RADIO
Hello, RotoBallers! After a short two weeks off, DFS soccer on FanDuel is returning to our lives. The site announced a while back that they would be hosting slates for this summer's EURO 2020 tournament. If you're unfamiliar, this is a soccer tournament amongst European nations that takes place every four years (opposite the World Cup). Countries have been qualifying over the last several years, but now we're down to the last 24 that are split into groups of four. They play a round-robin schedule to determine who advances to the knockout stage. The first game is Friday, and the tournament will go on for about a month giving us some great DFS soccer to tide us over until the club season begins again. I have a full breakdown for you covering this slate. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Friday's slate.
The large majority of my DFS content will be covering the EURO 2020 tournament until the EPL returns in August, however, there is always more soccer DFS to cover. If you want to chop it up with myself and other RotoBaller writers about non-EPL/UCL leagues or other sports, consider becoming a premium member and joining our ever-growing community of DFS and fantasy sports enthusiasts! We have had some great conversations in the Premium Slack chat about the past few UCL slates.
You can also get access to my brain for questions and edits to lineups for Wednesday. In this article, I will be providing you with my EURO 2020 daily fantasy soccer lineup picks for FanDuel on 6/11/21 for the slate that locks at 3:00 pm ET. Be sure to also check out our other DFS lineup picks for other active sports. You can always find me on Twitter @vdray5 if you have any questions. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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UCL DFS Lineup Picks - Overview
Italy vs Turkey
These two teams will kick off the EURO 2020 Friday in a matchup of Group A teams. Italy (-185) are the favorites in this match, and they are overwhelming favorites to win the group outright. They have looked very good under Roberto Mancini over the last few years including during qualifiers. They should control this game, but Turkey will be a formidable opponent. They have a solid shot at advancing to the next round, but this first game will not be easy for them. The goal total over/under is 2, 2.5.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
Ciro Immobile ($15) will be one of the most popular plays on this entire slate. He's the most recognizable name especially for those UCL DFS players out there. The Lazio striker bagged 25 goals for his club this season and is coming off a goal for Italy just last week in a tune-up friendly against the Czech Republic. Immobile has the best anytime scoring odds on the slate at +160, and with Italy's style of play, they probably won't score many. It will be important to prioritize goals in this game especially on a single-game slate, and Immobile is a great way to do that.
Getting some additional exposure to Italy's attack will be a smart and popular strategy on this slate. Much like Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne ($14) is coming off a great 9G/7A season - his most productive club season ever. He led the team in goals, shots per game, and chances created. This should translate well to his role on the Italian team as one of the main creators.
Turkey has some strong attackers which will be useful in future matches, however, Italy is not a team that will allow many goals which has me a little uneasy about rostering some of them. That especially applies to Burak Yilmaz ($12) who is the most expensive. While he does lead Turkey's starters in anytime scoring odds - they aren't great at +450. He's coming off a really good club season, but I think we are better off saving him and using him when Turkey plays Wales and/or Switzerland later in the group stage.
I'd prefer the floor from Hakan Calhanoglu ($11) for a dollar less. His ability to create chances especially given his duties on free kicks makes him a safer play than Yilmaz on Friday. I'd also prefer to save money and go for Yusuf Yazici ($8) over Yilmaz.
I punt like Manuel Locatelli ($5) can help you afford one of the top-tier defenders on a slate like this where goals will likely be rare.
In general, for attackers on this slate, I think it's smart to prioritize the Italians especially playing in Rome. They have a better matchup and are the better team. I actually like Turkey's attacking group for DFS for this tournament, but I will hold off on them until the second and third group stage matches.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
There are a handful of ways to go about defenders on this slate, but my favorite is to take Italy's best attacking wingback in Leonardo Spinazzola ($6) for a very cheap price. He was able to score two goals and provide four assists in his 25 appearances for Roma this season in Serie A play. Both countries play fairly defensive, however, with Italy likely to control more possession, it will be Spinazzola who will have some freedom to attack up the flank. His upside, price, and possible clean sheet bonus are all very attractive.
Caglar Soyuncu ($7) should be a familiar name for any who follows the EPL. The Leicester fullback is an important part of Turkey's strong defensive unit. We know he can rack up defensive stats well, and that is the main reason to pay up for him on this slate.
If you want a cheaper defender, Mehmet Zeki Celik ($5) is the way to go. He can provide some attacking upside, but again, I'd prefer to use him in a matchup against Wales/Switzerland and roster Spinazzola for $1 more.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
