The final round of AFCON 2021’s group stages is upon us, and The FPL Manual shares his thoughts on the best players and differentials to consider in AFCON Fantasy for matchday 3.
Matchday 2 Review
Matchday 2 had some interesting results as viewers worldwide witnessed Tunisia hammering Mauritania 4-0, Nigeria winning 3-1 against, Cameroon with a 4-1 win vs. Ethiopia, and lots more. This is a step up from the usual 1-0 results in Matchday 1. Managers who had players like Aboubakar (12 pts), Salah (11 pts), Simon (13 pts), and Khazri (17 pts) all went up in ranks and perhaps had a better weekend than me, who had none of these players.
It seems the road to the trophy might be tight for nations like Ghana and Algeria, who failed to register a win in any of their two opening games in their respective groups. In today’s article, I will be pointing out the essential players you should target for Matchday 3 as the group stages come to a wrap.
AFCON Fantasy Matchday 3 Preview
First, I will like to point out those nations that have qualified so far:
Group A: Cameroon 🇲🇱
Group C: Morocco 🇲🇦
Group D: Nigeria 🇳🇬
These three teams above have six points and will be looking forward to staying top of their group with at least a draw in their next game, so expect slight rotation from any of these teams. However, it is still anyone’s game for the other groups, especially in Group B, E, and F, and Ghana in Group C. Here is a list of teams and players to target:
Group A
đź“ť Team to target: Burkina Faso
🏆 Best players in AFCON fantasy: Bertrand Traoré (€8M), Gustavo Sangaré (€5.1M), and Issoufou Dayo (€5M)
📆 Next fixture: Ethiopia
Group B
đź“ť Teams to target: Senegal and Guinea
🏆 Best players in AFCON fantasy: Sadio Mané (€11.5M), Abdou Diallo (€5M), Bouna Sarr (€6.1M), Cheikhou Kouyaté (€5.5M), Naby Keïta (€8M), Issiaga Sylla (€5.5M), Mohamed Ali Camara (€5.5M), and Dijbril Sow (€5M)
📆 Next fixtures: Senegal vs. Malawi and Guinea vs. Zimbabwe
Group C
đź“ť Team to target: Ghana
🏆 Best players in AFCON fantasy: Andre Ayew (€9.5M), Kamaldeen Sulemana (€7.5M), Thomas Partey (€6.5M), Baba Rahman (€6M), and Daniel Amartey (€6M)
📆 Next fixture: Comoros
Group D
đź“ť Team to target: Egypt
🏆 Best players in AFCON fantasy: Mohamed Salah (€13M), Abdallah Said (€6M), Ayman Ashraf (€6.5M), Ahmed Hegazi (€6.5M), and Mohammed El Shenawy (€6M)
📆 Next fixture: Sudan
Group E
đź“ť Team to target: Algeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Equatorial Guinea
🏆 Best players in AFCON fantasy: Riyad Mahrez (€12M), Youcef Belaïli (€7.5M), Youcef Atal (€6M), Sébastien Haller (€11.5M), Nicolas Pépé (€9M), Serge Aurier (€6M), Mohamed Kamara (€4.5M), Emilio Nsue (€6M), and Carlos Akapo (€4.5M)
📆 Next fixture: Algeria vs. Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone vs. Equatorial Guinea
Group E is a very tight group right now as every team still has a chance to qualify here, with a huge possibility of the defending champions missing out if they fail to win.
Group F
đź“ť Teams to target: Tunisia and Mali
🏆 Players to target: Wahbi Khazri (€8.1M), Anis Ben Slimane (€4.5M), Hamza Mathlouthi (€4.5M), Ibrahim Mounkoro (€4.5M), Adama Traoré (€7.5M), and Ibrahima Koné (€6.1M)
📆 Next fixtures: Tunisia vs. Gambia and Mali vs. Mauritania
AFCON Fantasy Wildcard Strategy Matchday 3
I created a template team with the best options for matchday 3 below for managers who are yet to play their wildcard chip.
Note: This is just a sample. I omitted some assets like Mahrez and BelaĂŻli, but they are good options you could bring in for Mane or Khazri.
Summary
In summary, matchday 3 is another game week packed with lots of action to come. I am looking forward to groups like Group E & F where drama could unfold. When it comes to fantasy, don’t be afraid of keeping Nigeria, Morocco, and Cameroon assets, as those teams might not rotate as we think they would.
That brings me to the end of this article. Feel free to like and share for other AFCON Fantasy managers to read. Cheers!
You can find additional AFCON 2021 Fantasy resources here.
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