This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.
MATCHES (EDT)
Tuesday, 2:45 p.m: Sevilla v. Bayern Munich
Tuesday, 2:45 p.m: Juventus v. Real Madrid
Wednesday, 2:45 p.m: Barcelona v. Roma
Wednesday, 2:45 p.m: Liverpool v. Manchester City
FORWARDS
Lionel Messi, BCN v. RMA (€28): The forward position is absolutely stacked on this slate, but no one has a better matchup or higher upside than Messi, who comes in with a goal in seven consecutive matches in all competitions, including one off the bench this past weekend at Sevilla to make it nine goals on 33 shots (21 on target) during that span. Barcelona are by far the biggest favorites on the slate, and Messi has the highest anytime goal scorer odds, which will certainly lead to him being the highest-owned player as well. Teammate Luis Saurez (€25) is a better stacking partner to Messi than a pivot, as he has the second-highest goal scorer odds but he doesn't finish nearly as often.
Cristiano Ronaldo, RMD at JUV (€27): Juventus have been dominant defensively during Serie A play, posting 20 clean sheets in 30 matches while conceding just 16 times. However, they'll face one of their toughest tasks Tuesday at home against Real Madrid, who are fronted by Ronaldo, the all-time leader in Champions League goals who also happens to have scored in eight straight games, finding the back of the net 17 times on 54 shots (30 on goal) in his last eight games in all competitions. Taking Messi and Ronaldo leaves only one spot for the likes of Robert Lewandowski (€26), Mohamed Salah (€27), Sergio Aguero (€25), Gonzalo Higuain (€24), Thomas Muller (€24) and a few others, but none of them have the same shooting floor of Ronaldo, whose 7.38 shots per 90 minutes are the most in the Champions League this season, and his 3.25 shots on goal per 90 trail only Federico Bernardeschi (€14), who has played only 136 UCL minutes this term, including 90 against Tottenham in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.
Paulo Dybala, JUV v. RMD (€21): Dybala isn't cheap, but he still comes at a nice discount to the upper-tier options while providing a solid foundation thanks to his role on set pieces while also leading the team in shots. With Miralem Pjanic suspended, Dybala should be over every dead ball, and he comes in fresh off a one-goal, one-assist performance against AC Milan this past weekend. Real Madrid have plenty of name recognition and attacking upside, but they are susceptible defensively, a situation Dybala can take advantage of after registering at least three shots in six straight games before this past weekend.
MIDFIELDERS
James Rodriguez, FCB at SEV (€19): James is another player coming off an excellent weekend performance, as he had one goal on three shots (one on target) and two assists over 65 minutes in Bayern Munich's dominant 6-0 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. He is likely to take a share of set pieces for a Bayern side that are favorites despite playing away to Sevilla, and while he doesn't have the goal upside of Arjen Robben (€21), he's also not as goal dependent. There are a number of viable Bayern midfielders on the slate, so even if James doesn't start, I wouldn't hesitate to roster guys like Thiago Alcantara (€18), Corentin Tolisso (€18) or Arturo Vidal (€15).
Paulinho, BCN v. RMA (€19): The Barcelona midfield doesn't produce a ton of fantasy points on a consistent basis, but when they are significant home favorites on a slate with no others, we have to at least consider them. Ousmane Dembele (€19) is the upside play because he's a much more attacking player than Paulinho, but he doesn't have a big shot floor because Messi and Suarez are too busy doing that work themselves. Meanwhile, Paulinho does some of the midfield dirty work while still taking a few shots here and there, giving him a decently solid floor. You could save a little salary by paying down for Andres Iniesta (€16), though his fantasy points don't usually reflect his real life value.
Kevin De Bruyne, MCI at LIV (€24): De Bruyne is the most expensive midfielder on the slate, though there are nine forwards who are either the same price or higher. He is the engine of the Man City attack, and while playing against Liverpool isn't the easiest of tasks, it would be surprising if this one didn't have many goals in it. Liverpool beat Man City 4-3 back on Jan. 14, and while De Bruyne was unable to get on the scoresheet, he did pick up two assists in their first meeting this season, a 5-0 City win on Sept. 9. With nearly all the other options in this game goal dependent, except maybe Salah, De Bruyne provides a needed floor while still giving us access to plenty of upside.
DEFENDERS
Javi Martinez, FCB at SEV (€14): Martinez and Jerome Boateng (€14) are the cheapest paths to the Bayern Munich defense, but the former gets a slight bump because he'll actually be lining up in the defensive midfield if he starts. Boateng's fantasy production is pretty tightly tied to Bayern's clean sheets, but Martinez should get enough tackles, interceptions and passes to give us a small floor even if they aren't able to shut out Sevilla in Spain. Joshua Kimmich (€16) is the upside play among the Bayern defenders because of how involved he in in the attack, and given that his price isn't any higher than the other top options, he could be the highest-owned player at the position.
Gerard Pique, BCN v. RMA (€15): Barcelona are such strong favorites, and come in with the highest clean sheet odds, so it makes sense to target a defender or two. None of the available members of the back line are big attackers (right-back Sergi Roberto is classified as a midfielder), but Pique completes a high number of passes and is always a threat on set pieces, even if he doesn't take that many shots.
Andrea Barzagli, JUV v. RMD (€13): Given the opponent, I have no interest in paying more than what it'll cost for Barzagli, who has the same salary as Mattia De Sciglio, Kwado Asamoah, Daniele Rugani and Alex Sandro, any of whom could start. The matchup is about as bad as they come, but Juventus are at home and really can't afford to allow an away goal. While the better defensive options are surely with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Juventus at least provide us with some salary savings for a side that could shut out Real Madrid, even if it's unlikely.
GOALKEEPER
Sven Ulreich, FCB at SEV (€14): Ulreich is expected to start in goal for the second-biggest favorites on the slate, but his salary is actually cheaper than the starters from Barcelona and Real Madrid while being the same as the keepers from Juventus, Man City and Liverpool. Fantasy players with extra salary space will likely pay up for Barca's Marc-Andre ter Stegen (€16), but with the two other games on the slate basically pick 'ems with expected goals on both sides, saving some money with Ulreich could be the key to slightly paying up somewhere else.
