Fantasy Champions League: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

2:45 p.m: Ludogorets v. Paris Saint-Germain
2:45 p.m: Celtic v. Manchester City
2:45 p.m: Napoli v. Benfica
2:45 p.m: FC Rostov v. PSV Eindhoven
2:45 p.m: Arsenal v. FC Basel
2:45 p.m: Besiktas v. Dynamo Kyiv
2:45 p.m: Atletico Madrid v. Bayern Munich
2:45 p.m: Borussia Monchengladbach v. Barcelona

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Ludogorets: Wanderson
Paris Saint-Germain: Angel Di Maria
Celtic: Scott Sinclair, Leigh Griffiths
Manchester City: David Silva, Jesus Navas
Napoli: Jose Maria Callejon, Faouzi Ghoulam
Benfica: Pizzi, Alejandro Grimaldo
FC Rostov: Timofei Kalachev
PSV Eindhoven: Davy Propper, Jetro Willems, Andres Guardado
Arsenal: Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil
FC Basel: Matias Delgado, Luca Zuffi
Besiktas: Caner Erkin, Ricardo Quaresma
Dynamo Kyiv: Andriy Yarmolenko
Atletico Madrid: Koke
Bayern Munich: Franck Ribery, Thiago Alcantara
Borussia Monchengladbach: Ibrahima Traore, Raffael
Barcelona: Neymar, Ivan Rakitic

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

David Ospina, ARS vs. BSL: If I'm going to pay up for goalkeeper, I think the small discount for Ospina makes him superior to the likes of Alphonse Areola of PSG or Claudio Bravo of Manchester City. Ospina isn't in the 'class' of Petr Cech, but recent stats suggest Ospina may be the better option in terms of saves. Cech had a big clean sheet against his old club Chelsea this past weekend, but prior to that he'd saved just 69.6 percent of shots on goal in the Premier League this season. We don't have a ton of information on Ospina for this season as he hasn't seen much action, but at the Copa America this past summer for Colombia he did keep three clean sheets, including two against the USA, while last season in the Premier League he carried a solid 77.2 percent save percentage.

Jeroen Zoet, PSV at ROS: PSV didn't take any points in their match with Atletico Madrid, but conceding just one goal to one of the top five or six clubs in the world is far from a poor result. This matchup against FC Rostov is significantly more favorable. They've been called the Russian Leicester City, but that's much too generous as Leicester is of a different class in terms of talent and the Russian Premier League isn't comparable to its English counterpart. To stir the Rostov hate even more, they've lost four of their last six in all competitions, including five domestic league matches. Not that the Dutch Eredivisie is any stronger than the Russian Premier League, but PSV has still decisively won their last two matches domestically and have already tallied six clean sheets across all competitions this season.

DEFENDER

Layvin Kurzawa, PSG vs. LUD: I firmly believe Kurzawa may belong in the discussion of being among one of the best fullbacks in the world. In Ligue 1 this season, Kurzawa has two goals in four matches. He also has a goal internationally for France. He's quoted at around 3/1 to score a goal, which is pretty outstanding considering his position. His floor with peripheral stats gives enough insurance in hopes he'll bag a goal. If both Serge Aurier and Kurzawa sit out, Belgian international Thomas Meunier warrants consideration as a slightly discounted pivot.

Faouzi Ghoulam, NAP vs BEN: On sites that include crosses, Ghoulam probably offers the best floor thanks to his willingness to cross from open play and his duty over some of the team's corners. In Napoli's last Champions League bout, he turned in nine crosses and an assist, and he's reached as many as 14 crosses in a Serie A game this season.

Joshua Brenet, PSV at ROS: Nine fantasy points via six crosses and a few counting stats on DraftKings against Atletico Madrid is promising, as the matchup Wednesday against FC Rostov is considerably more favorable. Teammate Jetro Willems is certainly the more prevalent crosser, but given the discount Brenet offers more value and could pair well with Zoet at keeper.

MIDFIELD

Neymar, FCB at MGB: With Lionel Messi out with injury, Neymar easily stands as the most valuable midfield play on sites where he's eligible. He's not so bad if you need to use him as a forward either. He'll have corners, free kicks and will probably split penalty duty with Luis Suarez. He draws fouls like Raheem Sterling, scores like Sergio Aguero and assists like Mesut Ozil. He's the best of every world.

Lucas Moura, PSG at LUD: First off, Moura comes with a solid floor via peripheral stats. The Brazilian winger has had to fight both injuries and squad rotation given the depth of quality at PSG, but with Edinson Cavani moving to the central attacking role, Moura has found a consistent spot in the starting lineup of late. In limited action, Moura scored 11 goals across Ligue 1 and the Champions League last year and stands a fairly good chance to add to those totals in this spot.

Alex Iwobi, ARS vs. BSL: Iwobi only trails Ozil in key passes per 90 minutes for Arsenal, implying he's the second-most likely assist man on the squad. Arsenal being the biggest favorite of the day isn't surprising as they host the much lesser FC Basel, but Iwobi being ranked the seventh-most likely goal scorer on the slate certainly is. According to Paddy Power he has around a 45 percent chance to score a goal. That ranks him ahead of names like Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann, Jose Maria Callejon and even teammates Ozil and Theo Walcott. Given he hasn't actually scored yet this season and is viewed as more of a provider, I find it a bit surprising – but that may make Iwobi that much better of a play, as I'm sure others underestimate his goal scoring upside as well.

FORWARD

Sergio Aguero, MCI at CEL: When it comes down to who has more on the line, the bookmakers or me, it's the bookmakers. If they're wrong, they lose a lot more money than I ever will playing DFS. Aguero, according to PaddyPower, is the most-likely goal scorer on the day with odds of 1/2 to do so. To put that in different terms, that puts him over 60 percent to score a goal when taking the rake into account. I was originally going to write up Suarez, as his odds are 8/15 to score – essentially a single percentage point less.

Edinson Cavani, PSG at LUD: Paddy Power has Cavani as the next most-likely goal scorer behind Aguero and Suarez at well over 50 percent. The departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer left a big void in PSG's attack. It was questioned whether the Uruguay international was going to be able to fill those shoes. There are still doubts, but after a run of six goals in three matches he's certainly gained some serious traction.

Nolito, MCI at CEL: With Kevin De Bruyne out for a couple of weeks and his suspension in England not carried over to the Champions League, all is clear for Nolito to retake a significant role in the Manchester City attack. It's been since Aug. 20 against Stoke (when he scored twice), but Nolito is the same odds at the earlier mentioned Iwobi, giving him around a 45 percent chance of a goal. It's worth adding that with De Bruyne out, Nolito could pick up some of the corner taking duty as well.