Euro 2024 moves on to the knockout phase this weekend, which allows us to have a look at some more differentials.
These three players, at the time of writing, all have an ownership of 10% or less in the official game.
ALVARO MORATA
- Ownership: 9%
- Price: €8.5m
- MD4 fixture: Georgia
Spain captain Alvaro Morata (€8.5m) is shaping up to be a clever differential in Matchday 4.
The 31-year-old, who features in only 9% of teams, has a decent pedigree at the Euros, having scored seven times in the three editions he has played in.
Morata might not be in the same class as other Euro ‘24 forwards, such as Kylian Mbappe (€11.0m), but he has a much better fixture in the round of 16, making him an interesting proposition.
Spain build in a 2-5-3 shape, with Morata spearheading the attack.
From that position, he is La Roja’s chief goal threat, having racked up eight shots, three big chances and 1.01 expected goals (xG) in the group stage.
He’s averaging a shot every 20.6 minutes, too, which compares favourably against other forward options in the round of 16.
At a tournament where plenty of the favourites have underwhelmed, Spain are one of the few exceptions. Alongside Austria, they have easily been the most impressive team so far, having won all three group games to nil.
They now face Georgia, who they beat 7-1 and 3-1 in qualifying.
Morata scored a hat-trick in the first fixture, which only serves to enhance his differential appeal in Matchday 4.
STEFAN POSCH
- Ownership: 1%
- Price: €4.5m
- MD4 fixture: Turkey
Stefan Posch (€4.5m) is an interesting proposition in Euro 2024 Fantasy, with Austria positioned nicely on the more favourable side of the draw.
Flying down the right flank, the Bologna man was top for shots among defenders in the group stage.
He also ranked fourth for touches and fifth for passes received in the final-third.
Throw in 19 ball recoveries, and we have a viable €4.5m option for our backlines.
Should Posch collect another booking in the next two rounds, he’ll be suspended for one game, but that currently feels like the only drawback.
Austria have been terrific at Euro ’24 so far. They lost to an own goal against France, played Poland off the park and beat the Netherlands in the final group game, qualifying top of Group D.
They are great fun to watch, too.
Under Ralf Rangnick, they are direct, play a high-energy pressing game and attack at speed, often creating overloads down the flanks.
It’s also worth noting they attempted 40 crosses from open-play in the group stage, one of the higher totals, further boosting full-back Posch’s appeal.
MEMPHIS DEPAY
- Ownership: 3%
- Price: €7.5m
- MD4 fixture: Romania
The Netherlands fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat against Austria in their final Group D match, but Memphis Depay (€7.5m) put in a decent individual performance.
Deployed at the tip of Ronald Koeman’s 4-2-3-1 formation, Depay showed some clever touches in the final-third and scored with a smart volley.
An earlier effort bounced off the base of the post, too.
And it was Depay’s shot which was parried by France’s Mike Maignan (€7.5m) in Matchday 2, before Xavi Simons (€7.0m) lashed in the rebound. It was disallowed, of course, but only by the finest of margins.
Overall, the Dutch have been poor at Euro ’24 so far, but Depay has still posed a threat, with nine shots, four big chances and 1.6 expected goal involvement (xGI).
The Netherlands face Romania in the round of 16, who topped Group E.
However, they faced 46 shots in the group stage, more than any other side expect Georgia, Albania and Poland.
With Cody Gakpo (€7.5m) in support and set-pieces in his locker, Depay should at least be considered for Matchday 4, with a mere 3% of Fantasy squads selecting him at present.
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