This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
Wednesday features a fairly strong favorite in Real Madrid hosting an out-of-sorts Chelsea team. The other game sees a Serie A matchup between AC Milan and Napoli in Milan. I expect the latter one to be competitive, while Real Madrid should control the matchup with Chelsea.
MATCHES (ET)
- 3:00 pm: AC Milan vs. Napoli
- 3:00 pm: Real Madrid vs. Chelsea
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS
Karim Benzema, RMA vs. CHE ($23): This is an uncomfortable price to pay for Benzema, but he has the best goalscoring odds on the slate by nearly 20 percent. Real Madrid are the only sizable favorite on the slate, so there has to be interest, especially in optimal building. I like the idea of pivoting to a high-upside teammate in Vinicius Junior ($22) in GPPs, but I'm not sure that you can get to both of them comfortably.
Toni Kroos ($14) should have a share of set pieces with Luka Modric ($13) and both are firmly in play on this slate at value prices. Any time you can get access to set pieces for the biggest favorite you have to have interest in cash games.
Sandro Tonali, MIL vs. NAP ($12): Tonali will likely share sets with Theo Hernandez and he has been on a tear recently, including in the 4-0 win over this Napoli team a couple weeks ago. The price will do a lot for you if you think about getting exposure to higher end Real Madrid pieces. Rafael Leao ($17) is my favorite goalscoring target for Milan as I don't see paying more for Olivier Giroud ($18) in this matchup.
Piotr Zielinski, NAP at MIL ($18): On the other side of this game I have some interest, but I'm a little worried about the current trend for Napoli. They were just run off the pitch against this same Milan team 10 days ago. Zielinski should be over most set pieces and is the safest of the options when factoring price. I would like to play Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ($21), but the price is tough to get to on this slate. Giacomo Raspadori ($17) will likely be filling in for Victor Osimhen and is one of the more likely goalscorers for Napoli, but with him being so goal dependent, I have him reserved for GPP contests.
Chelsea are the biggest dog on the slate, but if you want to get contrarian, the one bright spot for them right now is Kai Havertz ($19). At this price, he is a GPP pivot only given the matchup. If you need a midfield punt, you could do worse than Mateo Kovacic ($10), who can rack up some defensive stats.
DEFENDERS
Eder Militao, RMA vs. CHE ($11): Militao has the best goalscoring odds of any defender and if you look at his recent DFS production, you have to have interest as the biggest favorite on the slate. He gives you a good defensive floor, while providing you cheap goal upside. I think Chelsea will have some possession here and create some chances, which only helps that floor for Militao.
On the other side, Wesley Fofana ($11) has shown a strong defensive floor and as the biggest underdog, Chelsea will likely face quite a bit of pressure in Madrid. However, my next favorite defender is actually his teammate.
Ben Chilwell, CHE at RMA ($12): I was expecting to see Chilwell priced above Reece James ($13) and with his recent set-piece share, the price is more than fair. Chelsea are the biggest underdog, but I expect that they see possession and create some possessions of their own. This will give Chilwell a solid floor which can be even higher if Chelsea were to fall behind early.
Other solid defender options include Davide Calabria ($9) and Mario Rui ($11). If playing one of them, look at the possibility of pairing with their goalkeepers in a clean-sheet stack.
GOALKEEPER
Mike Maignan, MIL vs. NAP ($9): FanDuel has priced Maignan four dollars cheaper than his counterpart Alex Meret ($13), even though Milan have better win and clean sheet odds in this matchup at home. This allows you to fit those higher-priced attacking pieces on the slate. The other option would be Thibaut Courtois ($14), who has the biggest win and clean sheet odds against Chelsea. This decision all depends on if you need salary savings or not.
