This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Wednesday's six-game slate is one of the more difficult ones we've had this season, especially for cash games. Bayern Munich are the biggest favorite and have a 2.6 implied goal total away to Viktoria Plzen, but Leroy Sane ($10,900) and Sadio Mane ($10,100) are too expensive and Kingsley Coman ($9,000) hasn't started a match in more than a month. And none of them will take set pieces, either, assuming that Joshua Kimmich returns to the starting lineup.
Liverpool have the next-highest total (2.31) away to Rangers where they'll be missing Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz through injury. Barcelona and Tottenham have totals hovering around two for their respective home matches against Inter and Frankfurt. Remember that all these games are rematches from last week. Robert Lewandowski ($10,200) has the top goalscoring odds at -170, but he's too expensive to consider in cash games for those odds.
MATCHES (ET)
- 3:00 pm: Barcelona vs. Inter Milan
- 3:00 pm: Bayer Leverkusen vs. FC Porto
- 3:00 pm: FC Viktoria Plzen vs. Bayern Munich
- 3:00 pm: Rangers FC vs. Liverpool
- 3:00 pm: Sporting CP vs. Marseille
- 3:00 pm: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday UCL Cheat Sheet
FORWARDS
Ousmane Dembele, BAR vs. INT ($9,600): Rostering Dembele in cash games is one of the easier decisions on this slate. He was rested over the weekend and his salary dropped for a matchup against Inter in which Barca should control possession and create most of the chances. He sent in a whopping 24 crosses against them a week ago as Barca chased the game.
GPP options in this range include Mohamed Salah ($9,300) and Harry Kane ($8,400), who have the second- and third-highest goalscoring odds. The salary on Kane makes him pretty appealing, as you wouldn't have been surprised to see him priced near $10,000 in this spot. His ceiling is just as high as any of the forwards above him.
Son Heung-Min, TOT vs. SGE ($8,100): A lot of people are down on Son at the moment and that's understandable. He's lost his monopoly of set pieces and outside of his hat trick off the bench against Leicester, he actually has yet to score in 11 starts across all competitions. His salary has fallen considerably, though, and Spurs have a favorable matchup at home. I considered highlighting Raphinha ($8,000) instead, but he's played fewer than 65 minutes in five of his seven starts this season which seems like a significant sample at this point. Darwin Nunez ($7,800) might be a better option than both of them, even for cash games. He's expected to start on the left in place of Diaz and he's coming off 15 floor points against Rangers last week.
The decision at the second forward spot is part of what makes this slate so tough. You could pay down for someone like Callum Hudson-Odoi ($5,600), but what are you going to use that extra salary for? Is it worth it to spend up at both defender spots and goalkeeper? Or would you rather have a forward with some upside? Some of the players in the $8,000 range seem too cheap. Cheaper tournament options include Patrik Schick ($6,100). He's in the midst of a cold run of form, but he's too talented not to get back amongst the goals sooner rather than later and Leverkusen have a decent matchup at home against Porto. New manager Xabi Alonso already has the future looking brighter. I always like Moussa Diaby ($6,900) as a less popular GPP option. At times, he looks like one of the best wingers in the world and he's coming off a goal and two assists over the weekend.
MIDFIELDERS
Joshua Kimmich, BAY at PLZ ($8,800): Kimmich is expected to be back in the starting lineup after recovering from COVID and playing 45 minutes off the bench over the weekend. He's played the full 90 minutes in all but one of his 10 starts this season, so I wouldn't worry about that for cash games, where I think it makes sense to roster him and move on as Bayern are the biggest favorite and have the highest implied total. I'll be avoiding him in GPPs as his salary is too high relative to the forwards I mentioned above. Keep in mind that I also avoided Toni Kroos on Tuesday and he finished as the highest scoring player on the slate.
If you're spending down at second forward, you'll have salary to consider Kerem Demirbay ($7,100), Ivan Perisic ($6,800) or Francisco Trincao ($6,300) at the second midfield spot. All of them take set pieces, but none really stand out in terms of point-per-dollar value. I usually only roster Demirbay when he plays an attacking role and he's been more defensive lately and it will be interesting to see how he plays in Xabi Alonso's new system. It's hard to ever be excited about Perisic, but he's been taking more corners than Son recently. Trincao's role on sets depends on the starting lineup, but he has plenty of goal/assist upside outside of that. He's where I'd go in GPPs and if Pedro Porro doesn't start, he's fine in cash games, too.
Otavio, POR at LEV ($4,900): Otavio took corners, scored a goal and played 89 minutes over the weekend. Porto are underdogs away to Leverkusen, but that's not a matchup to avoid and it's nice to see Otavio under $5,000. He isn't a lock by any means, but I highlighted him here because people will love James Milner ($4,400) in this spot. I'm not saying he's a bad play and I might even roster him in cash games if he starts at right-back because he's likely to take some corners in place of Alexander-Arnold. However, Milner has played longer than 63 minutes just once this season and I'd be worried about Joe Gomez coming on for him at some point. If Milner starts in midfield, maybe he has more upside for GPPs, but he'd be almost certain to come off early. If you can't tell, I've never rostered Milner this season, but again, I understand the logic for cash games and there isn't any glaring opportunity cost.
DEFENDERS
Kostas Tsimikas, LIV at RAN ($7,000): With Alexander-Arnold out, Tsimikas is clearly the top defender on the slate. He's put up 16 and 20 floor points in his two Champions League starts and will take the majority of corner kicks with Alexander out. Something to consider for tournaments: it's been reported that Andrew Robertson will be back on the bench Wednesday after four games out and you'd have to imagine he comes on at some point. Will it be at 60 minutes or 80 minutes? What if it's at halftime? Tsimikas will be the most popular defender and if Robertson is on the bench, his range of outcomes is much wider than people think.
James Tavernier, RAN vs. LIV ($4,100): The problem is that there just aren't many decent options besides Tsimikas. It's obviously a tough matchup for Tavernier, but I'm fine with rostering him at home against a banged up Liverpool team for that salary. He takes set pieces and penalties, and Liverpool have been conceding goals this season. Josip Stanisic ($4,000) is expected to get his first start at left-back for Bayern. It's possible that he plays 90 minutes with all the injuries they have at the back. Mitchell Bakker ($3,500) played on the left wing for Leverkusen over the weekend and while he doesn't have much of a floor, he has more assist upside than anyone else in that range.
GOALKEEPERS
Sven Ulreich, BAY at PLZ ($5,900): Bayern's clean sheet odds are about nine percent higher than any other team on the slate so rostering him makes sense, but I'm more likely to pay down at keeper as there is a lot to spend up for at the other positions.
Marian Tvrdon, PLZ vs. BAY ($3,600): Tvrdon made eight saves last week against Bayern and is likely to be peppered with shots again. He conceded five goals and still scored six fantasy points, which is acceptable for $3,600. Any of the keepers priced below $4,000 are fine options.
