The “Limitless” chip on Euro 2020 fantasy football enables managers to make wholesale changes to their squads with an unlimited budget for one matchday only.
There are seven matchdays in total, from the first round of group stage matches all the way through to the final. Matchday two, which begins on Wednesday 16 June, looks like the most opportune time to delve into your fantasy football chips for the first time.
It may seem early on in the tournament to do so, but there are plenty of good reasons for using Limitless in matchday two. For starters, every team has played once, meaning fantasy managers have been able to gauge the merits of all 24 sides in the competition, as well as which of their players are in good form.
And it will be the penultimate opportunity to use it while the competition has a full complement of teams. A further benefit to using it now, as opposed to matchday three when the final round of group stage games take place, is that every side will be at full strength to try and secure a place in the last-16.
There are also some particularly appealing fixtures to target with your transfers too, most notably France and their galaxy of world-class attackers against Hungary and, of course, England vs Scotland at Wembley in a re-run of the famous encounter between the nations at Euro 96.
Here are the key players to target with your Limitless chip.
Italy produced the most impressive team performance of the tournament so far and while Gianluigi Donnarumma (€5.5m) didn’t have much to do against a disappointing Turkey side, he is playing behind a defence that has conceded just once in 10 matches.
Finland’s Lukas Hradecky (€4.0m) was most impressive and he outperformed Donnarumma by making six saves against Denmark, including one from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s penalty. Seeing as there is an unlimited budget to play with, though, it could be worth upgrading the second ‘keeper slot to Spain’s Unai Simon (€5.0m) for their match against a Poland team struggling to create much for Robert Lewandowski.
Leonardo Spinazzola (€5.5m) was the most impressive player for the most impressive team in matchday one, causing Turkey no end of problems with his forays forward from left back. Doubling up on the Italian defence seems a reasonable strategy considering how resolute they have been in recent months.
Having an unlimited budget makes it easier to stomach forking out €6.5m for France left back Lucas Hernandez who, along with Portugal’s Raphael Guereirro, is the most expensive defender in the game. France will expect to keep a shutout against Hungary in their second game of the competition.
Kieran Trippier (€5.0m) was a surprise selection against Croatia, particularly as Gareth Southgate started him at left back, but he was one of England’s better performers on the day. Trippier created one chance and had one shot – as many as Harry Kane managed – and could cause Scotland problems with his set-piece delivery.
Denzel Dumfries (€5.5m) came to the Netherlands’ rescue against Ukraine, popping up with the winner on 85 minutes after his side had squandered a 2-0 lead. Although the PSV star is correctly listed as a defender on the game, he was essentially playing as part of the attack and he could quite easily have amassed more than seven points.
Marking Ferran Torres (€8.0m) as one to watch from Spain’s ranks due to his exceptional goal record for his country, but Dani Olmo (€7.0m) looked far the more threatening player against Sweden, firing off five shots on goal and creating two chances. Surely Spain can’t be as profligate against Austria as they were on Monday night…
Georginio Wijnaldum (€8.0m) was never a viable asset on Fantasy Premier League during his Liverpool days, but he has a different role for his national side, playing just off the front two. The 30-year-old, who has agreed a pre-contract deal with PSG, took his goal well against Ukraine and fired off five shots in the game, overall.
Andriy Yarmolenko (€8.5m) is one of those players who seems to be far more consistent and effective for his national team than he does at club level. Only his manager, the legendary Andriy Shevchenko with 48, has scored more goals for Ukraine than Yarmolenko’s 41, the latest of which was an absolute stunner in Sunday’s defeat to the Netherlands.
Switzerland were unfortunate not to beat Wales and should give Italy a tough game, but Lorenzo Insigne (€8.5m) is a good pick regardless after making a goalscoring start to the tournament. The Napoli skipper had five attempts on goal and created three chances in the win over Turkey.
An attacker from Belgium (vs Denmark) and England (vs Scotland), selecting a midfielder or forward from each for the upcoming matchday.
Belgium looked ominously good against Russia, particularly given the two most heralded members of their “Golden Generation” – Eden Hazard (€10.0m) and Kevin De Bruyne (€10.5m) – didn’t start the game. De Bruyne was absent after suffering a fractured nose and eye socket in the Champions League final but he should be able to return for Thursday’s match against Denmark.
Phil Foden (€8.0m) came inches away from justifying our faith after being selected in our matchday one squad, within the opening five minutes against Croatia, crashing a shot off the base of the post. The beach-blonde playmaker was kept pretty quiet after that moment, but he will be keen to make his impact against the Scots at Wembley, as Paul Gascoigne famously managed 25 years ago.Forwards
Hungary will be a tough nut for the French to crack and in RB Leipzig’s Peter Gulacsi they have an excellent shot-stopper. Nevertheless, if ever there were a game at this tournament in which to double up on the French attack, it surely has to be this one. Take your pick from Kylian Mbappe (€12.0m), Antoine Griezmann (€11.0m) or Karim Benzema (€10.0m).
Mbappe is comfortably the most popular fantasy asset of the three, owned by 36 per cent of managers and it is easy to see why given he scored 42 times in 47 matches for PSG last season. Griezmann is long-established in the French national team set up, but Benzema has the potential to be more explosive if he is able to forge a solid understanding alongside Mbappe in a new-look front two.
There are plenty of great options to consider for the third slot. Romelu Lukaku (€11.0m) and Ciro Immobile (€10.0) both justified their selections in our matchday one squad, with the former scoring twice against Russia and the latter netting once against Turkey. Also Gerard Moreno (€6.5m) was surprisingly left out of Spain’s starting line-up but looked far more dangerous after coming on than Alvaro Morata (€9.0m), almost scoring with a glancing header in stoppage time.
And don’t write off Harry Kane (€11.5m) just yet either. The England skipper will be desperate to get off the mark after a subdued opening game and scored an injury-time equaliser on his previous match against the Scots at Hampden Park in 2017.
