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Can Fantasy Football offer us any clues?
Are you someone who pores over their Fantasy Football stats every week, analysing bonus points or calculating who's cleaning up on assists.
With the big game coming up in Copenhagen, the Lottoland statisticians decided to delve into this season’s Fantasy Football stats to see if they could come across any insights for Denmark v Ireland. We’re pretty sure that Martin O’Neill and Keano didn't log on to the site in preparation for the match but maybe they missed a trick!
Surprisingly enough, there are just five Premier League players in the Danish squad. Despite wanting to claim that as a moral victory for the Irish lads, it seems only fair to compare the teams on a like-for-like basis. So we’ve picked Ireland’s top five Fantasy Football performers to go up against Denmark’s finest.
Christian Eriksen vs Stephen Ward
Unsurprisingly, Eriksen leads the way for Denmark with a respectable 63 points. Three goals and three assists have helped. Worryingly enough, he’s contributed a goal or an assist in five of Spurs’ 11 games this season. Not exactly encouraging for Ireland!
Ireland’s leading Fantasy Football performer is a bit of a surprise. Ward has clocked up an impressive 56 points for Burnley. Five clean sheets is encouraging, not least because the team is full of Irish lads. Ward’s points were also boosted by a goal against Chelsea, a reminder that the former striker knows where the goal is.
Jonas Lossl vs Robert Elliot
Next up is a battle of the sub keepers. Lossl actually has more Fantasy Football points than his international teammate Kasper Schmeichel. With a total of 56 points and five clean sheets, he still won’t make the number one spot.
Ireland’s sub keeper is slightly further behind on 40 points. He’s managed three clean sheets for Newcastle so he’s a good back up to have. Plus there’s an argument that he’s working with a more porous backline that Lossl. That’s our argument and we’re sticking to it!
Kasper Schmeichel vs Shane Duffy
Schmeichel is next in line for Denmark with 46 points. Encouragingly, the Leicester shot stopper has managed just three clean sheets for a misfiring Leicester this season. However, picking up maximum bonus points on two occasions shows that he’s a beast when he’s on his game.
Brighton’s Shane Duffy will be crucial to Ireland’s success or failure. Ireland fans will be hoping he can replicate his form from the last match. He has 40 points, five clean sheets, a smattering of bonus points and a head that was built for clearing crosses!
Zanka vs Robbie Brady
Huddersfield’s Zanka has 41 points for the season and five clean sheets. Not too shabby.
Brady has clocked up 35 points as part of Burnley’s considerable Irish contingent. Ireland’s dead ball specialist does have two assists and a few bonus points to his name so Irish fans will be hoping he can be a game changer in Copenhagen.
Andreas Christensen vs Ciaran Clark
Christensen has yet to solidify his position with Chelsea, accruing just 20 points and getting a full 90 minutes in on just four occasions. A clean sheet and a bonus point in their last game with Man Utd certainly won’t do his confidence any harm.
Clark has 30 points this season and is part of a promising partnership with Duffy in the centre of defence. Having missed three games and only played 35 minutes in Newcastle’s last outing, he’s managed a decent points tally.
Conclusions
So what can we take from that? Well, Ireland’s top five may trail the Danish lads by 226 to 201 points but that’s no reason to lose heart. Irish teams have always been built on the strength of the unit rather than individual exploits.
Plus, Fantasy Football doesn’t hand out points for heart, courage and sheer bloody determination. Bookies may only be giving Ireland a 44.4% chance of progressing but the players and the fans believe!
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