In the latest of our articles from our team of contributors, Zophar – who has eight top 10k FPL finishes to his name – discusses his Euro 2024 Fantasy team for Matchday 4.
He’s used the Limitless chip in Matchday 3 but still has a Wildcard to use later on. Instead, it’s regular free transfers for this Round of 16.
After a pretty decent Matchday 2, I found Matchday 3 to be a bit of a letdown from a Fantasy perspective, with none of the high-profile names delivering. The 86 points of last time were followed by just 60 here. Additionally, I gave up Kylian Mbappe’s (€11.0m) six-pointer for a Romelu Lukaku (€9.0m) captaincy misfire.
Yet overall, it’s been a decent run so far. I’m currently sitting at around 8k and still have my Wildcard chip to use, after using Limitless in Matchday 3. Now, let’s have a look at how these knockout stages shape up.
PREDICTING THE BRACKET
As the below graphic from @robtfpl shows, Spain, Germany, Portugal, England and the Netherlands are those heavily favoured by bookmakers to reach the quarter-finals.
I think if you’re looking to activate a Wildcard immediately after this upcoming round, for Matchday 5, it makes sense to load up on the first four teams right now. Maybe no more than one Dutch player, as I think Romania are being slightly undervalued.
However, for managers who have already used all their chips, it’s a little bit trickier.
Above: My knockout stage prediction
Assuming all the bookies’ favourites win their Round of 16 matches, we’ll then be looking at some difficult games for these same Spain, Germany, Portugal and England sides.
Indeed, Austria aren’t a pushover either, as they have already shown. I suggest you visit UEFA’s ‘Create Your Bracket’ to do your predictions before drafting a Matchday 4 squad. Also, take note of how many free transfers we’ll all receive.
You will have three of them for the quarter-finals, in case there are Round of 16 upsets. Although most of these imminent ties look straightforward, making it fairly easy to navigate.
Even so, fielding a full semi-final XI could be tricky if you back the wrong half of these close encounters. For example, if Germany and Portugal get knocked out by Spain and France.
For a ‘no chip’ draft, I suggest you check out this article from my FPL Wire co-host Lateriser.
MY MATCHDAY 4 TEAM REVEAL
For more thoughts on this, check out our Matchday 4 episode of The FPL Wire.
3 months, 29 days agoSomehow ended up with triple Netherlands, England, Spain and Germany (4x3).
Looks unbalanced but those fixtures seem the best to target.