This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
For detailed odds and stats, check out the Fantasy Champions League: Tuesday-Wednesday Cheat Sheet.
MATCHES (EST)
2:45 p.m: Napoli v. Real Madrid
2:45 p.m: Arsenal v. Bayern Munich
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPER
Sven Ulreich, MUN at ARS ($5,800): With Manuel Neuer ($7,600) potentially missing out, Ulreich could be a huge salary saver for a team that's still favored. Arsenal should be expected to attack as much as possible, but it seems more likely that the defense should be able to keep the Gunners' attack at bay, giving Ulreich a few opportunities for saves without allowing too many (if any) goals.
DEFENDER
Faouzi Ghoulam, NAP v. RMD ($6,400): Ghoulam has a solid foundation for fantasy points because he takes corners, which gives him opportunities to create chances. In fact, he's created 11 in his past five Serie A matches, including six in the past two, a solid return for a defender. He's also effective in accumulating defensive stats, as he's had eight combined tackles, interceptions and clearances in each of the past two league games. With Napoli needing to make up a two-goal deficit, Ghoulam should have plenty of opportunities to move up.
Pepe, RMD at NAP ($5,800):Pepe represents a cheap(ish) clearance play, as Napoli are expected to attack heavily to try and make up a two-goal deficit, which should put him in good positions to pick up defensive stats.
Kieran Gibbs, ARS v. MUN ($5,300): Despite struggling to get playing time ahead of Nacho Monreal ($5,800) during Premier League play, Gibbs has been a steady starter at left-back during UCL action. He's been a fairly solid producer, scoring over 19 fantasy points in two of his last three UCL matches. With Arsenal needing to make up a four-goal deficit, Gibbs could be tasked with moving up in the attack, though Bayern's ability to move forward still leaves plenty of defensive stats to be had. Teammate Laurent Koscielny is a more expensive option at $6,500, though he's arguably the best player on the slate at racking up clearances.
MIDFIELDER
Thiago Alcantara, MUN at ARS ($9,000): Thiago showed his incredible upside in Bayern's dominating 5-1 victory in the first leg, scoring 64.5 fantasy points on the back of two goals and an assist. While it's unlikely he reaches that ceiling given that Bayern don't have to attack too much thanks to their aggregate lead, he actually has a very solid floor thanks to his chances created (nine in his last four Bundesliga matches), tackles (10 over that span) and interceptions (15).
Dries Mertens, NAP v. RMD ($7,200): Mertens struggled in the first leg, finishing with just 12 fantasy points thanks to zero chances created and just one shot on goal, but he's been in incredible form during Serie A play, scoring six goals on 26 shots (15 on goal) while creating eight chances and picking up two assists in his last five starts, including two goals on five shots (three on goal) at Roma on Saturday. The Real Madrid defense hasn't been great over the past few games, and Napoli come in having to make up a two-goal aggregate deficit, which means they'll be out to score.
Casemiro, RMD at NAP ($7,700): One player in charge of slowing down that Napoli attack will be Casemiro, who is likely to be overly owned because of his ridiculous goal during the first leg. However, he makes his money on defensive stats, as he's finished with multiple interceptions and tackles in five of his last six league starts, and he's usually good for a few clearances and blocked shots as well. Given the expectation that Napoli will be attacking as much as possible to make up the aggregate deficit, Casemiro should be plenty busy.
FORWARD
Lorenzo Insigne, NAP v. RMD ($7,400): Insigne performed exceptionally well in the first leg, finishing with an excellent long-range goal as well as three tackles and three chances created. He's been playing well in Serie A as well, putting multiple shots on goal or creating multiple chances in six consecutive games (two goals, two assists, 10 shots on goal, 10 chances created and seven tackles won over that span). Napoli need to come out firing, and Insigne will join Mertens in the attempted comeback.
Thomas Muller, MUN at ARS ($9,200): Muller has had a disastrous season in the goal department, scoring just once in Bundesliga play after netting 20 times last term. In fact, he didn't even start the first leg against Arsenal due to his poor play, but he's turning it around with three assists on seven chances created in the three matches since the win over Arsenal. Robert Lewandowski has the highest goal-scoring odds on the slate, but at $11,000 the Polish striker may need to score twice to pay off the high salary since he doesn't fill the stat sheet outside of shots on goal and goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo, RMD at NAP ($13,000): Yeah, we can't forget about this guy. Ronaldo was held out of last weekend's La Liga match, but he's fully expected to start up front with Karim Benzema ($11,400) and Gareth Bale ($10,500). Benzema is coming off his best game of the season, bagging two goals and setting up another in just 65 minutes against Eibar, a match that also didn't include Bale due to a red card ban. However, Ronaldo has been red hot of late, scoring four goals on 26 shots (five on goal) in his last three games. Despite playing on the road, no player has higher upside, even if Lewandowski has better goal-scoring odds.
