This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.
MATCHES (EDT)
- 12:55 pm: Dynamo Kyiv vs. Juventus
- 12:55 pm: Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Club Brugge
- 3:00 pm: Barcelona vs. Ferencvárosi TC
- 3:00 pm: Chelsea vs. Sevilla
- 3:00 pm: Lazio vs. Borussia Dortmund
- 3:00 pm: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester United
- 3:00 pm: RB Leipzig vs. Istanbul Basaksehir
- 3:00 pm: Rennes vs. FC Krasnodar
FORWARDS
Lionel Messi, BAR vs. FERE (€30): Barcelona are overwhelming favorites against Ferencvarosi TC. The Hungarian side squeaked through a relatively weak qualifying round to make their first appearance in the UCL group stage in over 25 years. Messi comes with astronomical -335 anytime goal scorer odds, and we know he'll be hungry to pad his gaudy Champions League goal haul in the event that the Spanish giants put a barbarous beat down on the Hungarian minnows.
Sardar Azmoun, ZNT vs. CLUB (€18): With the likes of Neymar (€30), Kylian Mbappe (€29), and Cristiano Ronaldo (€29) on the slate, it may be somewhat of a surprise that Azmoun checks in just below Messi with the next-highest anytime goal scoring odds. He's hot off a brace over the weekend in Russian Premier League action, and with Zenit favored to be victorious at home against Club Brugge, we can save some at the position in one of the early games.
Yussuf Poulsen, RBL vs. IBB (€14): Poulsen recently recovered from a thigh injury and came off the bench to score a goal in Saturday's win over Augsburg. He should be fit enough to re-enter the starting lineup Tuesday and if he does we inherit a good value play with RB Leipzig the second-biggest favorite on the slate.
MIDFIELDERS
Philippe Coutinho, BAR vs. FERE (€26): If we think they really let the horses loose against Ferencvarosi, Coutinho makes sense as part of a Barcelona stack where we try and jam in as much firepower as possible. He's scored or assisted in each of his three starts since returning to La Liga and should see multiple opportunities to make his mark on the score-sheet in this one.
Christopher Nkunku, RBL vs. IBB (€12): Nkunku serves as the primary corner taker, and he's almost the stone minimum salary for the second-biggest favorite on the slate. He didn't make any attacking contributions during last year's UCL run, which is likely what has driven his price down. In an attractive matchup against Istanbul, we can look past the lack of production in order to take advantage of the value and pay up in other spots.
Yuri Zhirkov, ZNT vs. CLUB (€10): Zhirkov lined up at left-back last game, so while we won't get the clean sheet bonus, we do have another minimum-priced player in a good matchup to work with if we want to make way for the high-priced heavy artillery. With such a big slate there will likely be several salary savers at our disposal, so be sure to pan over the starting lineups when they are announced to see what kind of value emerges.
DEFENDERS
Angelino, RBL vs. IBB (€17): Angelino has a goal in each of his last two starts, showing off his ability to get involved going forward. He'll look to carry that momentum into a favorable home game with Istanbul Basaksehir, and if he can pile up the points on both ends of the field he could be a game-changer in both GPPs and cash games.
Sergino Dest, BAR vs. FERE (€16): Dest made his first start for his new club over the weekend. While the result wasn't there, Dest was lively with five crosses and two chances created over a full 90 minutes. His attacking abilities give him big upside when he's on the field, making him well-worth looking for when starting lineups are announced for Tuesday's juicy home clash with Ferencvarosi.
Willi Orban, RBL vs. IBB (€10): Orban could slot in for Lucas Klostermann (Knee) on Tuesday, making him a prime bargain target with Leipzig in a good spot to kick start group play with a favorable result. Orban scored a goal on three shots in his only Bundesliga start, highlighting his appeal as a set-piece target as well.
GOALKEEPER
Mikhael Kerzhakov, ZNT vs. CLUB (€16): Kerzhakov made four saves en route to a clean sheet in Russian Premier League action over the weekend, and up next is a Club Brugge side that will be without three first-team players after they tested positive for COVID-19. This matchup has the third-lowest implied total on the eight-game slate, putting the home goalkeeper firmly in play as a good early value.
