Often in our Women’s World Cup DFS Playbook, we focus on the contrast between the different sites. FanDuel and DraftKings have different scoring for their soccer DFS contests and that can cause fantasy values to fluctuate far more wildly than for other sports. The most notable difference is that DraftKings provides points for crosses while FanDuel offers more points for defensive stats such as clearances, tackles, etc.
While those differences are important for Monday’s WWC DFS slate, I was struck at how, perhaps for the first time all tournament, my strategy across the two sites is essentially the same. The one area in which the sites score similarly is for goalkeepers, so it is no surprise that I intend to go cheap on both sites. The surprise is that I also intend to mostly play cheap defenders, even though the individual defenders will be quite different. I also intend to stack a defender with my keeper on both sites. That will leave me to mostly pay up for attackers on both sites and while a lot of those names will probably overlap, the way they earn those points will likely be different.
Women's World Cup DFS Soccer Lineup Picks August 7
Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Lene Christensen
DEN
AUS
4100
11.06
8
14.33
I'm not overly confident in either of the favorites, but I thought Denmark looked good in a 1-0 loss to England and if they play a similar game Monday, they have a chance at a win and possibly even a clean sheet. Sam Kerr's looming return could throw a monkey in the wrench, but it may be expecting too much for her to score immediately after missing the entire group stage.
Mary Earps
ENG
NGA
5900
12.09
14
15.50
I'm probably not paying up for a keeper but it is hard to argue with how solid England has looked, especially defensively. I expect them to return to the 4-2-3-1 they employed in their two clean sheets, and a third clean sheet would surprise no one. I certainly think they are more likely to win outright than Australia.
Forwards
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Chloe Kelly
ENG
NGA
8200
16
20
24.23
Kelly played just 20 minutes off the bench against China but she still has eight more crosses than any of her teammates while she is tied for the team lead in chances created, tied for second in shots and tied for third in shots on target. I think she is the safest England attacker on either site and she is too cheap as well.
Caitlin Foord
AUS
DEN
8400
10.65
16
13.40
Foord leads the team with 12 shots but just one has been on target. I would rather bet on her straightening her shot out than betting on Hayley Raso to continue to put 40 percent of her shots in the back of the net. I think she is too cheap on FanDuel.
Sam Kerr
AUS
DEN
6900
0
18
Even if Kerr starts, we don't know if she'll play the entire game. Even if she plays the entire game, we don't know how effective she will be. What we do know is that Kerr is arguably the best striker in the game and if she is close to 100 percent for even 60 minutes, she is too cheap, especially on DraftKings. She doesn't belong within a country mile of a cash game but it will be awfully hard to stay away for tournaments.
Midfielders
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Georgia Stanway
ENG
NGA
7100
9.13
16
17.50
Like Lucy Bronze, I think Stanway is underpriced because she had a quiet game (and only played 45 minutes) against China. Stanway is still tied for the team lead in chances created while recording five shots (two on goal). She should be safe on FanDuel and she has a decent chance at a goal involvement as well.
Kyra Cooney-Cross
AUS
DEN
4600
10.81
13
15.67
Australia is tricky because they could be a completely different team with Sam Kerr back in the fold. Of course, even if Kerr starts, we have no idea how many minutes she will be able to play. Cooney-Cross will almost certainly continue to split corners with Steph Catley, and even if she doesn't take many shots, she is tied for second on the team in chances created. Cooney-Cross looks like a value play on both sites.
Pernille Harder
DEN
AUS
7000
11.51
18
22.33
Harder is a bit riskier than I usually like, especially for DraftKings, but she was involved in two of Denmark's three goals in the group stage. Maybe I'm underestimating Australia's defense, but I think Harder is underpriced on both sites.
Defenders
Player
Team
Opp.
DK $
DK FPPG
FD $
FD FPPG
Lucy Bronze
ENG
NGA
6700
10.74
14
18.70
On the one hand, I'm shocked Bronze no-showed against China in a game her team scored six goals. On the other hand, she is probably underpriced after she was great in a 4-3-3 against Denmark and Haiti. You can pivot to Rachel Daly on DraftKings if you want, but it is nice that Bronze is actually listed as a defender on FanDuel.
Stine Ballisager
DEN
AUS
3900
3.64
9
13.40
Australia has allowed more clearances than any team on the slate and more than any team Denmark has faced to this point. Simone Boye has more clearances but Ballisager looks like the much better value.
Oluwatosin Demehin
NGA
ENG
2500
3.41
10
12.13
Like Baillisager, Demehin is a relatively cheap central defender with a relatively good matchup. Demehin had seven clearances against Australia and if she can do the same against England, she'll be a nice value.
Michelle Alozie
NGA
ENG
3600
6.21
11
17.13
Alozie costs $1,500 less than in any of the group stage games. This is probably a tougher matchup than those games, but she had at least one shot in each while averaging two crosses. At this price we just need to get something in terms of attacking statistics, and Alozie is a better bet than most of the defenders on this slate.
Katrine Veje
DEN
AUS
4900
8.97
9
15.00
I think Veje has been a bit unlucky to be held to just two chances created despite sending in 22 crosses through three games. Australia's defense is not super scary and Veje's place on set pieces gives her a high floor.
