Fantasy Europa League returns on tonight with 24 fixtures including the likes Dortmund, Napoli and Liverpool. @jamieFPL has been busy analysing the 6PM kick-offs and producing his list of daily fantasy football tips.
As always, we advise all readers to check the official team lineups one hour before kick off to ensure all your players (and our tips) are playing. Although we do our best to only select those who we think will start, it's tough to be 100% accurate.
For the purpose of this article all prices are via our daily fantasy football partners
Mondogoal.
Fixtures (6pm):
FC Groningen Vs. Slovan Liberec
Ajax Vs. Fenerbahce
Marseille Vs. Sporting Braga
FK Krasnodar Vs. PAOK Salonika
Napoli Vs. FC Midtylland
Dinamo Minsk Vs. Villarreal
Dortmund Vs. FK Gabala
Rubin Kazan Vs. Liverpool
Viktoria Plzen Vs. SK Rapid Wien
Club Brugge Vs. Legia Warsaw
FC Sion Vs. Bordeaux
Celtic Vs. Molde
Clean Sheet Potential (Bookies Odds):
- Dortmund
- Napoli
- Villarreal
- FK Krasnodar
- Marseille/Celtic
Goalkeeper Tips:
Mondogoal rewards six points to goalkeepers for a clean sheet and four to defenders, so when chasing clean sheet points it's logical to prioritise your choice of goalkeeper. Luckily, our two shot stoppers of choice for this set of fixtures come with inexpensive price tags that'll hardly dent your transfer budget.
Villarreal have kept clean sheets in their last two Europa League matches and this week travel to Belarus to face Dinamo Minsk, who are the only team yet to find the back of the net in the tournament. All statistics point towards Villarreal keeper
Mariano Barbosa (£5.9M) for clean sheet points and at his price he looks a steal.
If you're hesitant about opting for Barbosa on the basis that he's playing away from home, then you shouldn't look further than
Roman Weidenfeller (£5.1m). The Dortmund keeper is £0.8m cheaper than our previous tip and is the bookies favorite for a clean sheet ahead of their home clash against FK Gabala. The Azerbaijani side did manage to knock one past Weidenfeller on home soil, but it'll be a much harder task at the Westfalenstadion.
Defender Tips:
During Dortmund's last two home games they have converted 12 goals, therefore looking at their defenders for just clean sheets could be costly. Dortmund fullbacks
Joo-Ho Park (£9.3m) and
Matthias Ginter (£8.6m) have both picked up a goal and assist so far in the Europa League and will look to continue that tonight. The latter has also had the most attempts on target (4) out of all defenders so far in the competition, which is even more impressive when you factor in that he's only played two of the three matches.
Did we mention that Minsk have still failed to score in Europa League so far? Sure we did, and that's why we're also opting for Villarreal central defender
Eric Bailly (£6.7m) for many of the same reasons we tipped their goalkeeper Mariano Barbosa. The Ivorian defender also offers some potential going forward and scored the final goal in Villarreal's 4-0 victory when these two teams met last month.
Napoli have now recorded three clean sheets in their last three matches in all competitions. Left back
Faouzi Ghoulam (£9.4m) featured in all three of those matches and even contributed a vital assist to Gonzalo Higuain in their 1-0 away victory against Chievo. Though he comes with a lucrative price tag, we rate the Algerian defender's attacking potential higher than his defensive teammates'.
Goalscoring Potential:
- Dortmund
- Napoli
- Celtic
- Villarreal
- Marseille
Midfielder Tips:
Jurgen Klopp's successor Thomas Tuchel has sparked Dortmund back in to life and their players seems to be playing with a new found confidence under the former Mainz coach.
Marco Reus (£13.9m) went through a bit of a shaky patch but has exploded back on to the scene in recent weeks with five goals in his last four appearances, including two against Bremen last weekend. The German midfielder comes with a hefty price tag but one that could be easily justified as they host FK Gabala.
Dries Mertens (£9.5) has only played 147 minutes across two of Napoli's Europa League matches but his impact has been second to none, contributing three goals and an assist. The Belgian midfielder has looked frustrated with his game time lately and displayed that with his ‘tantrum celebration' against Palermo last month. Mertens is obviously yet to embrace his super sub role at the club, but if you're feeling like a gamble he could well be your man. If you see him on the bench tonight, then you could be staring at a strong differential. The risk is in your hands.
Marseille will be looking to redeem themselves on home soil after their 3-2 loss to Sporting Braga last month. The French side have looked strong in Ligue 1 in recently weeks and will enter this fixture searching for an important three points as they look to close the gap on Liberec in second.
Romain Alessandrini (£10.0m) has been impressive in Europa League so far scoring two goals in their last three, whilst also recording six shots on target. With a goal under his belt against Lille in the league at the end of last month, Marseille will be looking for the pacey winger to make a difference and continue creating chances.
Rapid Wien travel to the Czech Republic tonight to face Viktoria Plzen in what looks to be a tough fixture for the Austrian side.
Steffen Hofmann (£11.3m) has been Mr. Consistent in Europa so far, racking up three goals and an assist from their opening three fixtures. The 35-year old attacking midfielder scored last time these two sides met and looks like a strong candidate to contribute in attack again tonight.
Forward Tips:
Last time Dortmund faced FK Gabala,
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.6m) scored a hattrick and then three days later scored another against Augsburg in the league. The Gabonese striker has been in impeccable form this season and will no doubt be the first name of everybody's team sheet tonight. Choose him and rise with the pack, or leave him out and fall down the table alone.
With lots of expensive price tags in both attack and defence, you're no doubt looking for somebody who could free up some funds whilst also offering good point potential.
José Callejón (£7.0m) is arguably the most in-form striker in the Europa League so far. The Napoli striker has scored three goals and contributed two assists in their last three matches in this competition, and he's odds on to score again tonight when they host FC Midtylland.
Back on the subject of super subs, if you're looking for another differential who may or may not start tonight (check the team sheet) then we've got the forward version the Dries Mertens for you.
Fernandão (£7.4m) has played 100 minutes across three matches for Fenerbahçe this campaign, scoring an average of one goal per game. If he's (deservedly) given a start tonight then he could be worth a look, and even if he's not it's hard to deny his potential from the bench.
