wicked.football

We’re playing FanTeam’s Euro 2020 Fantasy tournament –and here are seven mistakes we reckon you need to avoid making ahead of the first round of games.

This is the biggest ever prize pool for a Euros event, with a minimum guaranteed prize pool of £1million and a guaranteed first-place prize of £200,000 up for grabs at FanTeam. It’s £20 to enter, but even finishing in the top 10,000 will win you a payout of £30. And all you need to do is follow our tips.

We’ve already shared our team with you and suggested a player to consider from every nation, but now we’ve listed seven mistakes you’ll want to avoid if you’re to stand any chance of beating us.

Or maybe we’re purposely feeding you duff information so you definitely don’t beat us…

Don’t triple up on France players straight away

France are justifiably seen as the favourites going into the tournament with a squad flooded with world-class talent.

However, with them being placed in Group F, otherwise known as ‘the group of death’, it might be wise to hold back on completely going all in on France players straight away.

Portugal and Germany are both expected to be stern tests for Didier Deschamps’ side, and the real value from the French players could come in the knock-out stages, so use your transfers wisely.

Don’t panic if you have a shocker of a first gameweek

This one’s a marathon, not a sprint.

It would be advised that you leave it at least a couple of gameweeks before you consider completely ripping up your side and starting again.

Each week you’ll have the opportunity to make one free transfer, but each subsequent move you make will cost you –4 points, which may not seem much at first, but trust us, they’ll stack up fast.

Be wary about picking too many England players

England weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders in their two warm-up matches and with the Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United players only recently joining up with the camp, it might take a few games before they click into top gear.

Harry Kane will no doubt be a popular choice and he’s probably the safest bet when it comes to the England squad, but the rest of the team is pretty much up for grabs.

Will Gareth Southgate start Marcus Rashford or Raheem Sterling? Has Jack Grealish now done enough to justify a starting place? Is Harry Maguire going to be fit enough?

There’s a lot of questions around the England camp at the moment so it might be best to err on the side of caution when picking them for your team.

Spending all your budget on your attack

Like in real life, forwards will cost you the most money because they will be the players picking up goals, assists and plenty of points, but it’s just as important to have a strong defence.

Going with at least one premium defender might be wise and could be the difference in where you place in your league.

You’re going to be in a bit of a mess if by the last 16, all of your defenders have been knocked out of the competition.

Not knowing the rules

The way that players score points in the game is fairly similar to FPL, with them gaining points for things like scoring and winning, and losing points for things like being sent off and losing.

But there are a few key rules that you need to be aware of, for example, players will not pick up any points for things they do in extra time or penalty shootouts, only for their contributions within the normal 90 minutes.

So, when the group stages are over and we head into the knockout rounds, this is one rule to bear in mind.

Not leaving some money in the budget for transfers

This one is entirely up to you and some people will be determined to spend the exact £105million budget they’ve been given straight away.

But one reason why it might be wise to leave yourself with a couple million left over is so that you’ve got a little bit of wiggle-room when making transfers.

It can get a little bit messy otherwise and before you know it, you end up taking a –8 point hit for trying to afford an upgrade you’re desperate for.

Forgetting to change your captain each week

This one’s a bit of a rookie mistake, but you’d be surprised at just how many people forget to change their captain each week, depending on the fixtures.

Have a look at your players’ fixtures before you submit your final team and have an idea of who you’re going to captain each week.

Some popular choices for gameweek one captains will be the likes of Romelu Lukaku (11.5m), Cristiano Ronaldo (10m), and Memphis Depay (8.5m).

Sign up and enter your team before 8pm on Friday when Turkey and Italy get the Euros underway for your chance to win £200,000 – and, more importantly, beat us.

18+. BeGambleAware.org.

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