DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday UCL Picks

MATCHES (EST)

• 3:00 pm: Bayern Munich vs. Lokomotiv Moscow
• 3:00 pm: Inter Milan vs. FC Shakhtar Donetsk
• 3:00 pm: Manchester City vs. Marseille
• 3:00 pm: Olympiacos vs. FC Porto
• 3:00 pm: Real Madrid vs. Mönchengladbach
• 3:00 pm: Red Bull Salzburg vs. Atlético Madrid

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday UCL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Kostas Fortounis, OLY v. POR ($7,700): Olympiacos cannot qualify for the round of 16, but they can solidify a spot in the Europa League if they can get a better result against Porto than Marseille against Manchester City. Given that Marseille are the second-biggest underdog on the slate, there is plenty of reason to think that Olympiacos will continue playing European football if they can win Wednesday. This match has the lowest implied goal total on the slate, but that doesn't mean it'll be void of fantasy points. Fortounis is expected to continue taking almost all of Olympiacos' set pieces in place of the injured Mathieu Valbuena (hamstring), and given that Porto have second place locked up without a possibility of winning the group, they could run out a bunch of backups and youth players. The upside isn't that high with Fortounis, but he has one the best floors among forwards, so he'll surely be more popular in cash games than GPPs.

Douglas Costa, BAY v. LKM ($6,900): Bayern Munich have already clinched the top spot in Group A, and while Lokomotiv Moscow still have a chance to qualify for the Europa League, it'll take beating the German giants. Even though there is heavy rotation expected, Bayern Munich are the biggest favorite on the slate with the highest implied goal total, and there is a path for Costa to take a majority of set pieces. There could be a concern that Costa won't play the full 90 minutes, but Bayern could wrap up enough points before he comes off that it'll still be worth it. Similarly to Fortounis, he makes more sense in cash games than GPPs, particularly because he really doesn't shoot much, but the Bayern lineup could give us some cheaper attackers who have better goal odds.

Lautaro Martinez, INT v. SHK ($8,100): Inter Milan will go through if they win and the Real Madrid v. Borussia Monchengladbach match isn't a draw, so there will be plenty of pressure on Martinez and Romelu Lukaku ($11,400) to score. Lukaku has been excellent recently, with two goals on five shots (four on target) and four chances created in his last two games, and while he didn't score in the reverse fixture (a scoreless draw), he still managed 8.2 fantasy points. His salary is really high for cash games, particularly because he doesn't usually have a great floor, but there will be people who play him because he could have the highest anytime goal scorer odds among starters. Meanwhile, Martinez is $3,300 less and could have the second-highest anytime goal scorer odds among starters (only Robert Lewandowski is ahead of them), and while he hasn't been as clinical as Lukaku, he still has three goals on 19 shots and two assists on nine chances created in his last five starts, and he'll be playing up front with Lukaku for the team with the second-highest implied goal total on the slate.

MIDFIELDERS

Toni Kroos, RMA v. MGB ($7,800): Kroos takes nearly all set pieces for the fourth-biggest favorite on the slate, and there's every reason to think Real Madrid will be attacking as much as possible because they will clinch a spot in the round of 16 if they win. It's possible they go through with a draw and an Inter win over Shakhtar, but with the games being played simultaneously, they will surely be going for the three points. It's worth pointing out that Gladbach will go through with a draw or an Inter/Shakhtar draw, but they play open enough that there could be goals on both sides of this one.

Dominik Szoboszlai, RBS v. ATL ($9,000): Salzburg have to win to go through; a draw or loss sends them to the Europa League, and they could actually be knocked out completely if they lose and Lokomotiv Moscow defeat Bayern Munich. Either way, Szoboszlai takes all of their set pieces, which is great for a team that likes to play very open and attack as much as possible. Atletico Madrid will finish third if they lose, so they'll be playing for a win too (or at least a draw), which could make this a fun back and forth match even though Atletico Madrid don't traditionally play as a heavy attacking side. Szoboszlai's matchup isn't ideal, but the perfect situation would be Atletico Madrid going up early because Salzburg would then push as much as possible for an equalizer and eventual go-ahead goal.

Marcelo Brozovic, INT v. SHK ($5,800): Whoever seems likely to take set pieces for Inter Milan is going to be popular because they aren't that expensive considering they have the second-highest implied goal total on the slate. Brozovic picked up an assist off a corner in last week's match against Borussia Monchengladbach, and he had another assist this past weekend against Bologna in Serie A action. Brozovic only took two of seven corners this past weekend, but Alexis Sanchez ($8,200, midfielder/forward) took the other five and isn't expected to start Wednesday. Brozovic's upside is mostly assist dependent, and his floor is more from defensive stats, but the set pieces and cheaper price could make him popular, at least in cash games.

DEFENDERS

Chris Richards, BAY v. LKM ($3,800): The Bayern rotation could allow Richards to get another start at left-back like he did against Salzburg on Nov. 25. He finished that one with a respectable 5.2 fantasy points, and given Bayern are overwhelming favorites at home, Richards may be able to move up more in the attack. It's worth noting that Alphonso Davies ($5,200) could also return from injury to start on the left side, which means you'll have to go to David Alaba ($3,500) as the cheap Bayern defender if he lines up as a midfielder.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, MCI v. MAR ($4,400): Zinchenko could benefit from Manchester City rotation in a match that means nothing to them, and he's a fine attacking fullback who had 11 crosses against Porto just last week. With many questions about who will start in the attack for Manchester City, and the potential that none play 90 minutes, getting a defender who could play the whole match for the third-biggest favorite on the slate will be a benefit.

Mykola Matviyenko, SHK at INT ($3,600): We could get some cheap fullbacks from some of the teams that have nothing to play for, so don't rule out punting on someone who happens to be playing out wide. However, Matviyenko is a decent price for a player who has shown a solid floor throughout the group stage. One issue is that a lot of his points come from defensive stats, so his upside is limited, but with Inter likely attacking a bunch, the opportunities for lots of defensive work will be there.

GOALKEEPER

Jan Oblak, ATL v. RBS ($4,800): Atletico Madrid just need a draw to advance but are facing a high-flying team that has to win in order to book their spot in the round of 16. Given that, Oblak could have huge save potential, enough so that a win and/or clean sheet might not even matter. He's obviously not the cheapest goalkeeper, and there could be plenty of people who pay down for Guilherme ($3,600) against a heavily rotated Bayern side even though they have the highest implied goal total on the slate. In fact, Guilherme could be one of the most popular in cash games because the Bayern attackers don't seem likely to be very popular, which means there isn't a negative correlation in your lineup.