DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Picks

Written by

Ryan Belongia

Published on December 6, 2021

MATCHES (ET)

3:00 pm: AC Milan vs. Liverpool
3:00 pm: Ajax vs. Sporting CP
3:00 pm: Borussia Dortmund vs. Besiktas
3:00 pm: FC Porto vs. Atlético Madrid
3:00 pm: FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Sheriff Tiraspol
3:00 pm: Real Madrid vs. Inter Milan

For detailed stats and odds, check out the
DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday UCL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS

Marco Reus, BVB vs. BSK ($9,300): This is a weird slate. Not many teams have anything to play for. The three teams with the highest motivation are AC Milan, FC Porto and Atletico Madrid. Most of the expensive forwards are not expected to play. Dortmund have the highest-implied goal total (2.4) at home against Besiktas. Reus has started every match but one this season and usually plays 90 minutes. He splits set pieces and has the second-highest goalscoring odds at +120. Zlatan Ibrahimovic ($7,900) has the best odds at -115. Donyell Malen ($7,400) would be appealing for GPPs, assuming he starts at center forward in place of Erling Haaland.

Sebastien Thill, TIR at SHK ($6,100): Thill had 15 floor points last time out against Real Madrid. He takes the majority of set pieces for Sheriff and already has goals in away matches against Madrid and Inter. An away matchup against a Shakhtar team that has just one point in five group games is nothing to worry about. If you'd rather not roster a player from Sheriff, Angel Correa ($5,900) split set pieces for Atletico over the weekend. If you want to pay all the way down, Luka Jovic ($3,500) is expected to start in place of Karim Benzema and has goalscoring odds of +190. Frank Castaneda ($3,800) usually takes a few corners for Sheriff, as well.

MIDFIELDERS

Toni Kroos, RMA vs. INT ($7,700): It's up in the air whether or not Kroos will start. If he does, he probably has the highest floor of any player on the slate as the majority set-piece taker for Real Madrid, who need at least a draw at home against Inter Milan to secure first place in the group. Hakan Calhanoglu ($7,900) is an option on the Inter side. He's started six consecutive matches and has four goals and two assists in that span while splitting set-piece duty. Rodrigo De Paul ($5,500) has taken half of Atletico's sets in their last two matches.

Mykhailo Mudryk, SHK vs. TIR ($4,300): All of the Shakhtar midfielders are cheap and they have a great matchup at home against Sheriff. They also have nothing to play for which makes the starting lineup tough to predict. Mudryk would be one of the first players in my lineup based on his role as an attacking winger who takes set pieces. If he doesn't start, Manor Solomon ($3,400) would be just as appealing in the same role. Shakhtar have midfielders with considerable goal upside, as well. Pedrinho ($4,600) might start at forward and has +200 odds to score. Tete ($3,600) is their leading scorer this season and has odds of +230. Looking elsewhere, Ryan Gravenberch ($4,000) has been taking at least half of the set pieces for Ajax recently and Dusan Tadic has a back issue and may not start.

DEFENDERS

Kostas Tsimikas, LIV at ACM ($6,500): With Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson expected to rest, Tsimikas will start at left-back and take half of Liverpool's set pieces. He's averaging 10 floor points in two starts and I wouldn't expect him to be subbed this time after only going 63 minutes last time out. There isn't much that stands out at defender for a change and he seems relatively safe based on the fact that he has a set-piece floor and plays for a good team.

Theo Hernandez, ACM vs. LIV ($5,400): Milan need a result at home against what will be a heavily rotated Liverpool team. Hernandez has always had plenty of goal/assist equity, but now he's splitting set pieces whenever Sandro Tonali isn't in on field. I prefer Hernandez over Tsimikas based on his upside, Milan's motivation and the $1,100 salary savings.

Alessandro Florenzi, ACM vs. LIV ($4,000): If Tonali doesn't start, Florenzi would split set pieces with Hernandez. He sent in seven crosses and played 90 minutes for the first time this season over the weekend. Elsewhere in this range, Renan Lodi ($3,700) is cheap and playing left-back for Atletico, who need to win.

GOALKEEPERS

Anatolii Trubin, SHK vs. TIR ($5,600): Shakhtar have the best clean-sheet odds on the slate at around 40 percent. They have nothing to play for but a home matchup against Sheriff is a pretty good spot on paper. Gregor Kobel ($5,900) is a similar option for Dortmund at home to Besiktas. Normally, I don't pay up at keeper on smaller slates, but this one is a bit different due to the lack of expensive options at forward and midfield.

Giorgos Athanasiadis, TIR at SHK ($3,900): Athanasiadis leads the Champions League in saves but likely isn't necessary on this slate. The Atletico Madrid-Porto match has the lowest total (2.54) by a considerable margin, and Jan Oblak ($4,900) and Diogo Costa ($4,700) have decent clean-sheets odds relative to salary.

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