DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Sunday World Cup Picks

MATCHES (EDT)

8:00 a.m: Costa Rica v. Serbia
11:00 a.m: Germany v. Mexico
2:00 p.m: Brazil v. Switzerland

FORWARDS

Neymar, BRA v. SUI ($12,100): Coming in with the highest price on the slate, Neymar will cost $3,600 more than the next most-expensive option and $3,700 more than the next-highest forward. One way to look at it is that he's so expensive there's no way you can fit him in a lineup at that price. The other way would be that there aren't any really expensive players to pay up for and so Neymar becomes a must-play. Or, you could ignore the price and consider he's the best player on the team with the best win odds and highest implied goal total, one who could lead them in shots and take a good portion of set pieces. He was one of the best players in the world before suffering a foot injury back in February that cost him the rest of his domestic league season, but he returned to appear in two friendlies for Brazil, scoring two goals (one in each game) on six shots (four on goal) while also drawing 11 fouls, including eight against Austria last week. He has the highest floor and arguably one of the highest upsides on the slate, and fading him could be really scary. Brazil aren't light in attacking options either, with Willian ($7,900), Philippe Coutinho ($8,300) and Gabriel Jesus ($8,100) all really good players. Willian probably has the highest floor of the non-Neymar group, with Jesus the highest upside because he's leading the attack, which could allow Coutinho to come in with the lowest ownership.

Thomas Muller, GER v. MEX ($8,400): Germany present an interesting conundrum in that their main set-piece taker, Toni Kroos ($7,000, midfielder), may not have a monopoly of those opportunities and he doesn't do that much in open play. It's possible he loses some of those dead-ball kicks to Mesut Ozil ($7,600), if he starts after recovering from a sore knee, a player who is much better for Germany than he is for Arsenal. And even if Ozil sits, Kroos is still probably only grabbing a couple crosses and is unlikely to shoot much. That leaves three potential forwards for Germany exposure: Marco Reus ($7,300), Timo Werner ($8,200) and Mueller. I must admit, Reus is one of my favorite players and his career upside has only been capped by a plethora of injuries, some of which limited him to just 11 appearances this past season after only 17 the previous season. Meanwhile, Werner came into the tournament with some of the best odds to win the Golden Boot, partially because he leads the line for a team that is expected to be one of the highest scoring in the tournament. Even with that, I think Muller is the guy to target thanks to his solid floor from shots and crosses, both of which could allow him a decent upside if he can get on the scoresheet. In fact, if you only want to play one Brazilian attacker, I think Muller makes for a fine second forward in cash games, with Werner and Reus GPP pivots.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, SRB v. CRC ($8,000): Some will look at Mitrovic's price and wonder why you wouldn't just pay $100 more for Jesus or $200 more for Werner, but that fits perfectly into his GPP appeal. Serbia aren't expected to score as many goals as Germany or Brazil, but they also don't have as many goal scorers as those teams. Brazil could win 4-0 without a goal from Jesus while Germany could do the same without Werner getting on the scoresheet. Again, Serbia won't score that much, but two goals could happen and it would be surprising if Mitrovic wasn't involved based on how well he's been playing and his role at the tip of their attack.

MIDFIELDERS

Julian Draxler, GER v. MEX ($6,500): If Ozil is ultimately held out, Draxler could provide nice exposure to the Germany attack without costing as much as the other players. That being said, his price is lower because he's not as prolific a fantasy scorer, so rostering him is more because of Germany than the player himself. He's theoretically also an option to poach some corners from Kroos, but he's unlikely to get enough to make it really worth it on it's own.

Filip Kostic, SRB v. CRC ($6,200): Kostic is expected to start on the left wing, and he presents a nice discount versus the other attacking players for Serbia. Coming off a solid season for Hamburger, where he averaged 2.46 shots, including 1.12 on goal, 4.63 crosses and 1.49 fouls drawn per 90 minutes, the matchup against Costa Rica should be ripe for the peripheral points. He's not going to be the most active shooter, but sending in balls to Mitrovic could certainly be part of the game plan.

Andres Guardado, MEX v. GER ($3,600): I don't love the idea of rostering a player going up against Germany, but Guardado's low price at least alleviates some of that concern. He's able to contribute in a multitude of ways, whether as an attacking player by taking shots and creating chances or doing some defensive work with tackles and interceptions. Expecting the attacking stats is probably not the best idea against the second-biggest favorite on the slate (and the second-biggest favorite to win the World Cup), but Guardado could do enough to at least make value at this price while allowing you to pay up for more Brazilians and Germans.

DEFENDERS

Aleksandar Kolarov, SRB v. CRC ($6,000): There are a number of high-impact fullbacks on Sunday's slate, which is a pretty significant difference from what we saw over the first three days of the tournament. Kolarov has one of the safest floors thanks to his role on set pieces (it's not a monopoly) and the fact that Serbia are facing off against the worst team of the six. Brazil's Marcelo ($5,700) is another great option, and given the lack of great midfielders on the slate, it wouldn't be crazy to pair the two of them. Speaking of high-salaried defenders, I'd probably pass on paying up for Joshua Kimmich ($6,800), who may not cross that much and would definitely need an assist to hit value and make up for fading Kolarov or Marcelo.

Nikola Milenkovic, SRB v. CRC ($3,200): We've seen a number of cheap favored centerbacks pay off their paltry salaries this week, and I'd be willing to take a flier on a player like Milenkovic, especially against a Costa Rican side that is much more likely to defend than attack. His upside is limited, of course, but he'll have a much easier time paying off a $3,200 salary than trying to get enough out of a $5,000 Branislav Ivanovic, even if he starts at right-back.

Carlos Salcedo, MEX v. GER ($2,500): Is $3,200 still too much? Let's fall all the way to the bottom of the salary scale for Salcedo, who admittedly has a terrible matchup, at least in terms of a clean sheet, against Germany. Expected to line up as a right-back, don't confuse Salcedo for any kind of attacking fullback; he's a center-back by trade and will produce like one, forcing us to hope for tackles won and fouls drawn. He's not going to get a plethora of points, but rostering someone at this price can really open up space elsewhere.

GOALKEEPER

Alisson, BRA v. SUI ($5,800): Paying up at goalkeeper has been a mixed bag during the World Cup (what else is new?), but with Brazil so heavily favored against Switzerland with excellent clean sheet odds, I think Alisson is worth the price. With so many wildcards on the Mexican roster, I'm a bit weary of Germany's Manuel Neuer ($5,600), who played just four times for Bayern Munich before missing the rest of the season with a foot injury. He's back to full training and has played some friendlies, but no one would be surprised if there was a little rust. If you really want to pay down for goalkeeper, going with Real Madrid's no. 1 -- Keylor Navas ($4,200) -- isn't the worst idea because of how defensive Costa Rica are expected to play.