Euro 2016: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT):

9:00 a.m: Russia v. Slovakia
12:00 p.m: Romania v. Switzerland
3:00 p.m: France v. Albania

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS:

Russia: Oleg Shatov, Aleksandr Kokorin
Slovakia: Vladimir Weiss, Robert Mak
Romania: Nicolai Stanciu
Switzerland: Xherdan Shaqiri, Ricardo Rodriguez
France: Dimitri Payet
Albania: Taulant Xhaka

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Let's be honest, Hugo Lloris will be the chalk on this slate. A very talented goalkeeper playing for the host nation and one of the favorites to win the tournament up against the "happy-to-be-here" Albania squad, he is certainly in play in cash games, but there are options to grab those much-needed savings:

Igor Akinfeev, RUS vs. SVK: I liked Akinfeev a lot heading into this group and believed that aside from the England match, he would certainly be in play. He was sharp on four saves he faced in the opener, and Russia looked more competitive than expected with their pre-tournament injuries. With Slovakia needing to push after their opening loss, that should open the door for a decent Russian team to grab a win and also allow Akinfeev to make a few saves.

Cipran Tatarusanu, ROM vs. SUI: If you're feeling frisky in a larger GPP, the Romanian keeper may be the way to go. This certainly carries a lot of risk, but the Swiss are known for their defending and may struggle to break down a similarly stingy Romanian side. Tatarusanu was plagued by some positioning trouble in the first match, but he should have a much easier go against the less dynamic Swiss attack.

DEFENDER

Elseid Hysaj, ALB vs. FRA: Just because France is expected to dominate doesn't mean we have to avoid certain sides when the value presents itself. The price on Hysaj is in great danger of correcting itself shortly, but as long as the young defender is on the field he will make things happen; an encouraging statistic being that he drew three fouls in the first match in addition to his attacking skill.

Razvan Rat, ROM vs. SUI: My recommendation of the sometimes-awkward Tatarusanu in net should hint towards my appreciation for Romania's defense in this matchup of shutdown teams, and the love extends to Rat, who is a big, rugged defender who can contribute everywhere. Discipline is sometimes an issue, but the legitimate clean sheet possibility is worth the risk.

Adil Rami, FRA vs. ALB: Hi, clean sheet chasers. I see you there. Rami might be your cheapest exposure to the French defense, and though they have come under fire in this tournament already, they will not be expecting to concede to Albania. This defensive unit has been best described as "vulnerable," but this is still a quality back four and can be rostered with confidence in cash games.

MIDFIELDER

Oleg Shatov, RUS vs. SVK: Shatov stands to offer some great value when compared to the French players in the same role, especially considering that this match is projecting to be a sneaky good 90 minutes to target for fantasy purposes. Expect crosses, and there should be free looks to connect on an assist with Slovakia pushing forward at every opportunity.

Xherdan Shaqiri, SUI vs. ROM: I will admit up front that I am not particularly interested in Switzerland's attacking options in their matchup with stingy Romania, but Shaqiri is always in play with his crossing ability. He did attempt four shots against Albania in the opener, which only adds to his value in a match where offensive output is going to prove hard to come by.

Marek Hamsik, SVK vs. RUS: It may not cost much more to grab one of the bigger-named French midfielders, but I just cannot sleep on Hamsik's creativity in a must-win match for Slovakia. The cream always tends to rise to the top when the pressure is on, and Hamsik is a genuine weapon that needs to fire on all cylinders if Slovakia want to extend their stay at this tournament.

FORWARD

Armando Sadiku, ALB vs. FRA: As mentioned previously, there is a great chance that some of the good value on this Albanian team gets overlooked based on the enormity of the challenge they now face. However, we can't have all the players that we want and we need to make good choice about where to spend down, and Sadiku is as good a choice as anyone. He wasn't exactly effective in his finishing against Switzerland, but he showed a flash of danger by putting shots on target and will come at a big discount. If we are already looking away from Lloris in GPP play, it makes great sense to further attack France with an Albanian goal.

Antoine Greizmann, FRA vs. ALB: It's pretty clear just by looking at this slate of matches that France will be the team to target for goals. Olivier Giroud and Dimitri Payet were the goal scorers, and if you want to use Giroud in one of your forward slots you will certainly be justified in doing so, however, Greizmann should be much lower owned. He had France's first dangerous look towards net and is too dynamic of a player to overlook against an Albanian team that won't have any answers.