DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Picks

MATCHES (EDT)

• 3:00 pm: Galatasaray vs. Paris Saint-Germain
• 3:00 pm: Juventus vs. Bayer Leverkusen
• 3:00 pm: Lokomotiv Moscow vs. Atlético Madrid
• 3:00 pm: Manchester City vs. Dinamo Zagreb
• 3:00 pm: Red Star Belgrade vs. Olympiacos
• 3:00 pm: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Bayern Munich

For detailed stats and odds, check out the DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Cheat Sheet.

FORWARDS

Riyad Mahrez, MCI v. ZAG ($9,600): Manchester City are big favorites at home to Dinamo Zagreb, who had a very good result in their opening Champions League match two weeks ago by defeating Atalanta 4-0 in Croatia, and Mahrez has been one of their most in-form players. Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne ($10,000) is questionable for the match after missing City's training session Monday, and his absence could allow Mahrez a bigger role on set pieces. That being said, Mahrez was awesome in last weekend's win over Everton even without set pieces, scoring one goal on five shots (all were on target) and creating five chances, giving him three goals on 12 shots (eight on target) and two assists on 12 chances created in his last three starts. Teammate Sergio Aguero ($10,200) has the highest anytime goal scorer odds on the slate, and Raheem Sterling ($9,900) ended his goal drought this past weekend, but Mahrez scores many more peripheral stats, making him the ideal target for cash games. Paying down for Bernardo Silva ($8,400) is also a possibility if he starts, though he's usually better off as part of a City stack than a one-off.

Cristiano Ronaldo, JUV v. LEV ($9,800): Champions League Ronaldo is always in consideration, even in somewhat tough matchups, but that's not what he has Tuesday against a Leverkusen side that's the second-biggest away underdog on the slate. After allowing six goals to Borussia Dortmund (four) and Lokomotiv Moscow (two), Leverkusen have posted back-to-back clean sheets, though traveling to Turin to face Juventus is their toughest task to date. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's Champions League campaign started off slowly, finishing with 8.3 points away to Atletico Madrid, which is the hardest match he'll face in the group stage. He's been awesome since then, scoring two goals on 16 shots (six on target) and picking up one assist on six chances created in two games, and only players from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have higher anytime goal scorer odds. Speaking of PSG, they are heavily favored away to Galatasaray, who sit a surprising sixth in the Turkish Super Lig, and they'll have a fully fit Kylian Mbappe ($10,700) in the lineup after he had one assist on two chances created while putting three of five shots on target in 30 minutes off the bench last weekend, his first appearances since August due to injury. Not to stop there, Angel Di Maria ($9,700) has been excellent as well, scoring a brace against Real Madrid in their opening Champions League match and averaging 3.53 shots, including 1.69 on target, 7.37 crosses and 2.15 shots assisted per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 play this season. Both have upside for GPPs, though Di Maria makes much more sense for cash games because he's on set pieces while Neymar remains suspended.

Tomane, CRV v. OLY ($4,300): Tomane is expected to reclaim his starting spot after being suspended for the UCL opener, and while the matchup is one that isn't likely to have many goals in it, Tomane at least provides access to an attacking player for less than $5,000. He's fairly goal dependent to make value, and this definitely seems like a slate where you want to pay up for forwards -- it is the Champions League, after all -- but if you're looking for one off-the-grid goal, that could come from Tomane, who averaged 3.3 shots per 90 minutes and scored 12 goals and assisted six others for Tondela in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season. Unfortunately, you have to pay much more if you want goal upside from the other side of this game, with Guerrero ($6,400) a tough play for the price.

MIDFIELDERS

Marko Marin, CRV v. OLY ($6,000): Marin showed last season that he can perform against strong teams, as he scored a goal against Paris Saint-Germain, picked up two assists against Liverpool and assisted another goal against Napoli. It wasn't enough to get Crvena zvezda out of an incredibly tough group, but we care about fantasy points not wins and losses. As the team's primary set-piece taker, Marin had a solid 7.6 fantasy points away to Bayern Munich in their opening UCL match this season, finishing with two shots, five crosses, one foul drawn and 30 passes, and the home match against Olympiacos should be much easier to handle, even if the Greek side is favored. If you don't want to trust Marin in this match, one that could be overlooked because of the other big teams on the slate, Daniel Podence ($6,100) was impressive against Tottenham two weeks ago, scoring one goal on four shots (three on target) while creating two chances, a performance that may go overlooked because Mathieu Valbuena ($8,600) had one goal on two shots (one on target), one assist on three chances created, three fouls drawn and four crosses. Valbuena makes for a fine play Tuesday, though his price is really high when you consider he's more expensive than any midfield-eligible player other than Sterling and Di Maria, and Olympiacos are the lowest favorite on the slate.

Philippe Coutinho, BAY at TOT ($7,100): Coutinho has taken on a bigger role of Bayern Munich's set pieces of late, and he remains a very active fantasy scorer in open play, scoring two goals on 10 shots (two on target) and assisting two others on nine chance created in his last two games, and that was preceded by a strong UCL debut for Bayern when he had six shots, including one on target, three chances created and eight crosses against Crvena zvezda. While it's usually beneficial to ignore matches with two good teams, especially during Champions League play when we have more one-sided affairs, the Tottenham v. Bayern match has the third-highest total on the slate, and Coutinho's salary is pretty affordable compared to the elite players he's usually listed with.

Dani Olmo, ZAG at MCI ($4,600): You can't pick a worse matchup, but Dani Olmo might be worth considering if you're looking for a player against the biggest favorite on the slate. Zagreb aren't likely to have much possession, but Dani Olmo doesn't need a lot of time with the ball for how he plays, as he'll generally get fantasy points by drawing fouls, taking quick shots and winnings some tackles. He has a role on set pieces, though you have to wonder how many they'll get at the Etihad. Overall, he's mostly a GPP play, but Man City can be leaky at time, especially with just one fit center-back.

DEFENDERS

Konstantinos Tsimikas, OLY at CRV ($4,500): Tsmikias has shown an ability to cross, as we saw in their opening UCL match against Tottenham when he had seven, helping him to two shots assisted, and the matchup against Crvena zvezda should be much easier, enough so that Olympiacos are favored despite playing away. Tsimikas hasn't been crossing as much during league play, sending in only seven in 161 minutes, but his salary is somewhat affordable enough to warrant consideration, even in the match with the lowest total. 

Jander, CRV v. OLY ($3,500): If you want to target the home side, Jander ($3,500) is a solid all-around fantasy-point scorer for a left-back, as we saw two weeks ago when he had 9.4 fantasy points against Bayern Munich thanks to two shots, three fouls drawn, two tackles won, three interceptions and a cross. Finding cheap defenders on this slate seems like it might be key, and while Jander's upside is pretty limited, even six points on his salary would be fine.

Kieran Trippier, ATL at LKM ($5,900): Trippier has been taking enough set pieces for Atletico Madrid, who are solid favorites despite having to travel to Moscow in the game with the lowest total, to be in consideration over Joshua Kimmich ($6,200), who is losing those opportunities to Coutinho. It's always tough fading Kimmich in cash games, but he hasn't been crossing as much and ends up being pretty assist-dependent at his price. There are a number of high-cost defenders worth considering, including the Man City and PSG guys, but it really does seem like the forwards are worth paying up for, and doing so makes it tough to also spend up at defender.

GOALKEEPER

Guilherme, LKM v. ATL ($4,000): It's worth pointing out that Lokomotiv might be the worst team in the Champions League, and they are heavy underdogs to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, but it's possible you aren't playing at lot of Atleti attackers in cash games, or even GPPs, and rostering Guilherme might not be that detrimental. Madrid have been shut out in three of their last five games, though they scored multiple goals in the other matches so I can't we can't really cherry pick. With salary savings important for those who want attackers, targeting Guilherme gives you a goalkeeper without having to risk getting destroyed by either Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain.