DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Thursday UEFA Euro 2020 Picks

MATCHES (ET)

• 9:00 am: Ukraine vs. North Macedonia
• 12:00 pm: Denmark vs. Belgium
• 3:00 pm: Netherlands vs. Austria

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Thursday UEFA Euros 2020 Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Memphis Depay, NED v. AUT ($9,900): I backed Depay in the Netherlands' first game, and while he didn't live up to the price, he didn't completely bust, finishing with 10.4 floor points. He again has the best odds to score on the slate and takes all set pieces for Netherlands, which is something to spend up for in cash games. While the matchup is more difficult, I don't think Austria are good enough to where you need to fade their opponents, which is why Netherlands are the biggest favorite. Similar to that first game, Depay can be stacked with Wout Weghorst ($8,500), though you'd likely need multiple goals from Netherlands for that to work. The bigger question may be Romelu Lukaku ($9,900) versus Depay, as they're most likely to score on the slate. The difference for Lukaku is that most of his fantasy value is attached to goals and Denmark aren't the same walkover defensively as Russia. Even if Lukaku scores, there's a chance he doesn't do anything else and only finishes around 14 or 15 points, something that doesn't separate him. Even against Russia, Lukaku had just three shots, so it'll be hard to spend on the goal-dependent forward in cash games.

Andriy Yarmolenko, UKR v. MKD ($7,400): Yarmolenko seems a tad too cheap given the matchup and the fact he has the same odds as Weghorst to score. He's also cheaper than teammate Roman Yaremchuk ($8,300), who had an extremely efficient match against Netherlands, getting one goal and one assist from three shots (all on target) and one chance created. Yarmolenko's role on the wing should lead to a higher floor after sending in three crosses in the first match to go with three shots and a chance created. If Yarmolenko can get those numbers against the Netherlands, he can surely hit them against North Macedonia. Of course, you may need to save money if you're going to Depay and there are other viable options. As expected, the Denmark players are all cheaper, like Martin Braithwaite ($6,300) and Yussuf Poulsen ($5,600), but if you don't want to go against Belgium, Sasa Kalajdzic ($5,900) and Goran Pandev ($5,700) should draw interest. Kalajdzic is a bigger risk to be subbed off early if not start on the bench for Michael Gregoritsch ($3,700), but Pandev could be interesting. He doesn't have much of a floor, but he's North Macedonia's best chance to score and I can't get behind Ukraine having the best odds to secure a clean sheet. North Macedonia will get chances and Pandev could be the one around the ball most in the box.

MIDFIELDERS

Georginio Wijnaldum, NED v. AUT ($7,000): Unless Kevin De Bruyne ($10,400) makes a surprise start, there isn't one midfielder who needs to be used Thursday. Ruslan Malinovskyi ($8,200) will probably get the most attention in cash games because of his matchup, but I wouldn't build your squad around him. North Macedonia don't give up a ton of corners, and while Malinovskyi could be busy from open play, I'd rather go elsewhere. There's a chance I'm looking too much into the first match, but Wijnaldum plays in a much different position for Netherlands than at Liverpool and that led to his performance against Ukraine, totaling five shots and a goal. He may not get there again, but it's hard to ignore his attacking position and that Netherlands are favored. If you don't have the money for Weghorst and want to stack someone else with Depay, Wijnaldum could help. Maybe I'm avoiding Dries Mertens ($7,700) and Yannick Carrasco ($7,200) too much and they'll be great GPP plays, but after that first outing I'm not sure I'd back them against Denmark. The other option is to bank on another four or five goals in a Netherlands match and go after Marcel Sabitzer ($7,100) and David Alaba ($6,800). There's a 50 percent chance Alaba plays in the midfield against Netherlands and Sabitzer is the pivot if that's not the case.

Mathias Jensen, DEN v. BEL ($4,900): There's a chance Jensen takes all set pieces for Denmark in place of Christian Eriksen, and his price doesn't correlate with that. Denmark are underdogs, but I don't think Belgium will completely dominate the match, leading to a floor of at least five points for Jensen, if not more. If the matchup were different, Jensen would likely be chalky, but against Belgium, there's a chance people look elsewhere. The best thing about Jensen is that you don't need to stack him with other Denmark players and you can simply bank on set pieces. You could use Braithwaite or Poulsen in GPPs, but Jensen by himself will be fine in cash games.  

Ezgjan Alioski, MKD v. UKR ($5,400): Instead of completely punting, I think the North Macedonia guys deserve some respect. Similar to Robin Lod on Wednesday, you don't have to overlook the worst team on the slate, especially if the matchup is right. In addition to being his team's main set-piece taker, Alioski was a focal point against Austria, racking up 90 touches, 30 more than anyone else. Take away the yellow card and a couple fouls committed and he was closer to a seven-point floor than the 4.7 he finished with. Enis Bardhi ($5,900) and Eljif Elmas ($4,700) are also in play, but I think Alioski's activity on the ball and role on the wing gives him the better floor. I'm also wary about the Ukraine back line that looked out of sorts for most of the Netherlands match.

DEFENDERS

Thomas Meunier, BEL v. DEN ($4,800): Meunier could be the most popular defender in cash games and there aren't many reasons not to use him. I backed him in the opener except he came off the bench for the injured Timothy Castagne and then ran rampant over Russia. He won't hit the same numbers, but he's fairly cheap for a favored full-back. I doubt Denzel Dumfries ($5,700) will repeat his goal-scoring performance in a harder matchup, while Oleksandr Zinchenko ($5,100) got a massive price bump because he's playing North Macedonia. If you don't want Meunier, you're better off saving money at defender.

Vitalii Mykolenko, UKR v. MKD ($4,200): Mykolenko is the cheapest full-back on a favorite unless Daley Blind ($3,900) moves out wide and even then I probably wouldn't use him. Mykolenko is $800 cheaper than teammate Oleksandr Karavaev on the other side of Ukraine's defense. North Macedonia got beat up on Alioski's side last match (Karavaev's side), but that's not a guarantee to happen again. And if you don't like Mykolenko, there are plenty of cheap center-backs to go after, and since center-back goals have been lacking in this tournament (outside of own goals), have your pick.

GOALKEEPER

Stole Dimitrievski, MKD v. UKR ($3,900): There isn't a goalkeeper who stands out on this slate, mainly because Ukraine have the best odds for a clean sheet. That being the case, I'll go to the bottom of the list and hope Dimitrievski can again make a few saves without allowing multiple goals. Ukraine are arguably a worse side than Austria, and Austria only managed 10 shots against North Macedonia, so that's at least a good sign. If you prefer to fade Denmark because I didn't back any of their forwards, Thibaut Courtois is $5,200.