World Cup Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 6/20/18
After a four-year wait, the World Cup is back, and FanDuel is offering daily fantasy contests for the entirety of the tournament. For those who played DFS during the Premier League season, FanDuel has made some changes to their scoring system, so make sure you're up to date on how the new settings impact things.
Wednesday's main slate features the Spain-Iran match as well as Uruguay taking on Saudi Arabia. The 8 a.m. EST clash between Portugal and Morocco is not on the slate.
Let's go through the four positions and look at some players to target at various price points.
Forwards to Target
Edinson Cavani ($12,500) and Luis Suarez ($12,000) -- This slate has two huge favorites in Spain and Uruguay, and they figure to hog ownership. Per Bovada, both are a 2.0-goal favorite, with Uruguay's 2.5-goal implied total narrowly besting Spain's 2.25 clip. We project Uruguay to score 1.87 goals, and both Suarez and Cavani are in a superb spot. Saudi Arabia looked every bit like one of the tourney's worst teams in their opening 5-0 loss to Russia. Suarez and Cavani should be able to run rampant.
Diego Costa ($11,000) -- Coming into the World Cup, there was some uncertainty about who Spain would start at striker. Costa pretty much put that to bed with a two-goal outing against Portugal last week. In that 3-3 draw, Spain put together a pristine attacking performance against a solid opponent, so they should go nuts on Iran, with our models projecting the Spaniards to win, 2.09-0.65. With a loaded squad around him, Costa should be given numerous cracks at goal, and he will likely be the slate's highest-owned player since Suarez and Cavani will probably cannibalize each other's ownership a bit.
Midfielders to Target
Isco ($8,500) -- Isco continued his stellar run of form in a national team shirt with a dazzling display against Portugal, looking dangerous every time he got the ball. He was unlucky to total just 10 FanDuel points, all of which came from his 2 shots on goal. Isco's attack-minded mentality is perfect for DFS, and in a match in which Iran will likely sit back, his play-making will be necessary for a Spanish side that needs to take all three points. Isco does a lot of the same things for Spain as David Silva does, and he's $1,500 cheaper.
Andres Iniesta ($8,000) and David Silva ($10,000) -- Much like Isco, these two will see a ton of the ball versus Iran. Iniesta may be on his last legs and is unlikely to play a full match, but he's still a wizard at breaking down a compact defense. The Barcelona legend could be the guy who unlocks the door in Spain's attacks. Silva was a maestro against Portugal, creating three chances and living in dangerous areas. He's got as much upside as any midfielder on this slate.
Carlos Sanchez ($9,500) -- Someone in Uruguay's midfield needed to step up to bridge play from the back line to their star forwards, and Sanchez was that dude against Egypt. He finished with 17.3 FanDuel points, getting an assist on a corner kick. He won't take many free kicks, but those corner duties are a nice plus for his value, and he should be on the ball a good amount in a match in which Uruguay are big favorites.
Defenders to Target
Jordi Alba ($6,000) -- Alba is a cheap way to get exposure to Spain's attacks. With Spain likely to hold a big edge in possession, Alba will be free to get forward down the left side. In addition to what he offers going forward, Alba's upside is boosted by Spain's clean-sheet odds as Iran is projected to score 0.65 goals, the fewest on the slate. Alba is a great stacking option with any of Spain's attackers.
Rouzbeh Cheshmi ($4,000) -- Cheshmi is a cheap, high-floor option in defense, and he can help you pay up for the studs you want. In Iran's opening match, he tallied 14.1 FanDuel points thanks to 3 clearances, 2 tackles, 1 interception and 1 block. He did get five points from a clean sheet, something that's extremely unlikely versus Spain, but he should be saddled with a lot more defensive chores against La Roja.
Osama Hawsawi ($5,000) -- Hawsawi is very similar to Cheshmi. While his upside is minimal as Saudi Arabia are clear underdogs against Uruguay, Hawsawi should be very active defensively, giving him a nice floor. Against Russia last week, he notched 13 FanDuel points on 4 tackles, 4 clearances, 1 block and 1 interception. Uruguay is a step up from Russia, so it's not unreasonable to think Hawsawi could do even more in this one.
Goalies to Target
David De Gea ($5,500) -- De Gea had a rough game against Portugal, finishing with -7.5 FanDuel points and committing a howler that resulted in a goal. But Spain's keeper is widely recognized as one of the world's best, and he's in a great spot against Iran in a match we give Spain a 79.0% chance of winning. We project Iran for 0.65 goals, and oddsmakers have them with a measly 0.25-goal implied total. A win plus a clean sheet would be 17 FanDuel points, even if De Gea isn't asked to make a save.
Fernando Muslera ($6,000) -- Muslera was superb in Uruguay's 1-0 triumph over Egypt. He made 3 saves on his way to a win and clean sheet, giving him 26 FanDuel points. Oddsmakers have Saudi Arabia with a 0.5-goal implied total while we project them to score 0.84 goals, so Muslera is looking at another great opportunity for a victory and a clean sheet.
Austan Kas is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austan Kas also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username akas247. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
