MARQUEE MATCHUPS

Once again we reach a period of the season where International games take over and while we still have options in the lower leagues, EA have previously favoured a full International line-up, hence that's where we will be picking from.

A lot of the upcoming fixtures revolve around WC qualification and while there are plenty of friendlies to choose, it would baffle me to see them included. Based on this, we will be looking at the entire fixture list for WC games and slightly changing the article up. Instead of looking at the best possible games (as it would be incredibly difficult to actually predict these), we will be focusing on how we can maximise value from potential investments.
 

The Fixtures:

European WC Playoffs

Croatia vs Greece
Northern Ireland vs Switzerland
Sweden vs Italy
Denmark vs Republic Of Ireland

African WC Qualifiers

Algeria vs Nigeria
South Africa vs Senegal
Congo vs Guinea
Tunisia vs Libya
Zambia vs Cameroon
Gabon vs Mali
Ivory Coast vs Morocco

Inter Confederation WC Playoffs

Honduras vs Australia
New Zealand vs Peru

Number Of Players Required

In this section we aren't talking about how many players fill an 11 player team, we are considering how many players from the selected matchup will be required. 

Some games require "1 player from team X or Y". As you can imagine, supply can easily fill this demand and it is times like this where we see minimal profit available from our investments.

Some games can require "2 players from team X and 2 players from team Y". These are the golden choices, demand can outweigh supply causing prices to increase significantly and along with it our profits.

It's not easy to predict the actual requirements, however we can improve our chances. A lower tier game is unlikely to require 4 players from the clubs, whereas the bigger matches could. 
 

Rarity Of Players Required

This requirement usually targets the higher tier games and is commonly seen when gold players are involved. With the bigger matches always remember that picking up a non rare gold for 400 coins carries the same risk as picking up a rare gold card for 650 coins. Both options are picked up for discard, but one ticks more boxes instantly. If there is a variety of cards available, the rare gold choices can often give you that edge.
 

Rating Of Players Required

This one is simple. If you can bid on a bronze or silver player for 150, you are obviously going to choose the silver one. The same logic goes for gold players, if you can bid on a 76 rated player and 80 rated player for discard, why would you ever choose the one with the lower rating? Once again this can give you a significant advantage over other investors.
 

Formation Required

Always know the risks. Sometimes we see formations with fullbacks or wingers and due to the lack of availability their prices can rise above other positions. The question I ask however, is why take the risk? Centre backs and Midfielders are always needed and hence a much safer option, you remove another element of risk. Goalkeepers and strikers can often flood the market, these should be a secondary choice here.
 

Availability Of Cards On The Market

Do these cards flood the market? Are we likely to see any sort of price movement in the build up to the event? These questions are always important as it can determine or profit levels. Ideally we want to look at teams or cards that have a more limited supply line. The reason for this is that as the event gets closer and people start preparing, supply dries up and hence prices rise, hype kicks in. This is where we can make money without the SBC even being released.
 

Hype

This year hype is back and it's stronger than ever! If we have done the research and picked our investments correctly, we should be able to sell our cards during the hype period leaving nothing to chance and hence not having to run the risk of waiting for the event to drop. Sometimes players won't rise to a level we expect, in these situations there is no shame on rolling the dice as long as you are always aware of what you are risking.