This article is part of our Daily Fantasy Soccer Cheat Sheet series.
GOALKEEPER
Volkan Demirel, FEN vs. MUN: It doesn't really matter what form Manchester United are in, the casual soccer fan will always associate Manchester United with power, greatness and attacking ability. The problem with that logic is how untrue it is right now, as United are just woeful on the road in Europe lately. They have been shut out in their last two in addition to losing five of their last six. This is not to say that Alisson or Yuri Lodygin are poor choices, but Demirel provides much more salary to mess with, as well as surely being under-owned.
DEFENDER
De Marcos, ATH vs. GNK: This slate is built in a weird way where many of the highest-priced options may be either rotated out or are priced due to team strength rather than fantasy production. I find De Marcos slightly overpriced for my liking, but given the lack of players we need to spend up for, I am happy to shell out extra. Athletic Club defenders never typically appeal to me, but with the clean sheet bonus firmly in play, it would be good to get some exposure and this could be a great opportunity to get De Marcos a full 90 minutes in order to test his fitness to return to La Liga play.
Wilfred Ndidi, GNK at ATH: Four teams have legitimate clean sheet opportunities on this slate; however, Genk are certainly not one of them. However, I still find Ndidi to be an appealing fantasy option due to his defensive stats. He's won at least six tackles in each of the group matches so far, and he has totaled a neat 13 interceptions. He's very disciplined, so he won't cost you many points, and while I am not expecting him to be scoring every time he takes the field, he does take a few shots and flashed some attacking presence.
Brian Gartland, DUN at ZEN: Again, just trying to highlight how much value has been left on the table in this slate, with one bargain basement defender you basically have the ability to pick and choose any attacking options that you'd like without worrying about price. Gartland is an entirely serviceable player to fill in a tournament lineup where you want to stack a loaded midfield; he can get you a few tackles and a few interceptions and finish only a few points shy of defenders that cost twice as much. Depending on how you build your lineups, a player like this could be essential.
MIDFIELDER
Giuliano, ZEN vs. DUN: There is nothing wrong with going back to the hot hand, or in this case, foot. Giuliano was a goal scorer in the last match out where Zenit won on the road against Dundalk, and now they return home to further cement their standing. While I do like the fact that Giuliano is a goal scorer, what I like even more is the fact that he is one of the few players on the field that can be counted on for reliable attempts at goal. Russian football clubs are endlessly frustrating with their possession-dominant style of play in European competition, and Giuliano is actually the only player on Zenit who had more than one attempt on net in the previous matchup with Dundalk. I like him to keep firing here.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, MUN at FEN: Trying to actually locate some sort of plan for Mkhitaryan in Jose Mourinho's playbook is beginning to get incredibly frustrating. All reports indicate that he has been healed up and match fit after his hamstring injury for some time now but hasn't yet his made his way back to United's bench. He is in Turkey for this game, and given his limited role for United in league play, Mourinho may opt to play him here and save some players needed for their next Premier League outing. This is a good chance to buy low on a very talented player.
Raphael Holzhauser, AUS vs. ROM: Aside from Manchester United vs. Fenerbahce there are three "foregone conclusion" type matches, and I get that the players from those teams carry a higher price due to higher opportunity, but this allows savvy DFSers to scoop up some gems that are criminally underpriced. Holzhauser's team may be a massive underdog, but how many times have I stressed the importance of crossing midfielders on teams that are projected to fall behind early? He has scored in two of his three group matches, and in the other he sent in nine crosses. He has a double-digit floor and gives you plenty of room to fit in a few higher-priced defenders and forwards.
FORWARD
Robin van Persie, FEN vs. MUN: Drawing against Zorya to open the group may come back to haunt Fenerbahce if they can't make up some ground in what I think is one of the tougher groups on offer this year, but I firmly believe that they are in a good spot Thursday. I have already highlighted the struggles that United have when they travel in Europe, and with a heavy squad rotation expected, Fenerbahce should be playing against the second option at every position. Van Persie played the full 90 in the last UEL match, and given the importance of this match and the current injuries, I like his chances to play a full complement of minutes again.
Leon Bailey, GNK at ATH: This is one of my favorite value plays of the slate and I will most likely be featuring Bailey in a majority of my lineups, just as a small note of appreciation. Underpriced may be a stretch given his near $7,000 DraftKings price tag, but Bailey is one of those high-volume shooters who I love to target at forward. He brings a very high floor due to shots on target and crossing, and though he has three goals through the group stage to this point, I don't think targeting Genk players for goals in this spot is going to be a particularly effective strategy, so I am happy to play Bailey for his floor rather than the 30-point potential.
Aleksandr Kokorin, ZEN vs. DUN: Second to only Giuliano in team scoring, Kokorin is a valuable piece to the Zenit puzzle this season as he continues to mature and progress in his career. He has three goals in the first two games of the group stage before playing meaningless minutes against Dundalk in the away leg, but as I mentioned previously there are very few options on this Zenit team that I trust to be consistent producers from a fantasy standpoint. I would give a serious look to the starting lineups before locking your lineups, but if he is going to get a nice run of minutes then he will be one of the most dangerous low-owned forwards on this slate.
