EURO 2020 Fantasy Football Matchday 3: What the numbers say

Predicting which Fantasy players are going to perform on any given matchday is a difficult task. Through crunching the numbers, a projected points total for each player has been calculated. Goals, assists, clean sheets and the likelihood of playing are the main parameters used in our projections. Ahead of Matchday 3, UEFA.com breaks down the numbers to find out which players are predicted to perform well.

GOALKEEPERS

Having kept successive clean sheets on the opening two matchdays, Gianluigi Donnarumma is given top billing once more in the projections, closely followed by Thibaut Courtois. Given that both Italy and Belgium have secured their passage to the round of 16, Fantasy managers will have potential rotation in the back of their mind, so it may be wiser to look at the likes of Germany's Manuel Neuer, Spain's first choice Unai Simón and Croatia's Dominik Livaković – all of whom are likely to feature on Matchday 3 with their side's destiny not yet certain.

DEFENDERS

After a flying start in his first major international tournament for the Netherlands, Denzel Dumfries tops the projections off the back of goals against both Ukraine and Austria. Owners and new investors alike should be aware of the threat of rotation on Matchday 3 – as is the case with team-mates Matthijs de Ligt and Patrick van Aanholt – but the potential rewards on offer are significant when the Dutch take on North Macedonia.

The same can also be said of Belgium's Thomas Meunier, Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci, England's Tyrone Mings and Oleksandr Zinchenko of Ukraine, so once again the optimal approach could be to plump for players who feature in sides that won't be certain of qualification on Matchday 3. Spanish full-back Jordi Alba has long been a Fantasy favourite and offers both clean sheet and attacking potential against Slovakia in the final group game, while the algorithm predicts similar returns for Germany's Robin Gosens the same day. The Atalanta wing-back scored 12 times for his club in the 2020/21 season and could translate that form into the international arena on Matchday 3, with Hungary the opponents for Die Mannschaft.

MIDFIELDERS

Belgium have won both of their games so far, but their final Group B encounter against Finland looks to be an excellent opportunity for Kevin De Bruyne to get more minutes. After a quick-fire goal and assist against Denmark after coming off the bench on Matchday 2, the algorithm is naturally looking upon the midfielder favourably as he tops the projected list ahead of the culmination of the group stage.

Ukraine have been an entertaining watch so far and their Matchday 3 contest with Austria is decisive for both sides' hopes of progression. In midfield, both Andriy Yarmolenko – who has collected more Fantasy points than any other midfielder at the time of writing – and Ruslan Malinovskyi have been among the points. The latter missed a penalty against North Macedonia on Matchday 2 but, assuming he retains that duty, should still be considered as a viable Fantasy option.

Serge Gnabry's stunning international goalscoring record is a major factor behind his projected score, as well as the fact he is often the most advanced player for Germany. Joachim Löw's side may well need a few goals during Matchday 3's fixture against Hungary, so Gnabry could be an astute Fantasy choice.

Elsewhere, Ferran Torres – another player with impressive numbers when it comes to his international goalscoring record – could be a crucial cog in the Spanish attacking machine against Slovakia, while the class of Gareth Bale, which was on show in Wales' vital victory against Turkey in the second round of matches, mean he is tipped to perform well despite tough Matchday 3 opposition in the form of Italy.

FORWARDS

It's the same rotation headache for owners of players like Romelu Lukaku, Memphis Depay and Ciro Immobile, but for the latter at least, Fantasy managers will be able to look over Italy's starting line-up ahead of the Matchday 3 deadline.

Roman Yaremchuk is another Ukrainian asset who has impressed so far after scoring in both games and also supplying an assist over the course of the first two matchdays. Together with the aforementioned Yarmolenko, the pair have combined for seven goals in Ukraine's last three matches, with each scoring in those three games.

Superstars Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo face off against each other on Matchday 3 and you wouldn't back against either of them having a say in the outcome of that heavyweight contest, while there will be plenty on the line in Russia and Croatia's final group games – against Denmark and Scotland respectively – so Artem Dzyuba and Ante Rebić look like tempting differential options for Fantasy forward lines.