DFS Soccer: DraftKings Showdown Preview for Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid

DFS Soccer: DraftKings Showdown Preview for Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid

This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.

Bayern Munich are a 42-percent home favorite with an implied goal total just above 1.60. Real Madrid sit with a 1.40 implied goal total and roughly 30-percent chance to win, according to the odds.

3:00 pm: Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Showdown DFS Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Cheat Sheet

BAYERN MUNICH TEAM PREVIEW

Bayern have a lot of pace in their attack and operate in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It will be interesting to see how the pace and skill of Sane and Musiala hold up against the industrious Real Madrid midfield. 

PlayerDK Pos.Flex SalaryNotes
Manuel NeuerGK$6,000 
Alphonso DaviesD$5,800A great young player but has shown a poor fantasy floor under Thomas Tuchel's management.
Eric DierD$3,800I'm not particularly interested in any of the Bayern CBs outside of 1-0 constructions where Bayern win.
Kim Min-JaeD$3,800 
Joshua KimmichM$9,400Kimmich will take right-sided corners at the very least. He shares FKs with Guerreiro.
Aleksandar PavlovicM$4,000Has some set pieces in his gamelogs but do not expect him to take any.
Leon GoretzkaM$4,800Averaging six floor points in his past 10 starts. Seems like a good value punt in all formats.
Raphael GuerreiroD$6,800Guerreiro has taken left-sided corners while on the pitch. Out of position (in a good way) as a winger. Played 81' over the weekend and often a sub risk. 
Jamal Musiala

Bayern Munich are a 42-percent home favorite with an implied goal total just above 1.60. Real Madrid sit with a 1.40 implied goal total and roughly 30-percent chance to win, according to the odds.

3:00 pm: Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Showdown DFS Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Cheat Sheet

BAYERN MUNICH TEAM PREVIEW

Bayern have a lot of pace in their attack and operate in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It will be interesting to see how the pace and skill of Sane and Musiala hold up against the industrious Real Madrid midfield. 

PlayerDK Pos.Flex SalaryNotes
Manuel NeuerGK$6,000 
Alphonso DaviesD$5,800A great young player but has shown a poor fantasy floor under Thomas Tuchel's management.
Eric DierD$3,800I'm not particularly interested in any of the Bayern CBs outside of 1-0 constructions where Bayern win.
Kim Min-JaeD$3,800 
Joshua KimmichM$9,400Kimmich will take right-sided corners at the very least. He shares FKs with Guerreiro.
Aleksandar PavlovicM$4,000Has some set pieces in his gamelogs but do not expect him to take any.
Leon GoretzkaM$4,800Averaging six floor points in his past 10 starts. Seems like a good value punt in all formats.
Raphael GuerreiroD$6,800Guerreiro has taken left-sided corners while on the pitch. Out of position (in a good way) as a winger. Played 81' over the weekend and often a sub risk. 
Jamal MusialaF$9,000Apparently dealing with tendon pain. Normally an 80-plus minute player when fully fit.
Leroy SaneM/F$7,000Practiced but dealing with a groin injury. Sub risk? Hasn't played since Arsenal second leg.
Harry KaneF$10,600Primary penalty taker. Can get a shot-based floor and Bayern will be aggressive. 

Bayern have an extensive injury list and I think substitutions are likely for many of their attacking players. Options like Serge Gnabry ($8,200), Sane and Musiala are dealing with minor injuries. Thomas Muller ($8,000) started and played 90 minutes over the weekend. Konrad Laimer ($3,600) faces a late fitness check, as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Bayern's announced lineup looks different from the projected ones, so you may need to adjust. 

From a DFS point of view, Kimmich's outlook suffers if Guerreiro starts since he is likely to only be on a share of set pieces. At 9,400 and as a right-back who is not eligible for clean-sheet bonuses, if you captain him you really want to see him take most if not all of the set pieces. Goretzka looks like a solid punt at his price. He can get forward in the attack and has a passable floor.

REAL MADRID TEAM PREVIEW

Real Madrid operate in a 4-4-2 (or 4-3-1-2) with a midfield diamond of Kroos, Camavinga and Valverde playing behind Bellingham. Bellingham has finally come back to earth after an outrageously good start to his Real Madrid tenure. He has averaged nine floor points in his last 10 matches in La Liga and looks like a good play at this price.

PlayerDK Pos.Flex SalaryNotes
Andriy LuninGK$6,000Likely to face shots on the road at Bayern.
Ferland MendyD$3,000At the stone-min price but this is not a player who accrues offensive stats. Can get there on a ceiling of tackles won and interceptions.
Aurelien TchouameniM$3,400Tchouameni has no floor in this spot but is capable of spectacular long-range goals. 
Antonio RudigerD$3,400I like Real Madrid punts at 4.2k and below more than Bayern punts. Rudiger is a set-piece target.
Lucas VazquezD$6,600Carvajal is suspended. Vazquez had an outrageously good game in El Clasico recently.
Toni KroosM$5,200Rested over the weekend and should take set pieces and play at least 70 minutes. He'll be a staple in all formats at this price.
Eduardo CamavingaM$4,200He has a more defensive role but is more than capable of contributing a goal.
Federico ValverdeM$5,000It's the first leg and Real Madrid are away. Valverde is immensely talented but I expect a more conservative role.
Jude BellinghamM$8,600I always want exposure to someone of Bellingham's talent and skill set in GPPs.
Vinicius JuniorM/F$10,800Expensive but probably the best play on the slate.
RodrygoM/F$9,600Not a great floor but a low-rostered GPP captain

Real Madrid are on the road and Bayern have a lot of pace in their attack. I have a lot of respect for Camavinga and Valverde and think they can handle Bayern's wingers, but I also think that hurts some of their fantasy floor and upside. Overall, I think Real Madrid will likely be happy to play for a 0-0 or 1-1 result and attempt to win the tie at home at the Bernabeu. 

With the league title already in hand, Real Madrid played a heavily-rotated side over the weekend. Their best attacking options Vinicius, Rodrygo and Bellingham should all be set for significant minutes. Kroos will take most of the set pieces in this lineup and he was also rested over the weekend, so I'm expecting at least 70 minutes at the very least.

CASH-GAME STRATEGY

If Guerreiro doesn't start, Kimmich looks like a fine captain in cash games since he'll play 90 minutes, crosses from open play and will take most of the set pieces (at least before Guerreiro is subbed on). A home majority set-piece taker is always a good option for your captain on DraftKings. If Guerreiro does start, he is a great play at $6,800 with a split of set pieces.

Kroos is just so cheap and captaining him instead of Kimmich saves you around $2,000 in salary. You can essentially play anyone you want if you captain Kroos and that is extremely tempting, but I am not sure you need to do that. 

Vinicius has an elite open-game floor and he is a priority in my flex. From there, things are a little bit tricky. Kane has to be a consideration in cash games since he has even money goalscoring odds. That's just how it goes in showdown sometimes. 

Bellingham also seems like a strong option. Even though Madrid are the away team, I feel much better about their attacker's minutes than Bayern's due to their injuries. That said, Sane's $7,000 price tag is very affordable and any sub risk is compensated by a cheaper-than-usual price.

You can punt all the way down to Mendy, but I'm not sure you will need all of the salary. Goretzka looks like a good punt since he can get in good attacking positions and Bayern will want to be aggressive as the home side.

TOURNAMENT STRATEGY

Due to injuries and general sentiment around Bayern Munich, I think their attackers have a chance to be rostered a bit lower than they should be in tournaments. I think there's a chance that even someone like Kane might go a little bit underutilized as a captain. If you are willing to take risks on options like Sane, who are dealing with injuries, as a captain or flex, I think you'll be compensated for the risk with lower rostership. Sane and Musiala both usually play most of the minutes when they start, so it very well could be that the injury impact or sub risk is overblown.

I like a lot of Real Madrid players in this Showdown so I plan to play a lot of 1-0 lineups in their favor. It's no secret I like captaining goalkeepers and I feel like Lunin is going to face a lot of shots. The save upside makes me feel like he could keep up with Vinicius captains even if he scores and hits a good floor. Even if Madrid takes on a more cautious approach to the first leg, I'm pretty certain Neuer is going to have to make a handful of saves, as well.

Rodrygo is awkwardly more expensive than Bellingham and on paper Vinicius is a better play. I think this makes Rodrygo something of a leverage option in larger field GPPs. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jack Burkart
Jack covers fantasy soccer for RotoWire and has twice won the FSWA's Soccer Writer of the Year award (2022 & '23). He is a Minnesota Loons fan and long-suffering Tottenham Hotspur supporter.
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