DraftKings DFS Soccer: Tuesday UCL Picks

Tuesday's Champions League slate features PSG as an overwhelming favorite at home hosting Maccabi Haifa with a massive 2.76 implied goal total. They are priced too low in comparison to the other options and will be very popular in cash games and tournaments. Elsewhere, Manchester City are the next biggest favorite, but the away match at Borussia Dortmund isn't particularly favorable. Two other games that may be interesting for tournaments have an implied goal total over three. The prices are a bit more favorable with Celtic favored at home to Shaktar, while Real Madrid travel to RB Leipzig in what is essentially a toss-up.

MATCHES (ET)

• 3:00 pm: Benfica vs. Juventus
• 3:00 pm: Borussia Dortmund vs. Manchester City
• 3:00 pm: Celtic vs. FC Shakhtar Donetsk
• 3:00 pm: Dinamo Zagreb vs. AC Milan
• 3:00 pm: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Maccabi Haifa
• 3:00 pm: RB Leipzig vs. Real Madrid

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Neymar (PSG vs. MHA, $10,500): Neymar is simply too cheap for his goalscoring odds and role on set pieces for PSG. With the best matchup on the slate, he is the first player in my cash-game lineup and I think things become more interesting at the second forward spot. You don't have to roster Neymar in your tournament lineups, but I think it makes sense to roster at least one PSG forward in GPPs.

Kylian Mbappe (PSG vs. MHA, $10,300): In cash, I think the move is to pay up for two PSG players at forward and I prefer to pair Neymar with Mbappe, though Lionel Messi ($11,500) is also an option here. Messi might have a safer floor than Mbappe, but he is still a favorite to score at least one goal in this match and I think you can make use of the $1,200 in savings in other spots in your lineup.

If the cash-game strategy is to pay up for PSG players, then you'll want to consider ways to pivot from this in tournaments. One option is to play a different high-priced forward, but there aren't too many options that stand out. Manchester City have the next highest implied goal total and Erling Haaland ($10,900) can score a hat trick in any match. You could target forwards from Real Madrid or RB Leipzig, but options like Christopher Nkunku ($8,200) and Vinicius Junior ($9,800) feel too expensive in comparison to the PSG forwards. That will certainly keep their rostership down, at least. Dusan Vlahovic ($7,500) and Rafa Silva ($7,100) are both very talented, but it's tough to target the Benfica-Juventus match with the lowest implied total on the slate.

Another strategy in tournaments is to save some salary at second forward. In the mid-range, you could look to the Celtic-Shaktar matchup for some goals. Kyogo Furuhashi ($6,400) sticks out for his anytime goalscoring odds of +120,and Shaktar's Oleksandr Zubkov ($5,800) has scored a goal in his past two Champions League matches. If you are willing to pay all the way down, Dean David ($3,500) on Maccabi Haifa is one option. Shakhtar may start a low-oriced forward, as well. In that case, Lassina Traore ($3,900) and Danylo Sikan ($3,600) are +240 and +260 to score a goal, respectively.

MIDFIELDERS

It feels strange not highlighting Kevin De Bruyne ($9,300) in the midfield, but if you pay up twice at forward and try to include him, you have to sacrifice too much in your other lineup spots. I think it makes sense in tournaments to play De Bruyne if you pay down at one forward spot. In cash games, I prefer to roster two of the mid-ranged options priced around $6,000.

Toni Kroos (RMA at RBL, $6,500): Luka Modric didn't travel with Madrid to Leipzig, so Kroos is less likely to be subbed and will have a monopoly of set pieces. The matchup against Leipzig isn't the best, so I will be looking to play other options in tournaments. Filip Kostic ($6,600) and Juan Cuadrado ($6,100) should split corners for Juventus and are good floor options despite being away to Benfica. Mykhailo Mudryk ($6,200) will probably take most of the set pieces for Shakhtar and that's already been a matchup highlighted that has a possibility to feature plenty of goals.

Vitinha (PSG vs. MHA, $3,300): Depending on how you approach the defender position, you may need to play a cheap option in your second midfield or utility position. In the podcast breakdown of this slate, (apparent The Bachelor fan) Luis Pacheco said you have to "give your rose to someone" in this range and I'm most likely to give my rose to Vitinha, as he makes sense starting for massive favorite PSG. You could also look to Eduardo Camavinga ($3,200) with Modric out or Weston McKennie ($3,400) in case he starts as a right midfielder.

DEFENDERS

Theo Hernandez (ACM at ZAG, $6,100): You'll have to decide if you want to spend up at one of the defender spots in cash games at the expense of playing two of the mid-priced midfielders above. If I go that route, I think Hernandez is the best option. He might have a share of set pieces for a favored AC Milan side traveling to Zagreb and often gets forward in attack. Joao Cancelo ($5,900) is very favorably priced and I think is an excellent tournament option if you want access to the Manchester City attack.

Juan Bernat (PSG vs. MHA, $3,400): Bernat has been starting at full-back and is too cheap for his role in their matchup against Maccabi Haifa. Pierre Kalulu ($3,000) has been starting at right-back for Milan lately and is an option if you need to save salary, but he doesn't contribute too much with shots or crosses. Josip Juranovic ($4,300) is another option and he is Celtic's primary penalty taker, as well.

GOALKEEPERS

Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG vs. MHA, $5,900): The odds have PSG at 87 percent to win and 50 percent to keep a clean sheet, which are each significantly higher than the other goalkeeper options. I think he'll also face plenty of shots from a scrappy Maccabi Haifa side who are averaging 13.5 shots per game with 3.75 of those on target. Donnarumma is probably a must in cash games if you pay down at the second forward spot.

Dominik Livakovic (ZAG vs. ACM, $4,100): Livakovic is my preferred spend-down option at goalkeeper. Dinamo Zagreb kept a clean sheet against Chelsea at home earlier in the group stage and he is certainly safer than Gregor Kobel ($4,000) or Josh Cohen ($3,600). As usual, just make sure your goalkeeper isn't negatively correlated with the rest of your lineup.