Euro 2016 Fantasy Tips – Quarter Finals

Euro 2016 Fantasy Tips – Quarter Finals

Goals, tackles, heated arguments and England’s exit; the round of 16 had everything a football fan had hoped for. The highlight was Italy’s tactical master class that led to Spain’s ousting from the tournament, which was very closely followed by the fairytale victory for Iceland over neighbors England.

On the Fantasy front it was an average Matchday, as my captain(Eric Dier) couldn’t fetch me enough points as I made a greedy attempt of changing my captain from Bale(who gave 10 points) to Ozil(who missed a penalty) to Dier(who couldn’t muster a clean sheet).

But other than the captaincy woes, all my other players did good enough to keep me in the hunt going into the quarterfinals.

Also Read: Euro 2016 Team of Round of 16

Now, we have just 4 free transfers available for the quarter finals and thus, I opt for the wildcard, as 6 of my players won’t be featuring in the last eight.

Let’s get to business now!

 Read on for the Euro 2016 Fantasy Tips – Quarter Finals

Goalkeeper

France have a relatively easy fixture as they face Iceland. Now, while Iceland have been the story of this Euro championship, they certainly don’t have it in them to get past France. And that is why I try and stack my team with as many French players as I can.

Hugo Llrois is my goalkeeper for the quarter finals as I don’t expect the Iceland team to score against a stout and experienced French defence. And as I have time and again mentioned, a goalkeeper is only as good as his defence (at least when it comes to getting Fantasy points).

Manuel Neuer could be the next best option but against a supremely tactical Italy, I see a risk in bringing him in.

Llrois seems the most logical option and hence I opt for him.

Defenders

The first defender that I opt for is Bacary Sagna. As I have already mentioned, France arguably have the easiest fixture in the quarter finals and should be able to muster a clean sheet. Considering that I wanted to bring in at least one French defender.

Sagna plays at right back and is brilliant going forward, making overlapping runs and delivering great crosses into the box. It is always great to have full backs as your defenders as they get a lot of chances to get assists.

No matter who the opponents are, no matter how many striking wizards they possess, Italy have found a way to construct a clean sheet against them. And that is why I get in Giachhereni. He along with Chielleni have been rock solid for Italy ay the back, breaking down all plays that have been attempted by the opposition. Against a talented but ‘short on creativity’ German attacking line, Italy could very well repeat their defensive heroics.

Giacherreni is cheaper than Chielleni and should get the same amount of points if Italy get a clean sheet.

Meunier will be my defender. He has been very lively for Belgium going forward and could exploit the weaknesses in the Welsh defecne. His defensive skills have also been on display in this tournament and because he comes in for just 4.5 million, he gives me a lot of freedom to get in other big match players.

Hector is my fourth defender. I expect Italy and Germany to play out a 0-0 draw and that is why I bring in Hector as well. Both these sides have managed 4 clean sheets in the tournament until now and hence I wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to do it one more time.

Jedrzejczyk is my last defender for this game. Now, while Portugal are favourites going into the game against Poland, over the years we have seen Portugal getting frustrated upfront. If Poland can frustrate Ronaldo, they have a very good chance of taking them to the penalty shootout or better, they could take advantage of the fragile Portuguese defence and finish the game before the shootout.

Extra time events do count in the Fantasy game, which provides more opportunities for scoring goals and thus I would advise you to not spend a lot on defenders.

Midfielders

Dmitri Payet is my first midfielder for the quarter finals. He has been carrying France in this tournament and should be amongst the goals in the last 8 as well.

Between De Bruyne and Hazard, it is very difficult to call as to who would be on the scoresheet, so I’ll have to go with De Bruyne as he has been in form all through this season.

Draxler has been in brilliant form since getting into the starting XI for Germany, he terrorized the Slovakian defecne in the last game and though he won’t be able to do that to the Italian defence, it is worth taking a gamble as he comes in for just 6.5 million and gets to play the full 90 minutes.

Portugal’s defence has been leaky. They haven’t gelled well together and a few injuries in defence and midfield would cause more problems for them. And because of this I bring in one attacking midfielder from Poland. Blaszczykowski will be that midfielder. He has been threatening in the group stages and should be able to carve through the Portuguese defence. Get him in!

Nainggolan is my last midfielder for this game. Belgium should be able to go through against Wales as they have a well-rounded side.

Nainggolan has proven to be a great find for Belgium in this Euro 2016. He has diligently supported De Bruyne and Hazard by assisting and scoring a goal in this campaign, He is a great value for money buy, get him in!

Forwards/Strikers

Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoinne Griezmann will be my first choices for this category.

Ronaldo showed everyone how important he is to Portugal’s chances by helping them qualify by scoring 2 and assisting 1 in the last game of qualifying. He also assisted the goal that led to Croatia’s exit from the competition in the Round of 16. Expect the best European player be to be on the scoresheet today.

Griezmann was substituted in the first game as he wasn’t very impressive in the first game but after that he has just been phenomenal. And against a relatively weak Iceland defence, I would expect him to be on the scoresheet again.

With just 9 million left, Romelo Lukaku is the best possible forward that I can bring in. He has scored twice in this tournament and against a shaky Welsh defence he should be able to get at least one goal.

Happy team picking

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