Club World Cup Fantasy Matchday 1 Team Reveals

Not sure who to pick ahead of the upcoming tournament? Well look no further than right here, as our experts come in to share their Club World Cup Fantasy Matchday 1 Team Reveals.

As well as explaining some of the rationale behind some of their picks, they also touch upon chip strategy and captaincy, so let’s jump straight into it!

@AirAvangarda

Club World Cup Fantasy Matchday 1 Team Reveals

Notes

There are so many question marks around the Bayern defence, so I picked experienced Bayern goalkeeper Neuer as the safest route in.
River Plate’s Armani is a nailed starter and massively under-priced, a gift I’m taking.
My defenders are a mix of players with high offensive ability and under-priced nailed options. I trust Palmeiras penalty taker Piquerez, scorer of two goals this season, as their most reliable route. Botafogo’s Telles is on set pieces and possibly penalties, and I like his fixture against Seattle. Real Madrid spent €10m for Alexander-Arnold, he’s motivated to deliver. Porto’s attacking wing-back Francisco Moura and Benfica’s nailed centre-back Antonio Silva, both great value, complete my backline.
In midfield, I’m going with premiums Palmer and Olise. De Arrascaeta (Flamengo) and River’s wonderkid Mastantuono, who joins Real Madrid after the tournament, offer great value. Gross, the engine of Dortmund, is an all-rounder whose bonus potential and low ownership suit this format well.
Up front, Kane is my top captain pick, targeting Auckland’s weak defense. Haaland should bounce back after a poor end to the season, and Pavlidis completes my trio, with good chances vs Auckland and an out-of-shape Boca.
I’ll use the 12th man chip in the opening round on highly owned Real Madrid striker Mbappé, just in case he hauls big.
My team relies on nine penalty takers, adding a solid edge in tight games. I’m focusing on outcomes, not ownership, mainly targeting strong fixtures over low-owned punts.

@FPL_Maxime

Notes

This is my team for GW1. I am playing my Wildcard in MD3 so this team will be used for two matchdays.
My goalkeeper pairing is Sommer and Armani. Armani is the cheapest starting goalkeeper in the game and Sommer plays behind one of the best defences in the world. Both also have favourable fixtures.
Otamendi, Svensson and Stanisic are all differentials with good matchups. Dumfries offers a lot of attacking threat and since a defender goal gives seven points he is a must for me. I am avoiding Hakimi because he plays Atletico Madrid which is a tough fixture. Francisco Moura is one of the cheapest starting defenders. He plays for Porto who are slight favourites against Palmeiras and he plays quite advanced so there is potential for a goal or assist.
Mora and Mastantuono are two cheap enablers who both play in advanced positions. Akturkoglu plays against Auckland, the weakest team at the CWC in MD2, who aren’t even a professional side.
Palmer is on penalties and is the main man at Chelsea. Olise also plays against Auckland.
Up front I have gone for Kane and Haaland. They are the two best strikers in the world in my opinion and both face one of the bottom four nations.
Kolo Muani plays the second weakest team so he is in as well. I will select Mbappe as my 12th man since he has been scoring goals for fun this season.

@Big4FPL

As well as our Club World Cup Fantasy Matchday 1 Team Reveals, readers can also prepare fore the opening round with our Ultimate Guide!

Notes

Current key thoughts:
Triple Bayern is a must, I’m opting for triple attack in the hope it’s a slaughtering.
Chelsea, Dortmund, Benfica and Inter assets sprinkled in for locks, given their strong opening two fixtures.
Haaland currently in there in the hope he can explode as a late captaincy pick….though no Mbappe is tough.
Porto’s Mora Moura boys (not confusing at all) don’t fill me with hope but they’re cheap and have decent fixtures so they are worth a punt.
Mastanuono and Mbappe are on my mind for potential late changes.

@joaquin_roth

Notes

After the UCL Fantasy hangover (still buzzing from winning it), it’s time to dive in CWC Fantasy.
Strategy-wise, I haven’t fully locked in my chip plan yet, but I will be using 12th Man in GW1.
Whether I wildcard in GW2 or GW3 is still up in the air; most on X seem to prefer GW3, but I’m honestly leaning toward GW2 depending on how things shape up. One thing’s certain: I won’t gamble on players or teams I’ve never watched.
Best of luck to those going with Lucas Ribeiro, but he’s not for me.
GK: Armani is locked. Trubin is in for now but could switch to Rossi (Flamengo) as a differential with higher upside.
DEF: Dumfries, Gvardiol, and Alex Telles are also locks. Hakimi stays despite a tough fixture, as we know how explosive he can be. Alberto Costa is just a placeholder and might change to any defender under 4.6.
MID: No planned changes here. Kimmich is a fun punt for key pass/tackle points. Rodrigo Mora is in good form despite facing one of the toughest South American sides. Olise and de Arrascaeta are also attacking picks I’m comfortable with.
FWD: Kane and Haaland are immovable. I’m surprised by the lack of Inter love post-final; Lautaro hasn’t shown up in many drafts, which makes him even more appealing as a potential differential. 12th Man: Mbappé (damage control) or Messi. It’s one of the two, no debate.

@nickhillman12

Notes

Trubin (SLB) and Armani (RIV) are my keepers, Armani is a great cheap starting keeper and Benfica don’t play Bayern until their final fixture.
Moura (POR) is my 1first defender, he is massively under priced at $4.1m for his attacking threat. Gvardiol (MCI) is my City defender, they have great fixtures so you need one that is nailed for mins. I wanted a Flamengo defender as I expect them to do well in that group. Ortiz (FLA) should start every game. Guerriero (BAY) with Davies injured, should start at LB, giving me a Bayern triple up against Auckland. My final defender is Piquerez (SEP), the Palmeiras attacking defender is on pens and has assist potential.
Olise (BAY) is the first midfielder and picks himself playing against what should be a very weak Auckland side. Mastantuano (RIV), his price is great, one last hooray for River before his move to Real? I hope so! De Arrascaeta (FLA) has a lot of goal threat and on set pieces. Akturkoglu (SLB) is a pick to make sure I am set up for Benfica’s MD2 game against Auckland. My final midfielder is Canales (CFM), he is Monterrey’s captain and on pens, everything flows through him.
First man on the team sheet, Kane (BAY) is a must against Auckland. Mbappe (RMA) is in great form and Real have an easy group on paper. My final forward is Guirassy (BVB), he was great in the UCL and Dortmund are top of alot of tickers. He can easily become Pavlidis in MD2 if needed though.
12th Man – Messi (MIA) is my 12th man booster chip in MD1. I am backing him to make a statement in the 1st game (and at home) of the CWC.

@UCL_Beercules

Notes

As always, I’m likely to own two very cheap keepers as it’s the only position where you always have two attempts.
While everyone owns El Shenawy, I’m tempted to go with Ustari, who doesn’t only have the better odds of keeping a clean sheet but even gets you a sweet scouting bonus if he does.
My defence will consist of cheap differentials with <5% ownership, Asencio being the exception, who is too cheap to ignore.
My midfield is pretty template with Gnabry being my major differential. I think Bayern will score at least 5 goals.
Kane and Haaland haven’t been left out in any draft so far.
Owning Pavlidis from the starts saves me a transfer next MD.

@FantasyHalf

Notes

So here we are again another fantasy game, I decided to play the fixtures and not the ownership/ Scout bonus.
It’s such a short format with seven Matchday’, I feel just jump in.
Gk Armini is a cheap and easy entry to a decent South American side and Di Gregorio plays for Juventus who are a decent defensive side.
Defence – I’m really not set here and probably most could change. All five have good fixtures but I’m not convinced on any and don’t be surprised I’ve moved all of them on for differential options.
Midfield – Olise has been my most locked player since the first draft due to fixtures. Emam and Akturkoglu are just some punty budget picks.
Forwards – there are lots of opportunities here, but I land on Kane with the best fixture and man in form Agehowe, he’s a cheap budget enabler and I do trust him to return.