Daily Fantasy Soccer

Daily fantasy might have started through American sports, but the game has seen a rise in European soccer. As the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League become more and more popular in the US, so too does daily fantasy soccer.

For those unfamiliar with daily fantasy, players assemble a lineup of players from a specific sport on a specific day. The advantage is that players don't get stuck with a poor lineup for the entire year, but they'll need to be up on the different match ups to win whatever contest they enter.

Daily fantasy soccer can differ slightly from other daily fantasy sports like football or baseball because of the nature of a soccer game. While football and baseball have very predictable positions and stat lines, it's not unheard of for a defender in soccer to score big goals or provide an assist. Because of this, daily fantasy soccer is a real test of a player's knowledge of the game overall, as well as their familiarity with the leagues, teams, and players they're using for their lineups.

Types Of Daily Fantasy Soccer Contests

• Head-to-Head | Simple winner-takes-all contests against another user.
• Tournaments | The highest paying contests, often with a guaranteed prize pool for the top entrants.
• Qualifiers | Contests with small entry fees, prizes include free entry into higher-stakes tournament contests.
• 50/50 | Smaller formats that split the prize pool evenly among those who finished in the top half.
• Multipliers | Similar to 50/50, these larger contests guarantee winners multiply their entry fee by a specified amount.
• Freerolls | Free entry games where entry tickets to other games on the site are on the line instead of cash.

How to Make Your Daily Fantasy Soccer Picks

One's daily fantasy soccer picks will form an 8-man team. Team composition varies between sites, but is typically a keeper, 2 defenders, 2 midfielders, 2 forwards, and a field player of any position OR a third midfielder. Players are usually required to make their daily fantasy picks from multiple teams.

Like other daily fantasy sports, players are given a salary cap to work from. Salary caps can change depending on website, with DraftKings offering a $50,000 cap and FanDuel offering a $60,000 cap. Top players in their respective leagues can cost upwards of $10,000 or more, so creating a well balanced squad without breaking the bank on a single player is key to success.

Scoring In Daily Fantasy Soccer

Comparing Field Player Scoring: Draftkings vs FanDuel

Comparing Goalkeeper Scoring: Draftkings vs FanDuel

Always Check The Daily Fantasy Rules

There are a couple other things to note regarding scoring. Always check your site to make sure you know the rules before entering because rules for scoring are not universal. Some sites will only register a player's clean sheet if they play for at least 60 minutes, as well as reflecting bonuses based on the final scoreline.

Picking the correct goal scorers will almost always net you the best results, but a lineup that works on one site might not work for another. FanDuel is much more aimed at finding the official scoresheet in a match while DraftKings will reward a more well-rounded, disciplined lineup. Also worth noting is the fact that FanDuel doesn't penalize entries for having players that pick up cards, while DraftKings does.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some sites will require entries to have players representing multiple teams. DraftKings requires entries to have players from 3 different teams, while FanDuel has no such requirements. So fans of one particular team will need to check the rules before they load up on their team’s stars.