This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
The World Cup continues Wednesday with three solid favorites on the slate, something that hasn't been seen over the first few days. Getting these three teams right will determine your success as I don't see all of them failing.
MATCHES (ET)
- 8:00 am: Germany vs. Japan
- 11:00 am: Spain vs. Costa Rica
- 2:00 pm: Belgium vs. Canada
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
I like to include an overall strategy section in these articles and what I can say for tomorrow is just because a team is the biggest favorite, doesn't mean they will score the most goals. This is where you can likely gain an edge in GPPs as ownership will probably show that people think the largest favorite automatically means the most goals. If you have a strong conviction on a team or expect one game to play much more open than the others, stack that team up.
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Joshua Kimmich, GER vs. JPN ($15): Here is a spot of what I discussed above in that Germany are much less of a favorite than Spain, but I actually prefer some pieces from them over Spain. Kimmich should be over most set pieces and is at a discounted price of $15, putting him in the mid-range on this slate. He can easily be paired with Kai Havertz ($17), Thomas Muller ($20) or Serge Gnabry ($18) in a full Germany stack. Kimmich also fits builds where you don't think Germany is the team with the most goals because he should have the best floor on the team, being the one who creates the most chances.
Kevin De Bruyne, BEL vs. CAN ($21): The other guy who seems to do it all for his team on this slate is De Bruyne of Belgium. He is pretty expensive, but overall pricing is fairly loose Wednesday and you shouldn't have trouble fitting him in. He fits the same bill as Kimmich since he makes sense in any type of construction, as well. If you are full stacking Belgium, I would consider pairing him with Eden Hazard ($18), Michy Batshuayi ($19) and Youri Tielemans ($14), in that order. Belgium are the smallest of the three favorites on the slate, but I expect this game to play fairly open and I can see a world where they score the most goals on the slate.
Alvaro Morata, ESP vs. CRC ($20): Spain is the team I think we see a lot of people flock toward on this slate and rightfully so as they are the biggest favorite and should completely outmatch Costa Rica. I want to pick out the goals if I'm going here and that starts with Morata. He is expensive but has the highest goalscoring odds on the slate at -115. Pablo Sarabia ($16) and Ferran Torres ($18) are equally as likely to score according to odds and fit well in a Spain stack.
Alphonso Davies, CAN vs. BEL ($14): Of the underdogs I think Canada are most likely to score on and I have to start with set man Alphonso Davies, who is uber important to this team. He is priced in the mid-range and if playing one I would much rather play Kimmich. Tajon Buchanan ($13) and Jonathan David ($16) are plays you can also look at if you want a mid-range, off-the-board play on the Canadian side.
DEFENDERS
Jordi Alba, ESP vs. CRC ($11): At defender you can really see the loose pricing that I was talking about earlier. Alba could have a set share for Spain and is only $11 as the largest favorite on the slate. Alba will be involved in the attack at the very least and could have involvement in a goal for them. A similar play is David Raum ($11) for Germany, who will also be involved in the attack and is the same price as Alba with a likely share of sets.
Oscar Duarte, CRC vs. ESP ($10): If you need an even cheaper play you can go to one of the underdogs center-backs as most of them are priced between eight and 10 bucks. Costa Rica should see the most action tomorrow as they sit back and try to hit Spain on the counter. This is probably a slate where we don't need the extra couple dollars and should definitely prioritize the two I mentioned above at similar prices. These center-backs still have a good floor with FanDuel scoring, however.
GOALKEEPER
Unai Simon, ESP vs. CRC ($14): Spain have the highest clean sheet odds at 61 percent, which is about 20 percent higher than both Germany and Belgium. Simon also pairs well with Jordi Alba for a clean-sheet stack. I simply don't see Costa Rica being a major threat to Spain here, but we have seen some wild stuff already in this World Cup. If you want a pivot I would choose Manuel Neuer ($13) over Thibaut Courtois ($12), as I could see Canada being the most threatening of the three underdogs. The only underdog keeper that I really would consider is Keylor Navas ($6) and maybe even pair him with Duarte for massive leverage Wednesday.
