Transfer recommendations ahead of Matchday 5 – Dream Team Euros bosses must be bold to bank quarter-final points
DREAM TEAM EUROS bosses have a maximum of five transfers available to them ahead of Matchday 5.
As is the nature of tournament quarter-finals, the fixtures are now considerably more difficult to predict.
Here’s a reminder of the match-ups:
- Spain v Germany
- Portugal v France
- England v Switzerland
- Netherlands v Turkey
It would be naive to underestimate Turkey but their defensive frailty makes them the least likely team to progress to the semi-finals – at least according to our sponsors Betfair.
Vincenzo Montella’s side pack a punch in attack but only Georgia, Romania and Slovenia have allowed their opponents more shots at this tournament – and only Georgia have conceded more xG.
These stats make Cody Gakpo (£4m) a hugely appealing option for Matchday 5 for those who haven’t already recruited the Oranje’s left winger.
The Liverpool forward is comfortably the top performer in Dream Team Euros having taken his overall tally to 48 points with a goal and assist against Romania last time out.
On current form, Gakpo appears most likely to take advantage of Turkey’s relatively vulnerable defence.
On a similar theme, Xavi Simons (£4m) became Euro 2024’s leading assist provider after he set up two of his nation’s three goals in the round of 16.
The 21-year-old has the attributes to threaten if Turkey maintain their gung-ho approach, which has made for entertaining end-to-end contests so far.
Dream Team Euros bosses keen on the underdogs will surely view Arda Guler (£2.5m) as the best selection.
The Real Madrid wonderkid is a total natural; his whipped set-pieces ultimately eliminated a decent Austria outfit.
A set of competitive quarter-finals makes it rather difficult to identify the most-suitable defenders.
Gaffers downbeat on England’s chances may see Manuel Akanji (£3.5m), Fabian Schar (£3m), Ricardo Rodriguez (£3m) and Yann Sommer (£3m) as viable options.
The former was particularly impressive at the heart of a back three in Switzerland’s two most-recent outings against Germany and Italy.
Gareth Southgate’s side have been lacklustre in attack and were seconds away from coming up short against Slovakia before Jude Bellingham’s (£6m) moment of inspiration.
The Three Lions have an abundance of attacking talent in their ranks but would it be all that surprising if they failed to beat Sommer on Saturday, given the incoherent nature of their performances this summer?
Alternatively, more optimistic gaffers might feel it’s England that are most likely to keep a clean sheet.
Marc Guehi (£3m) is suspended but Jordan Pickford (£4m), John Stones (£4.5m) and Kyle Walker (£4m) are virtually guaranteed to start while Ezri Konsa (£3m) is supposedly the leading candidate to replace the Crystal Palace centre-back in what could be a back three.
Targeting a clean sheet on Friday is fraught with danger as all four teams possess immense firepower.
That being said, Portugal have failed to score in their last two outings (against Georgia and Slovenia) with Cristiano Ronaldo (£6m) having let fly with 20 unsuccessful shots at the tournament.
France are yet to concede a goal from open play and have restricted their opponents to chances worth just 2.6 xG (which includes a penalty) across their four games – the lowest total among all 24 teams.
Betting against the likes of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes (£6m) and Bernardo Silva (£4.5m) is risky but there’s enough evidence to suggest Mike Maignan (£4.5m), Jules Kounde (£4m), Dayot Upamecano (£4m) and Theo Hernandez (£5m) might hold firm on Friday night.
The latter is the superior option as he offers more going forward and his total of 35 points is the highest among all defenders at the time of writing – although his quality comes at a high price.
Those who believe Roberto Martinez’s troops will keep Les Bleus at bay should back Nuno Mendes (£4m) and/or Joao Cancelo (£4.5m) – the Barcelona full-back was Portugal’s brightest threat in Matchday 4.
Spain v Germany is a match-up worthy of the final and one destined to divide Dream Team Euros managers.
Fabian Ruiz (£3.5m) and Jamal Musiala (£4.5m) extended their scintillating form with 15 and 12 points respectively in Matchday 4 while Kai Havertz (£4.5m) responded to his critics with a 12-point haul.
Julian Nagelsmann has seemingly made the decision to replace Max Mittelstadt (£3.5m) with David Raum (£3.5m) at left-back – the latter endeavours to provide a barrage of crosses and currently features in just 0.5% of teams.
As for La Roja, they look the most likely to lift the trophy at this stage and it feels as if every gaffer needs at least one of their exciting wingers.
Lamine Yamal (£4m) and Nico Williams (£4m) have mustered 23 points each and could easily have banked more, such has been their quality out wide.
The Athletic Bilbao man pocketed 15 points for efforts against Georgia last time out, which included a goal and an assist.
Remember to confirm your transfers before Friday’s 4pm deadline – your overall team budget is now £53million!