germany

      1. SmilersKnife
        • 5 Years
        5 years, 9 months ago

        Thanks... I get where you're coming from.

        My reasoning: players get rested in round 3. Plus -it might take a player a game to settle in at the world cup, so 2 games gives a better chance.

  13. King Henrik
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Who do i captain ?

    Akinfeev
    Kimmich Varela Danilo Dalsgaard
    Coutinho Eriksen Jrod
    Lukaku Griezmann Lewandoski

    Uzoho Ben Alou Aldasawri C.Sanchez

    Many Thanks and Good Luck all !!

    1. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Akinfeev today

    2. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Al-Dawsari should be in your line ip for today too

  14. CloudSky
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    The clairvoyant animal - this time its a cat - is predicting a Russia win.

    Maybe the cat isnt clairvoyant, but it certainly knows what to predict to survive in Russia.

  15. ★Kuntheman★
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Playing bench boost. Varela or Mojico?

    1. melvinmbabazi
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      varela

      1. ★Kuntheman★
        • 8 Years
        5 years, 9 months ago

        Likely to start? I’m guaranteed that with Mojico

  16. Trentminator
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    What about this for my 11? Playing a different fantasy game where you can only pick eleven players.

    Schmeichel
    Vertonghen, Meunier, Danilo, Tagliafico
    Grosicki, Willian, Meza, Belhanda
    Lukaku, Neymar

  17. Les Bleus
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    How many matches is Cabellero expected to start for?

    1. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      All of them if he the number one choice goalkeeper

      1. Les Bleus
        • 12 Years
        5 years, 9 months ago

        Cheers

  18. timPgoodwin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    A) Willian and Werner

    B) Mueller and Jesus

    1. caldracula
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      B

  19. 1justlookin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    If i have j rod shall i take out my c.sanchez and play another 4.5 mid?

    Does it matter?

    1. Red Dagger ✪
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Yes. Inui.

  20. thomashl
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Are Hazard and Mertens fit/assured starters tomorrow?

  21. geese01
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Neymar Or Messi ?

    1. Wakanda
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      neymar surely

    2. deyell
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Neymar

  22. Gazpilicueta
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    What do you guys think of Muslera Uzoho pairing? better to spend money elsewhere?

    1. Weeb Kakashi
      • 8 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Uzoho Almahiouf

      Simply because you are playing any one of them anyways

      1. Gazpilicueta
        • 9 Years
        5 years, 9 months ago

        what do you mean?

    2. IAWC ( It's a Wonderfu…
      • 6 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      i have gone with stoijovic ,morocco gk

  23. fenixri
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Emil Halfredsson nailed?

  24. Krafty Werks
    • 9 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Ok i think i'm done? Anything you'd change here? RMT, thanks.

    Muslera, Uzoho
    Meunier, Kimmich, Danilo, Pavard, Granqvist
    J.Rod, Eriksen, Ziyach, Nandez, C.Sanchez
    Cavani, Jesus, Lukaku

  25. Weeb Kakashi
    • 8 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Pick one

    A Messi Belhanda/Uribe
    B Di Maria/Reus

    1. deyell
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Messi and Belhanda.

  26. Wakanda
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    RMT please :
    W.Caballero
    D.godin , danilo, rodriguez
    C.sanchez, isco, paulinho, t.kroos
    A.griezmann, surazez, lewandoski
    mad rush now trying to form a team, any guidance ?
    subs are below par and not worthy to mention

  27. PompeyUpNorth!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Urgent.. best 6 mill mid on FIFA please?

    1. BBC_TF
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Cueva

    2. deyell
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Cueva

      1. PompeyUpNorth!
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        5 years, 9 months ago

        Thank you so much! The final piece!

  28. BBC_TF
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Pickford or Muslera?

    I already have Varela

    1. CloudSky
      • 7 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Ive gone for Picks with Salah apparently being fit for the first game.

    2. deyell
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      I switched to Pickford because I have Varela as well. Also got Gallese because England won't keep a clean sheet against Belgium.

    3. Indio
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Close, but I'd double up on UGY.

  29. Hazardouss
    • 7 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    6.5 mid to replace Miranchuk, I have meza and Ziyach in that price range

  30. Indio
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    5 years, 9 months ago

    Are any 5M mids better than C Sanchez? (have 0.5M ITB). Thanks.

    1. deyell
      • 5 Years
      5 years, 9 months ago

      Nandez