FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday UCL Targets

MATCHES (EDT)

• 3:00 pm: Barcelona vs. Inter Milan
• 3:00 pm: Lille vs. Chelsea
• 3:00 pm: Liverpool vs. Red Bull Salzburg
• 3:00 pm: RB Leipzig vs. Lyon
• 3:00 pm: Valencia vs. Ajax
• 3:00 pm: Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Benfica

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

FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS

Unsurprisingly, most cash lineups will turn to Barcelona and Liverpool, the two biggest favorites on the slate. You can either go all-in on one of those teams or mix them together, but I'd still leave room for the third-biggest favorite because I think Leipzig are set for at least two goals. Leipzig haven't had trouble scoring in league play, with 14 goals in six matches, while Lyon have given up two goals in each of their last two away games. Plus, in last year's group stage, five of Lyon's matches had at least three goals scored. You can either bank on Timo Werner ($19) for another brace or go with top free-kick taker Marcel Sabitzer ($13), who has had a floor above 15 fantasy points in half of his league matches. 

As for the big guns, I think Antoine Griezmann ($22) will be under utilized after doing nothing in the first group match. His home/away splits are glaring and should be taken into account, as he has three goals and two assists in three home starts and nothing in five away starts. He's also on the ball more and more likely to assist than Luis Suarez ($21). The rest depends on who starts because Ousmane Dembele ($17) and Carles Perez ($12) play the same position, and I'd rather fade Lionel Messi because he's coming off a thigh injury and hasn't played more than 45 minutes in a match this season. If Dembele doesn't start, that could mean Arthur ($11) will take most of the free kicks, which will hopefully lead to more than the one chance created he had against Dortmund. If you'd rather spend on players with higher floors, Sadio Mane ($23) leads the list despite a couple down matches in league play. This is a good spot for him and Mohamed Salah ($22) to return to form because while Salzburg looked great last match, the way they play opens up for a lot of opportunities for the other team. If they take their usual approach to Anfield, it wouldn't be surprising if the Reds scored five. The pivot would be Roberto Firmino ($19), who doesn't have the same odds to score but has been as consistent with six shots on goal and 12 chances created in his last five appearances. 

I'd either avoid Ajax or go all-in with them because the Valencia back line has been unpredictable this season, from keeping Athletic and Chelsea scoreless in away matches to allowing eight goals to Barcelona and Getafe. Dusan Tadic ($20) and Hakim Ziyech ($19) have great floors, but I'd take into account Valencia's home form from last season when they allowed 12 goals in 19 league matches. Memphis Depay ($20) is the other expensive player in the discussion, though I wouldn't spend on him in cash games away from home when Liverpool and Barcelona are home (aka he's a decent GPP option).

If you want a piece of Ajax, Donny van de Beek ($15) may be the best bet because his floor usually hits 10 points from defensive stats, but he also had a decent number of shots on goal and chances created last season. Sebastian Driussi ($12) may be the best value play as one of Zenit's corner takers after he had a floor of 16.3 points at Lyon. If you think Benfica will struggle in Russia, the Zenit stack is possible with Artem Dzyuba ($15) and Magomed Ozdoev ($14) also at reasonable rates.

The Lille v. Chelsea match is a toss up mostly because you never know what to get from Chelsea. It also wouldn't be surprising if Lille scored two or three goals and won, similar to what they've done at home in four league matches. Jonathan Bamba ($16) is the best play if that's the case, as he's averaging 1.73 shots on goal and 2.31 chances created per 90 minutes in league play.

DEFENDERS

Trent Alexander-Arnold ($17) can only hit value if he gets an assist, and while Nicolas Tagliafico ($16) won't have eight interceptions and eight tackles again, his floor is higher. I'd still probably only spend up on Alejandro Grimaldo ($15), who had a floor of 24 points last match from a variety of stats, namely chances created as one of Benfica's set-piece takers. 

Either way, I may not spend more than $10 on a defender in cash games because there are more choices than usual. Jaume Costa ($8) has at least 10 fantasy points in three league starts, while both Gabriel ($8) and Tomas Tavares ($8) had floors above 10 in their first matches. Given that Chelsea have forced the most interceptions, second-most blocks and third-most clearances in the Premier League, stacking Zeki Celik ($9) with Gabriel isn't a bad idea. 

It's a similar case for the biggest underdogs, as Barcelona have forced the most interceptions and blocks in La Liga, while Liverpool have forced the second-most clearances in the Premier League. That points to Stefan de Vrij ($10), as well as Andre Ramalho ($10) and Rasmus Kristensen ($9) in terms of value.

GOALKEEPER

Marc-Andre ter Stegen ($16) is probably the safest play, but Inter are playing well in the early season and could easily steal a goal. There isn't one goalkeeper who stands above the rest because there aren't a ton of defensive teams on this slate. Andrey Lunev ($13) is the most I'd spend as I'm not sold on the Benfica attack. Jasper Cillessen ($13) has made at least three saves in his last four starts and should get plenty of work from Ajax. The same goes for Andre Onana ($12), who averaged 3.33 saves in 12 matches of last season's Champions League. If you don't want to spend, I'd go with Mike Maignan ($9) slightly above Odisseas Vlachodimos ($10) only because he's at home.