DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday World Cup Picks

MATCHES (EDT)

8:00 a.m: Portugal v. Morocco
11:00 a.m: Uruguay v. Saudi Arabia
2:00 p.m: Iran v. Spain

Cristiano Ronaldo, POR v. MRC ($12,600): Let's forget that Ronaldo had a hat trick in Portugal's opener against Spain, a team that came into the tournament with the third-best odds to win the World Cup, and focus more on the fact that Portugal are decent favorites against Morocco and the fact he has the third-highest anytime goal scoring odds on the slate. Spain and Uruguay are significant favorites in their matches against Iran and Saudi Arabia, respectively, but the issue that we had with them in their first matches are still present: who do we trust when there are so many options who can score loads of fantasy points? Ronaldo is the centerpiece of the Portugal attack, and the defense he'll face Wednesday isn't nearly as good as Spain's, so we could see him get off more than the four paltry (for Ronaldo) shots he took in the opener.

Luis Suarez, URU v. KSA ($10,400): Why, yes, I am recommending the two most expensive players on the slate. Suarez was active but basically a bust in Uruguay's opener against Egypt, finishing with four shots (one on goal) and one foul drawn while teammate Edinson Cavani ($10,200) turned out to be the better play with five shots, including three on goal, two crosses and two fouls drawn. I was at least encouraged by Suarez's 12 touches in the box, which were the second-highest total of any player in the opening round of matches. Up next is a Saudi Arabia defense that allowed five goals to Russia in their first match and is widely considered the worst in the tournament. I understand people wanting to play both Suarez and Cavani in the hopes that Uruguay win 5-0 and they're a part of every goal, and while that may be the safer route, it also means they can't have Ronaldo (which is okay for some).

Goncalo Guedes, POR v. MRC ($6,600): Looking for GPP pivots with some cheaper forwards doesn't yield many favorable options, unless you have a really good feeling that Iran will score against Spain or Saudi Arabia find a way against Uruguay. Even if you think the Morocco attack can break through, I'd rather focus on their midfielders. That leaves us with forward-eligible players from the favorites, and Guedes is the one who sticks out the most, if only because he plays with Ronaldo and assisted on the latter's only open-play goal in their draw with Spain. I'm not expecting a lot, but Guedes at least has solid upside for tournaments.

MIDFIELDERS

David Silva, ESP v. IRN ($7,900): The difficulty with Spain is that they have so many weapons and it makes it difficult to focus on one or two players with good floors and decent upside. I really like Isco ($9,700) but the price is prohibitively high for those who want to play two high-priced forwards and I don't think his upside is high enough to warrant replacing one of those guys. However, Spain are expected to crush Iran and the cost savings down to Silva could still allow for paying up in other spots. I don't think his floor is as high as Isco's, especially after the latter had two shots on goal and seven crosses in the opener against Portugal, but he's a great chance creator and should have tons of opportunities Tuesday. If you're more interested in set pieces, you could always go back to the well with Giorgian de Arrascaeta ($7,500), who should be on set pieces for Uruguay until he comes out after 55 or 60 minutes for Carlos Sanchez ($8,400).

Younes Belhanda, MRC v. POR ($4,000): Paying up for two forwards will require a lot of paying down elsewhere, and doing so means you're either taking attackers on underdogs or defensive midfielders on favorites. Belhanda, who had three shots, three fouls drawn and one chance created against Iran last week, falls into the former category, as Morocco desperately need three points if they want to have any chance at the knockout round after losing 1-0 to Iran. I still think Portugal handle this one comfortably, but we can try to squeak some fantasy points out of Belhanda or Amine Harit ($3,600) from shots and fouls drawn. If you're willing to play the defensive game, Saudi Arabia's Salman Al-Faraj ($3,100) is really cheap and doesn't have to do much to make value.

Rodrigo Bentancur, URU v. KSA ($3,900): On the other side of the punt coin is a player like Bentancur, who will line up in the holding midfield for the biggest favorite on the slate expected to score the most goals. Matias Vecino ($4,500) and Nahitan Nandez ($4,300) are other options in the midfield if they start again, but I honestly don't have a significant reason to pick one over the other, so I'll simply go with the cheapest if I'm looking to save money.

DEFENDERS

Gerard Pique, ESP v. IRN ($3,600): You can try to convince me otherwise, but I can't see a reason to pay up for defenders Wednesday. The Uruguay fullbacks are a consideration because they are so highly favored, but I'd rather pay down for their center-backs because they're dangerous on set pieces and the fullbacks don't cross that much anyway. Unfortunately, they're kind of expensive, so I'll move to the next biggest favorite and land on Pique, who had a whopping minus-0.5 points in the opener. Pique is generally a boom-or-bust option, but Spain's clean sheet odds at least give me some feeling we'll get value from a player who is $1,000 cheaper than center-back partner Sergio Ramos ($4,600).

Jose Gimenez, URU v. KSA ($4,300): The Uruguay fullbacks are more expensive than Pique, but I think Gimenez still makes for a great play against a weak opponent. His game-winning goal against Egypt in the opener isn't something we should expect again, and even his nine interceptions were an outlier, but he's still an excellent center-back with very high clean sheet odds. Given the returns we've seen from fullbacks during the World Cup, it simply doesn't seem worth it to pay up for three more crosses and the very small potential for an assist (and lower goal-scoring odds).

Raphael Guerreiro, POR v. MRC ($5,500): Unless things significantly change when lineups come out, I just don't see the value in paying up for defender. However, if something happens and we all have loads of money to spend, I think Guerreiro has the best upside among players at the position. He's an active crosser for a team that will be attacking with very good finishers near goal, and he has a decent shot at a clean sheet. The Spanish fullbacks, mentioned above, don't join the attack much, and while the Uruguay ones may move up, they don't cross nearly enough to spend that much money.

GOALKEEPER

David de Gea, ESP v. IRN ($5,800): Paying up for three expensive attackers all but rules you out of paying up for a goalkeeper, but you have to consider whether it might be better trying to lock in the 10+ points for a clean sheet win versus trying to get those same 10+ points out of players like Silva or de Arrescaeta, who probably need at least an assist to get there. De Gea's upside is obviously limited because he's probably not going to make five or six saves against Iran because Spain should have a ton of possession, but it's tough to argue he doesn't have a safer path to 10 points. For those who don't want to pay up, just roster the keeper you don't have attackers against. Oh, you have exposure to Uruguay, Spain and Portugal? Well, Munir Mohand Mohamedi ($4,400) is the strongest underdog of the group, so there's that; just hope that Ronaldo only scores two instead of four.