Euro 2016: Saturday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

9:00 a.m: Albania v. Switzerland
12:00 p.m: Wales v. Slovakia
3:00 p.m: England v. Russia

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Albania: Ermir Lenjani, Ledian Memushaj
Switzerland: Xherdan Shaqiri, Ricardo Rodriguez
Wales: Aaron Ramsey
Slovakia: Vladimir Weiss, Robert Mak
England: Wayne Rooney, James Milner
Russia: Oleg Shatov, Dmitry Kombarov

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

FORWARDS

Jamie Vardy, ENG vs. RUS ($9,000): With the hype around Vardy at the moment, it is hard to see him not earning a share of the starting XI. England should be able to handle Russia and Vardy serves essentially the same purpose as Harry Kane, except at a greatly discounted price. There is a bit more room to breathe with lineup construction Saturday, but if I had to pick an England forward I would take Vardy and the extra savings. Full disclosure: I will be making multiple lineups, some with Kane, some with Vardy; I recommend GPP players do the same.

Artem Dzyuba, RUS vs. ENG ($8,200): Once you leave Great Britain, the quality up front from a fantasy point starts to nosedive quickly. Dzyuba is a great mid-point between the high prices of Kane and Gareth Bale and the unreliable dart throws of Admir Mehmedi and Sokol Cikalleshi. Dzyuba has been very productive for Zenit, and while he hasn't lit the world on fire in qualifiers and tune-ups, Russia should be playing one fewer attacker up front and giving more of the attacking responsibility to Dzyuba.

MIDFIELDERS

Marek Hamsik, SVK vs. WAL ($8,000): Although the lack of offensive prowess is the reason I like the Welsh goalkeeper (more on that below), an astute DFS player has to respect the fact the Hamsik has never met a shot he did not like. He doesn't need to score to secure a good fantasy day, and maybe most importantly, his salary slots right in between two players (Aaron Ramsey, Dele Alli) that may be higher owned on name value alone.

Xherdan Shaqiri, SUI vs. ALB ($7,400): Switzerland have never escaped the group stage of this tournament, but they have a wonderful opportunity to establish themselves in Group A with two straightforward matches before facing the host nation. Albania, as an interesting aside, is comprised mostly of dual-nationality players that did not make the cut for the Swiss team and should struggle in this matchup. Shaqiri is the creativity in the Swiss attack and will be looking to make things happen from the wing. When playing 90 minutes, double-digit crosses are almost a lock.

Odise Roshi, ALB vs. SUI ($5,400): While I just explained how there is not much to love about this Albania squad, Roshi is one of the cheaper attacking midfielders that should play 90 minutes. There is a good chance that Albania falls behind early in this matchup, which leaves plenty of motivation for a full-court press where Roshi should be handling much of the crossing from the right side.

Andy King, WAL vs. SVK ($4,400): King is expected to step in for the injured Joe Ledley, and while his statistics don't jump off the page during the Leicester City Miracle, he is actually the highest scoring midfielder for the Foxes and was a regular during Wales' run through qualifying. Not much is needed from King to return value at this price.

DEFENDERS

Stephan Lichtsteiner, SUI vs. ALB ($4,600): Switzerland will be able to compete in this tournament based on the strength and experience of their defenders. The Juventus man should be glued to the field the entire tournament, and the matchup against Albania offers to best chance for the defenders to be pushing forward. He is not much of a threat to score, but he will send in a few crosses.

Elseid Hysaj, ALB vs. SUI ($3,800): Although Albania isn't expected to do much, fantasy sports do not parallel real life outcomes. Hysaj is highly regarded as one of the best young Serie A players and has a very attack-minded style of play. Look for Switzerland to get ahead early and Hysaj to send in as many crosses as the Albanian attack can handle. This is a simple matter of "he won't be this cheap for long."

Martin Skrtel, SVK vs. WAL ($3,300): If you are interested in narrative street then you will certainly know that an impressive performance at an international tournament by a player shopping for a new home leads to a massively inflated contract 100 percent of the time (statistics are an estimate). Skrtel is moving on from Liverpool and looking to earn himself a nice payday, and while he won't do it with attacking statistics, his defensive stats can really accumulate over 90 minutes and is a good spot for some salary relief.

GOALKEEPER

Wayne Hennessey, WAL vs. SVK ($4,600): There is only an $800 price difference between the six predicted starters on this slate, so the money-management aspect of selecting a goalkeeper is already done for you. It all falls down to the choosing the best combination of keeper and matchup, and Hennessey versus a Slovakia team that has a tendency to shut off in the attacking third is a good bet. I would not fault anyone for selecting Switzerland's Yann Sommer at $5,000 against Albania, but there is a legitimate possibility he does not touch the ball the entire match. Hennessey should not face much quality either, but Marek Hamsik has the capability to at least manufacture a few efforts towards the net.