This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
If you prefer Showdown content in video form, Jack Burkart has you covered for Tuesday's Champions League thriller.
3:00 pm: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
DraftKings Showdown DFS Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Cheat Sheet
Are you ready to win money? I don't know if I am. This is an extremely difficult matchup to project. Manchester City have been arguably the best club in Europe this season and are in top form, while Real Madrid continue to win in Champions League despite mediocre results in league play. Real Madrid are favored at home, but with less possession, none of their players are expected to have huge floors.
CASH-GAME STRATEGY
Even though Real Madrid are at home, I'm not sure you need to captain any of their players in cash games. Toni Kroos ($6,200) and Luka Modric ($5,800) aren't the same players they used to be and it's not like they'll rack up 10 corners against Man City. Then again, both of them are cheap and will get you more of the expensive players.
You'll have almost $4,000 extra cash with Kroos at captain than Kevin De Bruyne ($9,600), so if you're thinking goals, that could be the move. No matter the situation, you'll have to decide how this game will go. Will both teams score in a goal fest? Or do Man City play things a little safer and aim for a low-scoring draw or win?
Either way, I think Thibaut Courtois ($5,600) is more cash viable than Ederson ($6,600). It's assumed City will have more of the ball and have more opportunities, which is always the case in their matches. Ederson had nine saves in two matches against Bayern Munich because numerous guys were launching shots from outside the 18. Real Madrid are a little more comfortable playing without the ball and may not provide Ederson with those easy saves.
Even if you think a clean sheet is in play for both goalkeepers, Courtois is projected to make more saves than Ederson and is always in play for a massive five-plus-save performance. I could be remembering this wrong, but I believe Courtois captain was the winning route in last season's second leg, as he made eight saves in a 3-1 win. Of course, Man City won 4-3 in the first meeting and the keepers combined for three saves, so it's not a certainty.
But playing at home, I think the Courtois floor and upside combination is better than a lot of mid-range players in this Showdown.
In terms of Erling Haaland ($11,000) and Vinicius Junior ($10,400), I'm not sure either is needed in cash games. Haaland is just -125 to score and shouldn't have a huge floor in this matchup. While Vinicius can be a menace on the left wing and put up a huge floor, the price means he's not needed.
In the last round, Bayern Munich players like Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane were underpriced and had great floors. Vinicius is the second-most expensive player on this slate and Real Madrid don't play with as much possession as Bayern. Sure, if you have the money, Vinicius is a great play, but I'm not sure you need to punt on a center-back here.
Rodri ($5,000) seems like the best value play, though if you can't get there, I'd be fine going all the way down because it's not like any of the center-backs stand out. David Alaba ($4,200) may get a random set piece, but he seems to be subbed off early a lot.
TOURNAMENT STRATEGY
Normally, I'd say Courtois captain is too obvious, but the field doesn't want to play a goalkeeper against Manchester City. If Real Madrid get a win and clean sheet or it's a scoreless draw, Courtois will be in the 20-plus point range unless City really struggle to get good looks. From there, it's almost do whatever you want with Vinicius and Karim Benzema ($9,200) there for any goals or assists. You can use De Bruyne and Jack Grealish ($7,600) in this lineup and still have a fairly reasonable build.
Benzema also may not be as popular as usual against Manchester City. There have been multiple Champions League Showdowns where Benzema is underutilized against top competition because the field likes the other side more. With De Bruyne and Haaland on the other side, not as many people will look to Benzema, who is almost $2,000 less than Vinicius in the captain spot.
Those are the three main players I'd captain if you're on Real Madrid unless you want to get a random goal from Rodrygo ($8,600) or Federico Valverde ($6,000). However, Rodrygo is priced too close to Benzema and Valverde doesn't really have the upside in this team, though a goal is all you'd need at his price.
On the other side, like usual, almost everyone is in play for City. While the odds don't say it, I think John Stones ($4,400) is as likely to score as Valverde. Similar to Rodri ($5,000), the City central midfielders are always in play to get a rebound or even a cross at the top of the box. Rodri stunned everyone with the goal against Bayern Munich and then over the weekend, Ilkay Gundogan ($5,800) scored twice in that role.
Sure, you could captain De Bruyne in tournaments, but you'll need to find other ways to be different. I'd rather find the random goal from a cheaper guy and leave myself with no complete punts. Of note, there are plenty of recent matches in which the Man City center-backs rack up defensive stats and have better floors than Grealish and company, but there's probably an equal amount of times that doesn't happen.
