Thursday's DraftKings slate is a single-game showdown, FRA @ ITA, with a $50,000 salary cap and a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary. Lineups lock Thu 11/12 at 2:45 p.m. ET (11:45 a.m. PT).
Michael Olise (FRA) tops our model's ranking at $11,200. His ceiling of 38.2 is the highest on the board by a wide margin, and his DraftKings average sits at 22.5. Kylian Mbappé (FRA) costs $11,600 with a ceiling of 27.0 and an average of 15.9, while Désiré Doué (FRA) is $10,400 with a ceiling of 24.1 and an average of 14.2. Rayan Cherki (FRA) rounds out the top French options at $10,000, with a ceiling of 19.9.
On the ITA side, Francesco Pio Esposito costs $9,800 with a ceiling of 19.3 and a 12.2 average. Alphadjo Cisse is $9,400 with a ceiling of 23.8, and Sebastiano Esposito is $9,200 with a ceiling of 21.1. Bradley Barcola (FRA) is $9,600 with a ceiling of 22.6, though his DraftKings average is only 2.9.
The cheap end of the player pool is where our model finds its salary relief. Gianluigi Donnarumma at $4,200, Alessandro Bastoni at $3,000 and Davide Frattesi at $3,600 all land in our top lineup, which frees up the money needed to roster three expensive stars.
The crowd should lean heavily on France's attackers. Mbappé is projected at 42% ownership, Olise at 40% and Doué at 37%. Cherki checks in at 36% and Francesco Pio Esposito at 35%, so there is little ownership separation among the top plays.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,600 of the $50,000 cap: CPT Michael Olise at $16,800, with Doué ($10,400), Mbappé ($11,600), Donnarumma ($4,200), Bastoni ($3,000) and Frattesi ($3,600) in the FLEX spots. Captaining Olise leans on that 38.2 ceiling. Lineups lock Thu 11/12 at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Follow @numeric_dfs on X.