It has been an awesome first few days of World Cup action and our DFS Army VIP members have seen great results, largely as a result of the incredibly busy, informative, and fun Slack Chat. As we head into Tuesday’s games, we’ve decided to make this article free to provide a look-ahead preview of the options on this slate. That being said – so much changes based on confirmed lineups & formations and those updates, as well as more in-depth analysis, will remain as the X-factor for our VIP members. Not a VIP? Join now and use code “SNIPER” for 10% off membership. See you in Slack!
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Game-By-Game Breakdown
Colombia vs. Japan
Really interesting slate today as this game actually features the biggest favorite of the three with Colombia and while they should win I wouldn’t call them a lock by any means. To make things even more intriguing, their best playmaker and most expensive player on the slate, James Rodriguez, may sit with muscle fatigue. The good news, this is the early game so we will have some clarity. Personally, I hope he sits because then Juan Cuadrado becomes a lock and load play at his price. Radamel Falcao is the striker for the Colombians and while I think he’s better suited for GPP, he’s not terrible expensive and can fit in a number of constructions as the goal scorer for the largest favorite. The goalkeeper Ospina and defender Johan Mojica are also in play but again, we need to see the lineup. On the Japanese side, Keisuke Honda should handle the set pieces and is also the team’s #10 (usually give to the primary play maker while the top striker typically wears #9 – bam, knowledge). It drops off a bit after that but Takashi Inui and Yuya Osako are worthy of GPP consideration while some FanDuel specialists are the center backs, Tomoaki Makinso and Maya Yoshida.
Colombia Plays: James Rodriguez (if he plays), Juan Cuadardo (+ if JRod sits), David Ospina, Johan Mojica
Japan Plays: Keisuke Honda, Takashi Inui, Yuya Osako (GPP only), Tomoaki Makinso (FanDuel), Maya Yoshida (FanDuel)
Poland vs. Senegal
When I looked up the odds for this slate, I was surprised that Poland wasn’t the biggest favorite, and even more surprised they are sitting at plus money. He’s expensive and it’s against my general strategy of avoiding goal dependent players, but Robert Lewandowski is scorching hot right now. He has scored in five of his last six games and has a goal in three straight games for the Polish national team. This is a situation that I’m probably just rostering him and moving on, again, this decision gets super easy (for me) based on the Rodriguez news. Outside of that, Kamil Grosicki has also been scoring at a nice pace for Poland and is on my radar while I actually thing Jakub Blasczykowski could end up as a trap at his price, he’ll get some set pieces but I’m not sure he does enough else to interest me. Senegal is a bit of an unknown but I do think they have one thing going for them – they are fast. Really fast. If they score, it’s probably on the counter and Sadio Mane should be involved. From there we have Keita Balde on corners at a reasonable price tag and Kalidou Koulibaly as your FanDuel special as a central back. Because of the Senegalese speed, I’m actually reluctant to paly the Polish keeper, but hey, it’s keeper, so anything can happen.
Poland Plays: Robert Lewandowski, Kamil Grosicki, Piotr Zielinski (GPP)
Senegal Plays: Sadio Mane, Keita Balde, Kalidou Kouibaly (FanDuel)
Russia vs. Egypt
It’s time’s exactly like this that I start swearing up and down that these games don’t kick-off at the same time. I know, I know, it’s great to have soccer all day but can someone just tell me if Mohammed Salah is going to play!? His price is starting to drop but with no good pivot in that range if he sits, it’s a play best saved for Showdown. Unfortunately, it changes this game entirely because Egypt will likely absorb pressure without their primary offensive force. If that happens, there is some serious value for the Russians. Fedor Smolov and Aleksander Samedov are generally a big part of their attack and because they weren’t part of the five-goal outburst. the prices have plummeted. I’ll be going back to the well. Speaking of going back to the well, Aleksandr Golovin had speed and youth and was incredible impressive in the first match – he’ll be my top play from this Russian side. Assuming Salah isn’t on the field, I’ll take a look at both Amr Warda and Mohamed Elneny, the latter of which is probably their best player outside of Salah but he plays a defensive midfielder.
Russia Plays: Aleksandr Golovin, Aleksander Samedov, Fedor Smolov
Egypt Plays: Mohammed Salah (Questionable to Play), Mohamed Elneny, Amr Warda
That’s what I have for you today, good luck and I’ll see you in Slack tomorrow morning!