FanDuel Soccer: European Championship Daily Fantasy Helper for Saturday 6/12/21

The Euros have arrived, and FanDuel is offering daily fantasy contests throughout the tournament. Scoring and settings are identical to what is used for Premier League and Champions League contests.

This piece will cover the main slate, and that kicks off at 9 a.m. EST. We have staggered start times, with matches kicking off at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. All betting lines come from FanDuel Sportsbook, and they may change after the article is published.

Slate Overview

Positional Breakdown

Forwards/Midfielders

Belgium and Denmark are the sides we most want exposure to on this slate. Belgium is the headline team and one of the tourney favorites, but the betting odds necessitate that we prioritize Denmark. Denmark are -240 favorites against Finland while Belgium is at -135 (down from -150 earlier this week) to win over Russia.

For Denmark, Kasper Dolberg ($8; +140 anytime goal odds) and Andreas Skov Olsen ($14; +140) share the top goal odds while Martin Braithwaite ($18; +165), Jonas Wind ($7; +175), Christian Eriksen ($16; +160) and Yussuf Poulsen ($22; +160) also carry goal odds that stand out. WhoScored projects Dolberg to start at striker while the Guardian has Wind starting up top. If either of them start in a number-nine role, they'd be awfully enticing at their salaries.

Eriksen will likely handle a ton of set-piece work, including penalties -- of which he took (and scored) all three during Euro qualifying. He led the Danes in goals and assists in their qualifying matches. Given his talent, role, modest salary and name recognition, Eriksen figures to be one of the slate's chalkiest players.

As for Belgium, part of the reason there win odds aren't better is that Kevin De Bruyne ($23; +200) and Eden Hazard ($17; +175) aren't expected to be fit to start on Saturday. That dings the outlook for their entire attack as Hazard and KDB had seven assists apiece in Euro qualifying, and it could hurt the service to forward man Romelu Lukaku ($21; +100). But the Inter star has the slate's best goal odds and is fresh off a Serie A campaign in which he netted 24 goals with 11 assists. Lukaku and Eriksen are the slate's two best plays and will likely be extremely popular. I'm more willing to swallow the chalk with Lukaku due to his better goal odds.

Elsewhere on Belgium, Yannick Carrasco ($11; +260) is easy to get behind at his salary, and Dries Mertens ($18; +140) may have to shoulder more of the playmaking duties with KDB out. Mertens had nine goals and eight assists in 18 Serie A starts last season for Napoli. WhoScored projects Thorgan Hazard ($14; +300) to start alongside Mertens behind Lukaku.

Switzerland are the other favorite on this slate, and they're +110 to beat Wales. With the majority of people probably going to Belgium and Denmark for at least a few of their forward/midfield slots, hitting on a goal from this match could be big.

Xherdan Shaqiri ($15; +390) is a key cog for the Swiss. The Liverpool attacker scored a goal in their last competitive match, a World Cup qualifier back in March, and even though his goal odds aren't very sexy, he's a solid option.

Who starts up front alongside (or in front of) Shaqiri is up for debate, but it'll likely be two of Breel Embolo ($16; +270), Haris Seferovic ($17; +200) and Mario Gavranovic ($11; +210). Gavranovic netted a hat trick in their last warmup friendly, which could get him a starting nod on Saturday. He'd be appealing at his salary, but whoever starts up front for Switzerland is at least worth a look.

Added time -- Wales is a fairly live underdog versus Switzerland. Gareth Bale ($20; +240) usually shows up in a Wales shirt. Kieffer Moore ($8; +280) needs to be on our radar if he starts. ... Teemu Pukki ($17; +300) holds the top goal odds on Finland. ... The best goal odds on Russia belong to Alexander Sobolev ($14; +185) and Artem Dzyuba ($16; +185). Dzyuba paced Russia in goals (eight) and assists (four) in qualifying. The Zenit forward could be a GPP swing play if he nets a goal against Belgium.

Defenders

I usually like to save coin at defender -- in order to get the attackers and goalie I want -- and go for low-salary plays who should have decent floors due to defensive activity. That has me giving the eyes to Finland's back line for their clash with Denmark, a game in which Finland are big underdogs. They are projected to be in a back three, and none of their defenders are listed at more than $8. WhoScored forecasts their three center-backs to be Paulus Arajuuri ($7), Joona Toivio ($6) and Daniel O'Shaughnessy ($5).

Thomas Meunier ($11) profiles as the best attacking full-back play on this slate. Belgium is slated to go with three at the back, and Meunier should be at right-back. That gives him space and freedom to roam forward, and his +650 goal odds are tops on the slate among defenders. He's a fun stacking partner with Lukaku or with Thibaut Courtois (more on him shortly) in the hopes of doubling up on the clean-sheet bonus.

Denmark's Joakim Mahele ($6) is a sublime point-per-dollar play. With Denmark likely to see a good amount of the ball, he should have chances to get forward, and Denmark have the best odds of getting a clean sheet (+152).

Added time -- Russia will likely spend a lot of time without the ball, so their defenders should offer solid floors against Belgium. Georgi Dzhikiya ($10) and Fedor Kudryashov ($10) are their lowest-salaried expected starters at the position.

Goalies

Kasper Schmeichel ($13) is in his own tier. Not only does he possess the best win odds (-240), he's also got the top clean-sheet odds (-152) as Denmark is expected to roll against Finland. Schmeichel is coming off another quality season with Leicester City in the Premier League, and he checks every box.

If Belgium was 100% healthy, Thibaut Courtois ($12) would be in Schmeichel's tier, but given Belgium's injury woes, he's a notch below Schmeichel. But he shapes up as a fun pivot off Schmeichel. Belgium are still a solid -135 to win, and their +114 clean-sheet odds aren't too shabby. Plus, we know the talent is there for Courtois, who had a fine campaign this past season for Real Madrid.

Yann Sommer ($10) has some appeal, too. Switzerland are slight +110 favorites, and he's +106 to keep a clean sheet. Those are solid numbers, especially the clean-sheet chances, and the Swiss kept a clean sheet in half of their eight Euro qualifiers.

Added time -- If I had to use someone other than those three, it would be whoever starts for Wales, which is looking like it'll be Danny Ward ($9). Wales are a not-horrible +200 to keep a clean sheet, and with the Wales-Switzerland match at +178 to go over 2.5 goals, it's a place to go clean-sheet hunting. ... If you think Belgium's banged-up attack struggles in their opener, Anton Shunin ($8) makes sense as a punt. I won't be going there.