Fantasy Europa League: Thursday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

1:00 p.m: Ajax v. Standard Liege
1:00 p.m: Hapoel Be'er Sheva v. Southampton
1:00 p.m: Schalke v. RB Salzburg
1:00 p.m: Steaua Bucuresti v. Villarreal
1:00 p.m: Sparta Prague v. Inter Milan

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS:

Ajax: Nemanja Gudelj, Lasse Schon
Hapoel Be'er Sheva: Mihaly Korhut, Maor Buzaglo
Inter: Antonio Candreva, Ever Banega
Salzburg: Takumi Minamino, Valon Berisha
Schalke 04: Alessandro Schopf
Southampton: James Ward-Prowse
Sparta Prague: Martin Frydek, Vyacheslav Karavaev
Standard Liege: Adrien Trebel, Benito Raman, Mathieu Dossevi
Steaua Bucuresti: Fernando Boldrin
Villarreal: Jose Angel, Jonathan dos Santos, Samu Castillejo

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Ralf Fahrmann, SCH vs. RBS: With Inter and Villarreal on the road everyone will be flocking to Ajax in their clean sheet chase, but Schalke are definitely not a club to look past in this matchup. Schalke are a decent priced favorite, and Salzburg historically have trouble scoring on the road in Europa play. Fahrmann is coming off a tough game when he failed to make a save, but the stats don't show that his defense did not do him any favors, and oh yeah, it was Bayern Munich that put two past him. He was rock solid against Nice in the first group match, and there isn't really much on offer from Salzburg that is going to trouble him. He's a cash game keeper of choice for me.

David Goresh - HBS vs. SOU: I usually only write up two keepers if I'm feeling a bit frisky in GPP play, and I think I'm going to roll with Goresh in a lot of my tournaments. Yes, this team is not as good as their win over Inter would suggest, but I really do believe in this club and I think a visit from a slightly watered down Southampton could keep the momentum going. Southampton are off a 3-0 thrashing of West Ham and have a tough trip to Israel with a quick turnaround and should be featuring a thin lineup. Goresh is the keeper I prefer in this match and comes at a discount to Fraser Forster to boot.

DEFENDER

Joel Veltman, AJA vs. STA: Aside from Schalke's Baba Rahman, the top tier of defenders doesn't really have much on offer. A lot of the clean sheet candidates are on the road, and Ajax's defense is shockingly poor in terms of fantasy production from their higher-priced guys. Veltman is my favorite way to get exposure to this back line though, as he comes at a relative discount and actually carries a higher floor with his defensive statistics than any of his more attack-minded counterparts can muster.

Benedikt Howedes, SCH vs. RBS: This is a common theme today, but pricing of midfielders and forwards is so low compared to defenders that you can roster four or five legitimate goal-scoring threats. So why pay up for an Ajax clean sheet when you can get a Schalke clean sheet opportunity at a massive bargain? I mentioned earlier that Schalke held Munich to just two shots on goal in their league match over the week, and while Howedes is part of that stifling defense with interceptions and tackles, he can also knock in a few crosses.

Loai Taha, HBS vs. SOU: The biggest reason to really love these DraftKings contests during tournaments instead of regular leagues is the lack of data that goes into the pricing algorithm. Let's be honest, Taha had a pretty miserable day in terms of fantasy production last round but in reality he was a key cog in the shocker over Inter; it's just that the algorithm can't see it through his discipline issues. Taha is one of the cheapest defenders, yet he will play his full 90 and if he can avoid going into the book should crush his value. There aren't many players to spend up on, so one cheap defender could mean stacking extra firepower up front.

MIDFIELDER

Antonio Candreva, INT at SPP: Short memories are required in DFS and I can't imagine people will be too happy about rostering Inter players this week, but it must be done (unfortunately). Even though they are on the road, this is a position where Inter have to come out and dominate Prague to establish some footing in the group, as it is a very real possibility that Hapoel and Southampton leave Israel with a point. Candreva is still looking for consistent minutes, but he played a full 90 for the first time at Inter in the match directly after the first Europa group stage outing. He is just a crossing machine and will be on virtually all corners and set pieces which gives him about a 15-20 point floor depending on minutes. He also has a massive ceiling due to assist potential in a match that Inter need to dominate.

Mathieu Dossevi, STA at AJA: I really need to do some research into this, but one of my favorite plays is always to look for cheap midfielders on underdog teams that take a majority of the corners and crosses. When teams fall behind early in tournament play, the onus is on them to push the tempo and give the majority of possession to their most creative players. Dossevi should be orchestrating all of Bucharest's aerial plays and has a very good chance to rack up an assist in addition to the 10+ crosses I think we can see out of him.

James Ward-Prowse, SOU at HBS: I briefly mentioned how much of an underrated bit of difficult travel Southampton have this week, and while I like it to target Hapoel goalkeepers I also love it to open up good value on this club. Ward-Prowse has played very well in his limited EPL minutes this year (adding a goal last week), and though he hasn't solved the riddle to getting consistent playing time, he is still a dangerous player and almost a must play at a low price. He should be on corners as well, which improves his floor.

FORWARD

Eder, INT at SPP: Much like Candreva, this is a pick that my brain says yes while my heart says no. Inter have lost their last three UEFA matches and are on the road, but Prague matches see lots of goals and Eder is as good a candidate as any: he was the only Inter player to take more than three shots and play the full match. While he wasn't particularly effective last time out, he did draw seven fouls, which is very important for fantasy purposes. We know there is a better effort in the tank and Eder is one of my best shots to hit the back of the net.

Bertrand Traore, AJA vs. STA: Just a couple quick hits: Ajax is at home, a -160 favorite to win this match, and a big favorite to win their group. I'm not really thrilled with anything performance related with their Belgian opponents, and this should be a walkover for Ajax. Again, I like the safety that Traore brings with his minutes and involvement in play, and while Ajax should score a few goals, it's important to not go chasing those low-minute players with the rotation expected to be heavy.

Tony Nwakaeme, HBS vs. SOU: I'm on record as believing in this Hapoel club, and in my cash games Nwakaeme is going to be the consistent player that I'm targeting. He can do a little bit of everything, but most importantly, he is one of the cheapest forwards available that legitimately can hit their value. Buzaglo and Maranhao may have slightly higher ceilings, but Nwakaeme offers security and does still carry a legitimate upside if he can solve a tired Fraser Forster.