In the latest article from our team of Hall of Famers and guest contributors, two-time Indian FPL champion Lateriser provides a Matchday 2 Wildcard team reveal for Euro 2024 Fantasy.
He also talks though the best options on each calendar day of Matchday 2.
Despite having some mixed results in Matchday 1 (so far), indulging in Euro Fantasy 2024 has really helped up the engagement factor. I’ve seen a lot more games this time around than I would usually when it comes to international tournaments.
Matchday 1 has seen me have three non–playing defenders in my team: Jeremie Frimpong (€5.5m), Joakim Maehle (€5.5m) and Maxim De Cuyper (€4.5m). That makes the planned decision to use a chip in Matchday 2 an even easier one.
LIMITLESS V WILDCARD
I could use the Limitless or Wildcard chip in Matchday 2. Having just tinkered and built a draft (while watching Austria play France), I can get the players I want on the prescribed budget in the next Matchday without compromising on much.
I still feel that there will be a fair amount of teams having something to play for in Matchday 3, which is why I want to reserve Limitless for that day. A lot of the good teams play each other in Matchday 2, which is another reason for me wanting to save it for Matchday 3.
It wasn’t all bad in Matchday 1. Captaining Jude Bellingham (€9.5m) gave me a 24-point haul. I also managed to clock five-pointers from Ilkay Gundogan (€7.0m), Dominik Szoboszlai (€7.0m) and Pedri (€7.0m) but outside of that, my team hasn’t done much.
Anyway, I do have a first draft in mind for Matchday 2. These are my early thoughts and my early tinker.
CLEAN SHEET ODDS + PROJECTED GOALS
The excellent Rob T has put together his usual helpful graphic ahead of Matchday 2, which is a good starting point for discussion:
WEDNESDAY: CROATIA + GERMANY
Albania didn’t do much in terms of attacking threat versus Italy, not clocking a single shot in the box between minutes eight and 89 in Matchday 1. Croatia have one of the best clean sheet odds in Matchday 2 and we’ll have the benefit of knowing their lineup against Albania as they are the first game on Wednesday.
Keeping that in mind, I intend to have at least two if not three players from their team. Josko Gvardiol (€5.5m) surprisingly did not play in the centre-half role in Matchday 1 as he usually does for his nation, instead playing as an attacking left-back. Given his points potential at both ends of the pitch, I think it is very likely I’ll have him on my Matchday 2 Wildcard.
For those hunting in the bargain basement, Croatia do have a €4.0m defender, Marin Pongracic, who offers value. I thought Ivan Perisic’s (€6.5m) cameo in Matchday 1 was very encouraging and if he does start against Albania, I will be tempted to get him in my team.
Germany were very good in their opening game against Scotland. A triple-up seems a no-brainer to me.
Maxmillian Mittelstadt (€4.0m) isn’t just a value pick; he was fairly attacking in Matchday 1 and loves a shot. I thought the German front four were all really good, although I think it is a bit of a lottery between them in terms of who returns. It does seem like Jamal Musiala (€8.5m) does have a slightly higher chance to win the Man of the Match award.
THURSDAY: ENGLAND, SLOVENIA + SERBIA
The games on Thursday are slightly difficult to call and I originally only had Jordan Pickford (€5.0m) in there as a fall-back captain. I do need to think about a stronger armband option on the day and the likes of Harry Kane (€11.0m), Bellingham, ball recovery machine Marc Guehi (€4.5m), and Dusan Vlahovic (€7.5m), who I thought was very impressive against England, are in my thoughts.
Slovenia v Serbia could see some goals, with both teams wanting to go for a win. That’s why it might not be a bad idea to punt on a Serbian or a Slovenian striker. Aleksandar Mitrovic (€7.0m), Vlahovic and Benjamin Sesko (€7.0m) are all decent gambles in the mid-priced bracket.
Predrag Rajkovic started in the first game against England and is my €4.0m goalkeeper with a decent fixture. Slovenia did really turn up in the second half against Denmark, so I wonder if not having an English attacker against Denmark is a mistake.
A massive bit of injury news for France could change all that, however.
FRIDAY: FRANCE, AUSTRIA + SLOVAKIA
On day 3, Kylian Mbappe (€11.0m) was all set to be my captain. He loves a brace against the Netherlands having scored twice on both occasions against them in the qualifiers.
However, reports now suggest that Mbappe is a major doubt for Matchday 2. If he’s fit, he’s in my team. If not, I could possibly go for a cheaper value striker or Kane to have a captaincy option for the day.
Austria really impressed me against France. Christoph Baumgartner (€6.5m) is a very good option and heavily under consideration. He looked the most advanced and attacking out of all Austria midfielders.
Watching France play while I wrote this article made me want to get Theo Hernandez (€5.5m), who looked really sharp against Austria.
Poland conceded a fair few chances to the Netherlands in the first game, which is why I want to throw in an Austrian attacker as a punt against their defence. Baumgartner did really well in the qualifiers and his country have been playing some impressive attacking football under Ralf Rangnick. Him or Marcel Sabitzer (€6.5m) are definitely on my mind.
Lukas Haraslin (€6.5m) and David Hancko (€4.5m) from Slovakia are under consideration as the Ukraine goalkeeper and defence looked fairly questionable.
SATURDAY: BELGIUM + PORTUGAL
Romelu Lukaku (€9.0m) had one of his semi-regular horror shows in the first game, while Romania really impressed. That said, this is a must-win game for Belgium, so he is still a good option in my opinion.
I still need to form an opinion on Turkey but Portugal have one of the most all-rounded squads, which is why I’m looking at a triple-up in Matchday 2.
MATCHDAY 2 WILDCARD DRAFT
