Fantasy Europa League: Thursday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

1:00 p.m: Feyenoord v. Manchester United
1:00 p.m: Plzen v. Roma
1:00 p.m: Sassuolo v. Athletic Club
3:05 p.m: Inter Milan v. Hapoel Be'er Sheva
3:05 p.m: Nice v. Schalke
3:05 p.m: Southampton v. Sparta Prague
3:05 p.m: Standard Liege v. Celta Vigo
3:05 p.m: Villarreal v. FC Zurich

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Feyenoord: Steven Berghuis, Rick Karsdorp
Manchester United: Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata
Plzen: Jan Kopic, Milan Petrzela
Roma: Mohamed Salah, Diego Perotti, Bruno Peres
Sassuolo: Matteo Politano, Alfred Duncan
Athletic Bilbao: Benat
Inter Milan: Ever Banega, Antonio Candreva
Hapoel Be'er Sheva: Maharan Radi, Maor Buzgalo
Nice: Ricardo Pereira
Schalke 04: Yehven Konoplyanka, Max Meyer
Southampton: Dusan Tadic, Nathan Redmond
Sparta Prague: Martin Frydek, Vyacheslav Karavayev
Standard Liege: Isaac Mbenza, Reginal Goreux
Celta Vigo: Daniel Wass
Villarreal: Jaume Costa, Santos Borre
FC Zurich: Adrian Winter, Cedric Brunner

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Sergio Asenjo, VIL vs. FCZ: This is the epitome of the "don't get cute" pick in goal. There is plenty of value hanging around this slate and you can afford to roster the most expensive goalkeeper on DraftKings and make sacrifices elsewhere. This is the most lopsided matchup, and Asenjo is a staggering -180 favorite to record a clean sheet and win. It seems like a lot of money, but it's only slightly more than Samir Handanovic and Inter's shaky defending and Fraser Forster facing a Prague team oddsmakers think will find the net. Cash games should be built around Asenjo this slate and anything less will most likely put you behind the field.

Yoan Cardinale, NIC vs. SCH: Cardinale is one of my favorite GPP plays this slate, so I will throw him a quick mention. Oddsmakers are not in love with either team in this matchup, but everyone is in agreement that the under 2.5 total is a massive favorite at this point. I am giving Nice the edge, and the clean sheet is definitely in play with how well Cardinale has been playing in league matches. Nice have not lost in Ligue 1 and their defense has been absolutely stifling.

DEFENDER

Cabral, CEL at STA: Cabral was one of the bright spots in Celta Vigo's loss to Atletico Madrid last weekend (well that's a bit generous, but he wasn't horrible) and luckily his price hasn't risen too much. As mentioned, we need value on this slate and Cabral is a good source with the clean sheet potential against Standard Liege. Jonny ($4,200) is going to be a more popular option because of his position on the left, but Cabral's defensive skills give him a higher floor, as Jonny's crosses have decreased in every game this season.

Ben Bitton, HBS at INT ($4,500): This is one of those picks that I think will go incredibly low-owned on this slate given the average player's refusal to look at players on visiting underdogs. Is Bitton going to get clean sheet points in this match? No, but for a huge discount compared to the big names, you are getting a right back who can move up to the right midfield, a high floor with crosses, and great defensive skills. Bitton will be crossing the ball, but it's an added bonus that Inter will be controlling this match because it will force him to be tackling and making interceptions.

MIDFIELDER

Ivan Perisic, INT vs. HBS: Oddsmakers are giving Inter a better chance of scoring four or five goals than they are of scoring only one. Inter will have firm control from start to finish, and depending on your salary you could look to players like Ever Benega or Joao Mario in GPPs, but Perisic brings the highest floor, with the double-digit cross potential as well as being less likely to be subbed off. In GPPs I will probably have some lineups with Banega and some with Perisic, but in cash games I want those crosses and multi-assist potential.

Dirk Kuyt, FEY vs. MUN: Maybe I just have less faith in the average DFS player than most, but I can't imagine people will be actively looking to roster Feyenoord players even though they are rolling in league play (winning all five of their matches so far) and getting to face United in front of their home crowd. Kuyt is one of the best attacking talents on this squad and I am looking to target Feyenoord in all formats. Don't let the lack of game log scare you, Kuyt has three goals and an assist in his first five matches and takes almost four shots per game.

FORWARD

Zlatan Ibrahimovich, MUN at FEY ($10,100): Now you see why we were looking value, right? Ibrahimovic is the only player over $10K on DraftKings on this slate ,but just in case you have missed the beginning of the EPL season, he is worth it. All of it, and more. Has he met a shot he hasn't liked? He has four goals in four games, and even in the Hull game where he was shut out, he took seven shots, and he has averaged 497 DK points over the last four games (okay, it's actually 18.25, but you get the idea). Some people will try to be cute and fade Zlatan in cash games, but don't be that guy. I love Feyenoord in this spot for daily fantasy, but let's not forget that United are still the favorite in real life and expected to score 2-3 goals.

Inaki Williams, ATH at SASS ($7,500): An article by Chris Henne? Here's the high-floor forward you were expecting when you clicked on the link. Although I will probably be pairing Ibrahimovic with a midfielder that sports dual eligibility in cash games, Williams is a good place to look in GPPs. I doubt many people will be rostering two forwards under the new scoring, and with oddsmakers having trouble committing to either side in this matchup, it is entirely possible that Williams can fly under the radar while you get someone with real scoring potential and a not-so-appetizing game log to scare potential customers away.