EURO Fantasy Top Picks for Matchday 2

Here we take a look at the EURO 2024 Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2. We pick out the best goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards using team and player form, underlying data, fixture difficulty and more for the new round.

Highlighting the EURO 2024 Fantasy top picks Matchday 2 can be extremely beneficial to your fantasy teams. Knowing which players to buy can help with lots of different factors from captaincy to chip strategy, so lets dive in!

Goalkeepers – Patrick Pentz

Who is this guy you’re probably thinking. Well don’t worry there is plenty of appeal with our first pick. Firstly it helps that most of this weeks matchups are extremely difficult to call, which means that the more expensive goalkeepers become much less valuable.

The above suggests going as cheap as you possibly can in Matchday 2 between the sticks could be a good play. This is relevant of course because Patrick Pentz comes in at an eye-watering €4m and is one of the most reliable routes into the Austria defence.

Austria are far from the terrible defence many think they have. In fact prior to Matchday 1 Austria bagged four clean sheets in a seven-match period. As well as this they also have a reasonably good fixture against a Poland side who scraped through to the EURO’s via the play-offs.

If star man Robert Lewandowski isn’t going to play for Poland in the round ahead, they could be in big trouble. With that and the above in mind, Pentz at his price, eases his way amongst the EURO Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.

Diogo Costa

Portugal play on the last day of the Matchday again so it could be a case of them offering a really nice safety net. There isn’t a lot of ‘big teams’ with appeal this week and that goes right across the board, but not for Portugal.

The Group Stage of EURO Qualifying was like one we will rarely see again. Portugal won all 10 of their Qualifying matches but even more bizarrely kept a whopping nine clean sheets along the way. Helping them keep seven of them was Diogo Costa (€5m).

Most of Portugal’ defensive appeal this week comes from how good their Qualifying campaign was, but they also have a very good fixture against Türkiye. Türkiye although brilliant in Qualifying, failed to win any of their four friendlies prior to the tournament.

Taking into account Portugal’ Qualifying record, Türkiye’ poor recent performances and his price-tag, Diogo Costa could be the standout goalkeeper in EURO Fantasy this week and so eases into the EURO Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.

Defenders – Josko Gvardiol

The lack of fixtures to target this week is a concern, but there are several matchups we can look to, with Croatia being one of them.

Croatia have historically been a tough team to beat, in fact, Croatia go into any international competition as serious contenders, and those who know football will share this opinion. One example of this is their recent third-place finish at the 2022 World Cup.

In terms of recent defensive form Croatia kept an impressive four clean sheets in their last six matches prior to Matchday 1, showing huge strength at the back. The standout pick in defence appears to be Manchester City’ Josko Gvardiol (€5.5m).

Gvardiol finished his domestic season with four goals and an assist in his last 10 matches. As well as showing plenty of goal threat Gvardiol also sustained an impressive 6.2 ball recoveries per match in Qualifying.

With goal threat, an excellent ball recovery rate and clean sheet potential Gvardiol is a standout defender option amongst the EURO Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.

Maximilian Mittelstädt

In these types of competitions it’s very difficult to avoid the hosts when it comes down to investment. This is even more convincing after the performance we just saw from them against Scotland in which they won 5-1.

Ultimately since Julian Nagelsmann took over things have been going right for Germany and there has evidently been serious improvements. Now although not prolific for collecting clean sheets, they’re still favourites, and at €4m is very hard to resist Maximilian Mittelstädt.

Maximilian Mittelstädt showed some flickers of the two goals and four assists he managed last season for club in his Matchday 1 performance. The left-back may have finished the match without an attacking return but two key passes and two shots off target is enough to give him another match.

Joao Cancelo

Portugal could be one of the best teams to invest in this week based on multiple factors, the biggest being how brilliant they are defensively, in fact nine clean sheets in Qualifying suggests that they have the best defence in the entire competition.

Hoping to pick up three points this week Portugal clash against a Türkiye side who are plagued with injury and rotation. They also slumped though their pre-tournament friendlies without a single win in four matches.

Rotation at the back and uncertainties around system is frustrating but one player who will play regardless is Joao Cancelo (€6m). Cancelo of course offers clean sheet potential but 50 ball recoveries during Qualifiers makes him joint top amongst all defenders who play for one of the favourites.

The above would usually be enough to appeal but his consistent attacking numbers also contribute massively to his overall attraction. Nine goals/assists for Barcelona last season is a good example of that and the six goal contributions in his last Nations League and EURO Qualifying matches makes him dangerous for country too.

Wout Faes

One of few other sides attracting EURO Fantasy managers is Belgium. Belgium play in the very last game on the last day in Matchday 2 which could mean we end up banking on them for returns. This should be fine considering the factors we will discuss.

Belgium have had to adapt to their aging stars and they have done it quite well considering how much talent they have lost. However, the Qualifying matches show that they are up there still with some of the best – winning six of their eight matches.

As well as picking up plenty of wins Belgium also displayed their defensive strength – conceding just four goals and keeping five clean sheets in eight matches. Helping them achieve that success was Wout Faes (€4m).

€4m for a player playing for a top team is brilliant and considering Faes comes up against Romania side who failed to score in both of their of their friendlies prior to the tournament, he breezes into the EURO Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Amongst the awkward fixtures this week is England v Denmark, which is no doubt the toughest matchup in the Group. Although it won’t be easy for England, they remain both favourites for the match and favourites to win the entire competition.

The fixture against Denmark suggests that owning an England defender could be a low ceiling play. But our next pick offers a lot more than the standard defender. Trent Alexander-Arnold (€5.5m) may well be playing in a midfield role again this week, which boosts his potential massively.

For years England fans have been yearning for Alexander-Arnold’ creativity and that time appears to have come. For club Trent has been a relentless creative cog – registering 12 attacking returns last season and 12 goal contributions in the campaign prior.

Denmark have been inconsistent over recent years and their recent fourth place finish in the 2022 World Cup reflects that. With clean sheet, attacking potential and playing in a midfield role Trent could be one of the most explosive assets in the game this week.

Midfielders – Luka Modric

Winning in a major competition seems to be in Croatia’ DNA these days after securing third place in the World Cup and topping their Nations League Group.

Recent friendlies are another great reflection of where they are at at the moment. As well as winning all four of their last friendlies and making it six wins in the last six they also netted 2+ goals in four of the same games.

Croatia are in a good run of attacking form excluding their Matchday 1 fixtures so investing in their frontline facing Albania could be hugely beneficial. Failing to impress against tougher opposition Albania lost to both Chile and Sweden in two of their friendlies prior to the tournament and that strengthens the appeal of someone like Luka Modric (€7.5m).

Modric is ever present for Croatia even at the age of 38. In what could be his last international tournament Modric will be hoping to go out with a bang and with corners, free kicks and penalties at his disposal, that could well happen this week.

Tomáš Souček

Our next pick has been waiting in the winds for some days now, awaiting his good fixture, and that time has finally come. Our next pick could well be somewhat of an all-rounder, offering plenty of routes to points and at a nice price.

Starting on the not-so-convincing section of this player we head to Czechia. Although not that convincing in their most Qualifying matches Czechia won all four of their pre-tournament friendlies – scoring a huge 13 goals in the meantime.

A lot of Czechia’ appeal does come from their recent form but also their upcoming fixture. They face a Georgia side who are debutants in their first ever EURO’. Their Qualifying campaign was also less than convincing after progressing via the play-offs.

Easily the best player to target Georgia this week is Tomáš Souček (€6m). Souček is the main man at Czechia – taking corners, free kicks and penalties. He also performed reasonably well in the Qualifying matches after scoring three goals and creating one assist in eight matches.

As well as attacking threat Souček also maintained a mammoth 7.9 ball recoveries per game in Qualifying which is one of the highest amongst all players in the tournament. Seemingly the complete package this week Souček cements his position amongst the EURO Fantasy to picks for Matchday 2.

Bruno Fernandes

We go from one complete package to another by highlighting Portugal. As mentioned plenty of times Portugal were amazing in the Qualifiers. As well as maintaining an excellent defence they were also prolific in attack.

During their Qualifiers Portugal notched up a massive 36 goals in 10 matches, this of course averages their total out at 3.6 goals scored per game. This is the sort of goal average we should be targeting especially with Türkiye ahead.

Bruno Fernandes (€9m) remains a standout for the round ahead. Fernandes was hugely involved in the Qualifying goals. In fact Fernandes racked up a huge six goals and seven assists in just 10 matches, showing a hunger to both create and score.

The stats also back Bruno Fernandes up. When compared to every other player in Qualifying Fernandes ranks first for non-penalty expected goal involvement, expected assists, chances created and big chances created. Taking that into account Bruno Fernandes walks into the EURO Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.

Granit Xhaka

Switzerland had a questionable Qualifying round after finishing second and five point behind Romania. Their Group standing should have been better but they did however manage a huge 22 goals, averaging 2.2 goals scored per game.

Hungary were extremely poor in Matchday 1 but Switzerland were also fantastic and arguably much better than many football fans expected. Their 3-1 victory suggests they could be a team to watch out for, especially with Scotland next up.

Scotland appear to be a team to target after collapsing in their 5-1 loss to hosts Germany in the first round. What is also interesting is that in the 10 matches prior to the tournament Scotland had kept just one clean sheet.

As well as scoring two goals and creating assists Granit Xhaka (€6m) was also brilliant in Matchday 1. The Leverkusen man created four key passes leading to shots and even had a shot on target himself. His overall performance ultimately earned him the player of the match award.

If the fact that Xhaka takes corners, free kicks and potential penalties in the absence of Xherdan Shaqiri wasn’t enough Xhaka also produced a huge 7.1 ball recoveries per game in the Qualifying round. Appearing as the complete fantasy package this week, Xhaka squeezes amongst the Euro Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.

Kevin De Bruyne

Belgium are one of few teams EURO Fantasy managers will be relying on this week. The tough matchups ahead only boosts how much potential they have in Matchday 2.

The Qualifying round was a little more familiar for Belgium fans. As well as winning six of their eight matches they also netted 22 goals, which averages out at around 2.8 goals per game. Anything between 2-3 goals per game on average in the Qualifying round suggests a team may be a must when it comes to offensive investment.

One of the standout midfielders this week is Kevin De Bruyne (€9.5m). The fixture against Romania couldn’t be a better one for De Bruyne. The Manchester City man is one of the best in the world at unlocking low blocks, the latter being a tact many expect Romania to use this week.

When it comes to output Kevin De Bruyne can both score and create, the seven goals and 16 assists he managed last season is a good example of that. Even when plagued with injuries last season De Bruyne still racked up four goals and 10 assists in just 18 league matches.

Forwards – Harry Kane

Captaincy is one of the most important ways to earn points in this game. So, prioritising a player to captain for every day of a Matchday is crucial, especially this week as there is just four days to bag a decent return with the armband.

The lack of standout options on the second day leads us back to our next pick, even with arguably his toughest opposition of the Group.

Taking that into account we will stick with England, a side who remain one of the tournament favourites. If in doubt back Harry Kane (€11m), even if he’s facing Denmark.

Coming off the back of a 40+ goal contribution campaign Kane is one of, if not the best striker in the world. In his first season at Bayern Kane was excellent, but it’s also worth remembering how relentless he was in Qualifying for country. In fact, Kane racked up eight goals and two assists in just eight Qualifiers.

Even if you aren’t keen on the Denmark fixture this week you need a reliable asset for the armband, and Kane is exactly that. Due to that Kane keeps his place amongst the EURO Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.

Romelu Lukaku

Belgium seem like a must in terms of investment this week. Ahead of the tournament they had some of the best fixtures across the board and that hasn’t changed.

Although losing the game in Matchday 1 Belgium weren’t exactly short of chances. In fact, when comparing them to the other sides in the first round Belgium ranked in the top five teams for several key attacking metrics.

One of the metrics they ranked high for was total big chances, which is usually a big indicator that a team are good offensively. The player who had most of those big chances was of course striker Romelu Lukaku (€9m).

When looking into the underlying stats of all players in the game Lukaku ranked higher than every other for big chances total. Although failing to score Lukaku convinced with his positioning and avoiding him because of his recent misses could be hugely damaging.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Another side with a great fixture this week is Portugal. They come up against a Türkiye side whom although won their first fixture, looked extremely questionable from a defensive perspective.

The above plays into the hands of Portugal who will be hoping to pick up another three points. Portugal smothered Czechia for large parts of their Matchday 1 game and their offensive data also reflected their superiority – ranking joint second best for total attempts on target and big chances total.

Cristiano Ronaldo (€10m) goes into the round as the standout striker option. Not only did he impress in his EURO Qualifiers with nine goals but he also takes penalties for his side.

Taking into account that no player in game bettered him for attempts on goal in Matchday 1, his recent record and the side he plays for, Ronaldo is an absolute shoo-in amongst the EURO Fantasy top picks for Matchday 2.