DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Champions League Targets

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Champions League Targets

This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.

HomeWin
Chances
Clean Sheet
Chances
AwayWin
Chances
Clean Sheet
Chances
Draw
Chances
Atletico Madrid 0.73 0.61 PSV Eindhoven 0.09 0.14 0.19
Manchester City 0.61 0.39 Dynamo Kiyv 0.16 0.15 0.22
Barcelona 0.77 0.46 Arsenal 0.09 0.08 0.14
Bayern Munich 0.67 0.46 Juventus 0.12 0.14 0.21

With two games taking place Wednesday, there will be some guesswork in projecting those lineups and you should do your best to save your utility spots for players in those games.

Goalkeepers:

Jan Oblak, ATL v. PSV ($3,900): Heavy favorite, at home, in a must-win game. Any result other than a win will mean either a penalty shootout (0-0 draw) or PSV goes through. Oblak is $700 cheaper than Manuel Neuer, $600 less than Joe Hart and $500 less than Marc-Andre ter Stegen, none of whom need to win their games in order to go through (despite a draw, those two away goals give Bayern quite a cushion).

Defenders:

Filipe Luis, ATL v. PSV ($3,600): In his last six games (La Liga and UCL), Luis has averaged 14.8 fantasy points and has two assists while reaching double-digit fantasy points in each. He'll be asked to get forward in this game because Atletico needs goals.

Alex Sandro, JUV at BAY ($2,700): I don't know if Sandro ends up with the start, as it greatly depends on the formation Juve uses. He often gets the start on the wing when they play a three-man backline, a position that saw him take three shots, four crosses, draw three fouls and intercept four passes, totaling 17 fantasy points. In the group stages he put up 22 fantasy points against Manchester City.

Jetro Willems, PSV at ATL ($3,000): Willems at his best is a crossing machine, sending in double-digit crosses. At his worst, he won't start. He started the first leg and ended up with 11 fantasy points. The same would be welcome, and he could very well end up with quite a bit more.

Other defenders: Juanfran, ATL v. PSV ($4,000); Patrice Evra, JUV at BAY ($3,000); Santiago Arias, PSV at ATL ($2,800); Stephan Lichtsteiner, JUV at BAY ($3,500); Joshua Brenet, PSV at ATL ($2,600); Giorgio Chiellini, JUV at BAY ($2,900); Jeffrey Bruma, PSV at ATL ($3,000)

Midfielders:

Yannick Carrasco, ATL v. PSV ($3,800): Carrasco was a late scratch from the first leg, but his presence in Atletico's last two domestic matches indicates he stands a strong chance on featuring. In his last 100 minutes of action he has a goal, four crosses and 24 total fantasy points.

Koke, ATL v. PSV ($5,800): Koke presiding over corners gives him a great floor, and in a matchup where his side needs at least a goal, I'd expect him to send quite a few in. He has assists in each of his last two games domestically.

Arda Turan, FCB v. ARS ($3,100): Turan, who missed the first leg due to a suspension, comes with a pretty low floor, but he also has two goals and an assist in his last three appearances. Considering he could be lower owned, Turan could be a worthwhile look in GPPs.

Other midfielders: Jesus Navas, MCI v. DYK ($4,900); Arjen Robben, BAY v. JUV ($7,200); Juan Cuadrado, JUV at BAY ($4,700); Thiago Alcantara, BAY v. JUV ($4,100); David Silva, MCI v. DYK ($6,000); Mario Gotze, BAY v. JUV ($6,500); Paul Pogba, JUV at BAY ($5,200); Arturo Vidal, BAY v. JUV ($5,000)

Forwards:

Lionel Messi, ARS at FCB ($10,200): Messi's last five game logs read 33, 21, 46, 34 and 34 fantasy points, including nine goals; that's nearly two goals per match. There's an argument for fading Messi, but I'll let you contemplate that for yourself.

Andriy Yarmolenko, DYK at MCI ($5,400):Dynamo Kyiv find themselves in a huge hole after conceding three goals at home in the first leg, though Yarmolenko had seven crosses and 11 fantasy points in that match. In his four starts in the group stage he averaged nearly 20 fantasy points per match, including an impressive 10 crosses against Chelsea. Yarmolenko comes with a spectacular floor for a forward, and should thusly be a fixture in cash game lineups.

Paulo Dybala, JUV at BAY ($5,300): Pretty much everything I commended Yarmolenko for applies here. Dybala is on corner duty, leading to a healthy cross count, but he is probably even better in front of goal where he leads Italy's top squad with 14 goals in league play (eight more than his nearest teammate, Mario Mandzukic). In Dybala and Yarmolenko also comes the ideology behind the plausible Messi fade. You are buying a very healthy floor with these two forwards.

Editor's note: after publication of this article, Dybala was ruled out with a calf injury, while Mandzukic is questionable with a groin ailment.

Antoine Griezmann, ATL v. PSV ($7,400): After disappointing in the first leg against PSV, Griezmann has bagged a goal in every match since (including the decider in a critical match against rivals Real Madrid). I've stated quite a few times throughout the article that Atletico need a goal to advance, and Griezmann is the most likely player to provide it.

Other forwards: Thomas Muller, BAY v. JUV ($7,700); Douglas Costa, BAY v. JUV ($7,300); Sergio Aguero, MCI v. DYK ($8,900); Neymar, FCB v. ARS ($9,200); Alexis Sanchez, ARS at FCB ($8,000); Luis Suarez, FCB v. ARS ($9,400); Danny Welbeck, ARS at FCB ($5,200); Robert Lewandowski, BAY v. JUV ($8,200);

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Alex Spalding plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: ajump08, DraftKings: ajump08.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Spalding
Alex splits his expertise between College Basketball, NBA, NFL, MLB, and Saturday morning BPL. You'll find him under the username ajump08 on DraftKings and FanDuel.
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