DREAM TEAM EUROS gets fully underway later today!
The deadline for Matchday 1 is 7pm, one hour before Germany v Scotland kicks off, and so every manager should have their XI locked in by then.
In hope of providing a helping hand, here’s a whistle-stop tour of tips, stats and key information.
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Mr PopularRex
Kylian Mbappe (£7.5m) is set to be the most-popular player in the game come the deadline as his current ownership of 59.8% puts him comfortably ahead of Harry Kane (£7.5m), who is the next most-selected asset on 45.4%.
France’s No10 is also the most commonly selected captain at present, with Kane second and Cristiano Ronaldo (£6m) a distant third.
It should be noted than Mbappe skipped training on Thursday with a flu bug disrupting Didier Deschamps’ preparations but, at this stage, the superstar forward is expected to feature against Austria on Monday.
Remember, your vice-captain will have their points doubled if your first-choice captain doesn’t play for any reason.
Real Madrid’s newest Galactico is the joint-most expensive player, most popular, and most selected captain – what Erling Haaland is to Dream Team’s season game, Mbappe is to the Euros game.
Dream TeamHavertz is expected to start up front against Scotland[/caption]
Matchday 1 features the entire first round of group games so make sure your XI is tailored to the next four days, not just tonight’s curtain-raiser.
Here’s a reminder of the Matchday 1 fixtures:
Germany v Scotland
Hungary v Swizterland
Spain v Croatia
Italy v Albania
Poland v Netherlands
Slovenia v Denmark
Serbia v England
Romania v Ukraine
Belgium v Slovakia
Austria v France
Turkey v Georgia
Portugal v Czechia
Dream Team Euros bosses will have to predict the vast majority of starting line-ups but it’s likely Germany and Scotland will release theirs just prior to tonight’s deadline.
Kai Havertz (£4.5m) and Niclas Fullkrug (£4m) are both among the the nine most-selected forwards at the time of writing and so confirmation of who starts up front for the hosts should come as welcome news to a sizeable chunk of gaffers – just don’t leave it too late!
GettyAlexander-Arnold is in line to start in midfield for England against Serbia[/caption]
England players are immensely popular prior to Matchday 1 so here’s Gareth Southgate’s most likely starting XI to face Serbia on Sunday:
Jordan Pickford (£4m)
Kyle Walker (£4m)
John Stones (£4.5m)
Marc Guehi (£3m)
Kieran Trippier (£4.5m)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5m)
Declan Rice (£3m)
Bukayo Saka (£6.5m)
Jude Bellingham (£6m)
Phil Foden (£6.5m)
Harry Kane (£7.5m)
Obviously this is not set in stone but most of the clues coming out of the camp suggest this team.
At £3m, Guehi is clearly the smart, affordable choice for gaffers who fancy the Three Lions to keep a clean sheet but Alexander-Arnold is a tempting option as a midfield role could harness his attacking qualities to their full extent – he’s categorised a defender in Dream Team Euros and will therefore benefit from any clean sheets, provided he plays at least 60 minutes.
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GettyTurkey’s captain is a set-piece specialist[/caption]
Set-piece takers can be worth their weight in gold, especially if they fulfil the role of national hero and talisman.
Three names who might fit the bill this summer are Christian Eriksen (£3m), Dominik Szoboszlai (£3.5m) and Hakan Calhanoglu (£3m).
All three are likely to take almost every corner, free-kick and penalty for their respective teams.
Turkey’s captain was flawless from the penalty spot for Inter this season and he’s scored more direct free-kicks in his career than James Ward-Prowse.
Calhanoglu also has the benefit of a relatively favourable Matchday 1 in the form of Georgia.
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Finally here are a few players we consider to be unjustifiably popular:
Kyle Walker (£4m) – 19.1% (ownership)
William Saliba (£4.5m) – 16.2%
Toni Kroos (£3.5m) – 9.4%
Leroy Sane (£5.5m) – 7.2%
Cole Palmer (£4.5m) – 6.7%
Diogo Jota (£4.5m) – 6.8%
A fine collection of talented footballers but some are at risk of being benched while others are not best placed to provide enough points to warrant their cost – in our humble opinion.
Conversely, here are some players we believe should be more popular ahead of Matchday 1:
Bart Verbruggen (£3.5m) – 2.3%
Federico Dimarco (£4m) – 6.6%
Alessandro Bastoni (£4m) – 3%
Mykhola Matvienko (£2m) – 0.8%
Nico Williams (£4m) – 1%
Viktor Tsygankov (£2.5m) – 0.7%
Gianluca Scamacca (£3m) – 3.1%
Some undervalued starters for the stronger teams mixed with some in-form players with a favourable fixture first up.
GettyScamacca finished the domestic season in fine form for Atalanta[/caption]
Lastly, roughly 10% of Dream Team Euros Managers have activated a Booster for Matchday 1.
Playing such an early Booster in the season game would seem rash but it’s a perfectly viable strategy in the Euros game.
In theory, the group stages will feature the most one-sided match-ups and with three Boosters to play across seven Matchdays, activating one from the get-go seems reasonable.
On the other hand, there’s plenty to be said for a more patient approach as it might be beneficial to wait for a look at all the teams to gauge tactics, line-ups, form, etc.
Whatever you decide, remember to lock in your strategy for Matchday 1 by 7pm this evening!