SOCCER

DraftKings Soccer: European Championship Daily Fantasy Helper for Thursday 6/17/21

Memphis Depay stands out above the rest of the players on the slate, but what others can we target on Thursday?

We've got some really exciting matches that could decide who will move onto the knockout stages. Here are the games, with odds from FanDuel Sportsbook:

"Home"Draw"Away"
Ukraine (-140)+240North Macedonia (+450)
Denmark (+300)+210Belgium (+100)
Netherlands (-180)+300Austria (+480)

Forwards to Target

Memphis Depay ($11,000): Memphis was not involved in any of the Netherlands' three goals in their first match against Ukraine, but he still managed a decent fantasy output with over 10 DraftKings points. This demonstrates why his salary is so high, because of the way he can accumulate points without scoring or assisting. He is also plenty capable of scoring and assisting though, as he had 20 goals and 12 assists in Ligue 1 for Lyon this season. With the Dutch being the biggest favorite on the slate, Memphis is easily the best play on the team as he is their driving force in attack. He also has the best any time goal-scoring odds on the slate, as a -110 favorite to score. While there are certainly other plays on this slate that can score goals, none of them offer the same floor/ceiling combination that Memphis does.

Romelu Lukaku ($9,900): Lukaku got off to a flying start to the tournament, scoring twice in Belgium's 3-0 win over Russia. This just continued his great form for both club and country, as he has six goals in his last six games. He's not the best floor player, as if you take away his goals from the first match his point total would have been in the low single-digits. However, he has proven throughout the season to be one of the most dangerous strikers around. It will be tough to fit in both Luakaku and Memphis, but it is doable with a few value plays.

Goran Pandev ($5,700): Pandev scored North Macedonia's goal on Sunday and generally looked lively. He's a good value play who has a chance of scoring a goal again in a game in which they are less of an underdog than they were in the last match against Austria. He's a fine salary-saving play at forward in tournaments.

Also consider: Wout Weghorst ($8,500), Marcel Sabitzer ($7,100), Martin Braithwaite ($6,300)

Midfielders to Target

Ruslan Malinovskiy ($8,200): Malinovskiy was Ukraine's best player in their thrilling match against the Netherlands on Sunday. He had an assist on three shot-assists and two crosses. He took Ukraine's only corner kick and his assist came from a free-kick, so we can assume he's on a majority of set pieces. There should be more opportunities for set pieces in this game against North Macedonia than in the first game against the Netherlands in which Ukraine only had 38.5% ball possession, according to WhoScored.com. With set pieces somewhat jumbled for a few other teams, Malinovskiy stands out as one of the safer midfield options on the slate.

Yannick Carrasco ($7,200): Carrasco didn't get in on the act in Belgium's easy win against Russia, but there were some reasons to be encouraged going forward from a fantasy perspective. He took one of two corner kicks for Belgium and should continue to have a role on set pieces if Kevin De Bruyne remains out of the starting lineup. Carrasco averaged 4.57 crosses per 90 minutes with Atlético Madrid this season, according to Rotowire. So he won't be hesitant to whip balls into the box if he needs to, making him a decent play for $7,200.

Mathias Jensen ($4,800): Jensen will step into a role that is larger than his salary would indicate. He stepped in after Christian Eriksen went down and pretty much took over his role. He took over the corner kicks for Denmark and had five crosses in 48 minutes of play. You won't get a set-piece taker for a lower salary, making Jensen fine in all formats.

Arijan Ademi ($3,800): Ademi recorded 5.5 DraftKings points in North Macedonia's first match, all through defensive statistics. They will be required to defend again in this match, which could see him get a similar fantasy output. He's not the most inspiring play, but he may be necessary if you want to jam in Memphis, Lukaku, and some other players with high salaries.

Also consider: Georginio Wijnaldum ($7,000), Thorgan Hazard ($5,700), Frenkie de Jong ($4,500)

Defenders to Target

Denzel Dumfries ($5,700): Dumfries was one of the Netherlands' most impressive attacking players from his right-back position. In fact, he was one of the most active attacking players in the entire tournament. His 11 touches in the opposition box were the most of any player through one game. He had a goal on three shots, and also four crosses, so he was producing fantasy points when he got the ball in the box. If he is able to do the same thing, he is worth the $5,700 salary.

Oleksander Zinchenko ($5,100): Zinchenko is listed as a defender still, but was projected to line up as a midfielder and ended up as a left-winger in Ukraine's first game. This projected lineup has him on the left side of a front three. He wasn't able to do much attacking-wise in the first match, but playing in that front three from the start in a much easier matchup should see him produce more. His role as an attacker makes him worth taking a shot on for $5,100.

Thomas Meunier ($4,800): Meunier surprisingly didn't start in Belgium's first game, but his performance off the bench was good enough to win a lucky DraftKings player $100,000. With Timothy Castagne out for the tournament, Meunier will make the right wing-back position his own. He had a goal and an assist in 63 minutes on the field, and yet his salary went down. Meunier is more of a goal threat than most full backs, and is a good play for $4,800.

Also consider: Joakim Maehle ($4,400), Patrick van Aanholt ($4,300)

Goalkeepers to Target

Thibault Courtois ($5,200): Courtois is the keeper with the lowest salary among the favorites. He kept a clean sheet in the first match and now gets to face a Danish team that is without its best player and lacks a real goal threat. A solid Belgian midfield and back line should be able to protect the goal, and Courtois is unlikely to be under a ton of pressure in this match.

Stole Dimitrievski ($3,900): North Macedonia aren't the biggest underdogs on the slate, but Dimitriveski's salary suggests that they are. He'll face a Ukraine side that are good but don't seem to be the most dangerous in attack. In general, the tournament has been fairly low-scoring, which favors playing a keeper with a low salary because the risk is somewhat mitigated. Spending down at the most high-variance position allows us to play more players we want to play at the other positions.


Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.