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Sponsored by FanTeam

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To get ahead of rivals in the free, no-deposit FanTeam ‘Beat the Pundits League’, managers need to take advantage of its routes to points.

Although very similar to the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) system, there are minor differences that could boost your team into the prize-winning zone.

And it all kicks off on Friday, with the first of seven European Championship Gameweeks.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Alongside the main cash-entry game, this free FanTeam league invites 5,000 managers to win a bunch of exciting prizes.

Not only will the top 160 get a share of the £2,000 cash pot (as seen above) but every manager who finishes ahead of FFScout Team will receive a free month of our Premium Membership. And you’re all invited to defeat some well-known FPL content creators, too.

Simply follow this link and enter the password: pundits2024

You can then pick a 15-man squad that fits within the £100m budget. Each Gameweek deadline goes right up until the first kick-off but line-up and captaincy decisions can’t be tweaked afterwards.

CLICK HERE FOR FANTEAM AND ‘BEAT THE PUNDITS’

DIFFERENCES TO FPL SCORING

As explored in Tuesday’s article, basic goals, assists and clean points are the same as FPL but there are slight differences, mainly that goalkeepers earn 0.5 points per save (rather than receive one for every three) and players are rewarded for shots on target. It also helps if they play for a winning team.

Using Fantasy Football Scout’s underlying Members Area data, we’re able to identify which players are best placed to take advantage of these changes.

DOMINIK SZOBOSZLAI (£7.0m, HUNGARY)

Not many midfielders played 90 minutes in all qualifying matches but Hungary’s star player did, just like Tomas Soucek (£6.5m), Adam Cerin (£5.0m) and Nicolas Seiwald (£5.0m).

This gave him plenty of time to score four goals and assist five others. By taking penalties and dominating dead-ball duties, Szoboszlai has numerous routes to points and isn’t afraid to take a shot. His total of 13 efforts on target ranked joint-sixth, better than all other midfielders at this tournament.

With an expectation to bring one extra appearance point per match, plus all these goal attempts, he’s a part of our first draft.

KYLIAN MBAPPE (£11.5m, FRANCE)

One of the few to exceed Szoboszlai’s 13 on target was Mbappe (16). And he’s the most expensive player for a reason – many, in fact.

Nine goals came throughout qualification, taking the most penalty area touches (85) and second-most shots (38). With France backed to go a long way, Mbappe is likely to regularly gain 0.3 points for on-pitch wins.

At a time when teams can now make five substitutions in a match, it’s hard to find forwards that never get taken off. Robert Lewandowski (£7.5m) is a rare one but he’s injured for Poland’s opener. Yet Mbappe came on once and played all 90 minutes during the other seven occasions.

JOAO CANCELO (£6.5m, PORTUGAL)

Moving onto defenders who collect 0.6 points for every shot on target, we know from Cancelo’s FPL past how much of a cheat code he can be.

Qualifying saw nine attempts end up on target, averaging one per match. It’s the most for this position, just like his three goals. Furthermore, only two others created more big chances (four).

This strong-looking Portugal take part in a favourable Group F, so Cancelo has rightfully earned his status of being the most expensive defender.

JOAKIM MAEHLE (£5.5m, DENMARK)

After him, the next best for putting efforts on target is Danish wing-back Maehle (seven). He actually took one more overall shot (16) than Cancelo and led the way for big chances (four) from the back.

Goals came versus San Marino and Slovenia – who he’ll meet again in Gameweek 1. Moreover, the 27-year-old’s latest 33 caps have delivered a brilliant nine goals and six assists.

So if his price tag initially seems steep, there’s a lot of logic behind it.

GIORGI MAMARDASHVILI (£4.5m, GEORGIA)

Meanwhile, three saves in FanTeam ‘Beat the Pundits’ rewards goalkeepers with 1.5 points rather than 1.0. This way, players who’ve frustratingly finished with only two stops still get rewarded.

Minnows Georgia aren’t expected to keep clean sheets or progress into the knockout phase – which dents their defensive options – but it should be noted that the eastern European side conceded the most shots on target (51) of those who successfully qualified.

Among all the stoppers here in Germany, Mamardashvili made the most saves (37). This rate of 3.7 per match can bring in almost two points each time.

HORATIU MOLDOVAN (£4.5m, ROMANIA)

Behind him and Martin Dubravka (£4.5m) for saves is Moldovan (25).

Romania are a curious case. Only Portugal kept more clean sheets than their six but, at the same time, just two of the 23 non-hosts gifted more shots to opponents (102).

Perhaps it’ll be the perfect mix for Moldovan – enough leakiness to ensure saves but enough solidity to prevent goals.

CLICK HERE FOR FANTEAM AND ‘BEAT THE PUNDITS’

FURTHER DETAILS

It’s free for verified FanTeam account holders aged 18 or older, limited to one entry per person. No deposit is required. However, new users who do put money into their account and then enter any Fantasy cash game will also – as a welcome offer – qualify for a free £10 ticket into the main contest that boasts a £175k prize pool.

In partnership with FanTeam, 18+, Play Responsibly | BeGambleAware.org | #ad

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