This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
The Champions League Round of 16 begins Valentine's Day and we start off with two pretty evenly-matched games, per the odds. Tottenham will travel to Milan, while Bayern Munich will travel to Paris Saint-Germain. We have some news to watch when lineups come out on this slate which I will mention as we go through the positions.
MATCHES (ET)
- 3:00 pm: AC Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur
- 3:00 pm: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Lionel Messi, PSG vs. BAY ($22): Deciding between the top of pricing on this slate isn't easy, but I will side with Messi as he has been the most consistent of the PSG big three since the World Cup break. Kylian Mbappe ($22) is projected to come off the bench, which only increases Messi's floor. Neymar ($21) would be the GPP pivot and I don't see trying to pair two of these guys together myself. The other fine option at the top, and probably my second favorite, is Harry Kane ($20). He has the best goalscoring odds on the slate and is a bit more goal dependent than Messi which is why I have him ranked behind.
Joshua Kimmich, BAY at PSG ($17): The Bayern/PSG game has the highest-implied total on the slate and I expect both teams to score. Bayern are a bit hard to peg with spread out production, so I will start with Kimmich who is the most stable, being over a monopoly of set pieces. He is a bit of a discount from the top-priced plays, giving you a bit more flexibility, as well. You can pair Kimmich with any of the other Bayern pieces, but I would rank Jamal Musiala ($17), Thomas Muller ($16) and Kingsley Coman ($18) as my favorite. If you are playing multiple lineups I would be sure to mix and match these guys, since they can be a bit volatile with their spread out production and likelihood of an early substitution.
Sandro Tonali, ACM vs. TOT ($12): Tonali should be over a share of set pieces for Milan in a game where they are slight favorites home against Tottenham. There isn't tons of value at this position so if I can get a guy who can contribute with both assists and chances created, I am going to do so as of now. You can pair him in GPPs with Olivier Giroud ($19) who is my favorite goalscoring threat from Milan. Other options in this range include a potential start from 16-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery ($8) for PSG. He is likely to sub off early with Mbappe looking at least healthy enough to play some in this first leg. So if you play Zaire-Emery you must know the risk, but if he gets involved in an early goal he would give you a lot of flexibility in your lineups. Leon Goretzka ($15) is also another value option at the position.
DEFENDERS
Joao Cancelo, BAY at PSG ($14): Cancelo has been solid since joining Bayern, putting up over 16 FD points in both of his first two league appearances. Of the top-priced defenders I prefer him over Theo Hernandez ($13) slightly. Hernandez will split sets for Milan, but Cancelo has a lot of open-play value in a game where there's expected to be more goals.
Achraf Hakimi, PSG vs. BAY ($11): Hakimi is slightly underpriced for his production. We have seen him get more and more involved as he has a goal and two assists in his last two league starts. I like that we can get a slight discount and you can easily pair him with someone like Messi. If you want to play for the cheap defensive style of defender, which is a popular strategy on FanDuel, I like the idea of Dayot Upamecano ($9), who should see a lot of action, as both sides should attack in that match.
GOALKEEPER
Ciprian Tatarusanu, ACM vs. TOT ($13): Goalkeeper is tough on this slate and truly any of the four are viable based on your builds. I lean more toward the Tottenham/Milan game due to my view on scoring in the other one. I like the idea of Tatarusanu at home but don't mind going to Fraser Forster ($8) as the cheapest option. The price gap shouldn't be this different when odds are so close. For save upside, I would side with Yann Sommer ($9) at the discount in the other game, even though they are away from home.
