Iceland’s draw with Portugal in their opening game added another level of intrigue to the group stage at Euro 2016. While the majority of soccer fans dismissed the result as Portugal failing to live up to expectations once again, the reality is that Iceland could be a better team than expected. We took that in to account when breaking down the perfect roster for Saturday’s DraftKings tournaments. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings Euro fantasy 2016 tournaments.
GK: Thibaut Courtois, Belgium
Salary: $5,500
Belgium was sufficiently frustrated by Italy’s defensive play and counterattack in their group stage opener but there is reason to believe they will bounce back following a 2-0 loss. There has been some trouble in the Belgium camp over the past couple of days since their loss and a matchup with Ireland should help them to bounce back. Courtois is the highest-priced goalkeeper option on the board for a reason and we have no problem rolling with him. We have confidence that this is still a strong team that will rebound. Ireland played to a 1-1 draw with Sweden in their opener but they’re not on the level of Italy or Belgium, and should be kept off the score sheet here.
D: Ricardo Carvalho, Portugal
Salary: $3,700
Portugal didn’t lose its opener but it certainly would have liked a better result than a draw with Iceland. The Portuguese side will get its shot at redemption versus Australia on Saturday and should have no problem recording the clean sheet victory. Hopefully. Even if Portugal struggles in this game, it’s likely to be at the offensive end, which means that the defensive stats should still be strong for Euro fantasy. Carvalho is available at a very reasonable price and he is definitely worth using as a strong value option.
D: Pepe, Portugal
Salary: $3,500
Pepe is another value option at just $3.5K. Portugal should have no problem shutting down an Austria attack that is coming off a 2-0 loss to Hungary in its opening match. It’s the same theme here for our Euro fantasy lineup.
M: Balazs Dzsudzsak, Hungary
Salary: $7,300
Dzudzsak wasn’t among the Hungary players that registered a point in their opening win over Austria but he was all over the pitch and certainly had plenty of opportunities. Dzudzsak should have plenty of opportunities to get on the scoresheet on Saturday and he is worth locking in as a strong Euro fantasy option in the midfield.
M: Teddy Bjarnason, Iceland
Salary: $4,200
Our first pick from Iceland is a steady midfielder with considerable upside based on his price point and his team’s matchup with Hungary. Both teams believe they have what it takes to advance to the Round of 16 and we could see plenty of goals when they meet on Saturday.
F: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
Salary: $13,000
Ronaldo had a lot to say following Portugal’s draw with Iceland but the bottom line is that he needs to produce and lead the way up front if his team is going to live up to its lofty expectations. Ronaldo is clearly the most talented striker available for Saturday’s game and he should have no problem finally breaking through against Australia.
F: Romelu Lukaku, Belgium
Salary: $9,200
Belgium’s attack was consistently frustrated by Italy in its opening game but they had their fair share of chances and there is every reason to expect them to break through with a better matchup against Ireland on Saturday. Ireland isn’t as stout at the back end as the Italians were. Lukaku had plenty of chances against Italy and we are betting on him to break through in this game as the perfect compliment to Ronaldo in our Euro fantasy lineup.
FLEX: Adam Lang, Hungary
Salary: $3,300
Our final pick will go to a veteran defender that is available at a very reasonable price in Lang. He might not contribute much at the offensive end but he should be able to hold his own as a strong value option to fill in for our final FLEX position for Euro fantasy.
