This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 3:00 pm: Chelsea vs. Red Bull Salzburg
- 3:00 pm: FC Copenhagen vs. Sevilla
- 3:00 pm: Juventus vs. Benfica
- 3:00 pm: Maccabi Haifa vs. Paris Saint-Germain
- 3:00 pm: Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund
- 3:00 pm: Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS / MIDFIELDERS
Erling Haaland, MCI v. BVB ($22): Despite a more difficult matchup than Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Maccabi Haifa, I'd still opt for Haaland over Kylian Mbappe ($23) if I couldn't fit them both in my lineup. Haaland has scored a ludicrous 12 goals and provided one assist in the seven matches he's played this season, and he also has the top goalscoring odds ahead of Mbappe, Lionel Messi ($20) and Neymar ($21). On top of his incredible goalscoring form, Haaland has taken three shots on goal in each of his past four matches, further elevating his floor. PSG have a slightly higher implied goal total than City, so they're not an attack I would entirely steer clear of, I would just prioritize Haaland over them if I had to. Kevin De Bruyne ($20) is always a good source of assists (six in seven matches) and chances created, as he created four in the previous matchup with Sevilla. Rounding out the players in this tier is Vinicius Junior ($20), as he'll need to shoulder the attacking load for Real Madrid at home against RB Leipzig due to Karim Benzema's injury. Vinicius Junior did just fine last match with a late goal and 30 fantasy points, though this matchup maybe isn't as ideal as the previously listed attackers.
Rafa Silva, BEN at JUV ($17): This match has the joint-lowest implied goal total with Sevilla-Copenhagen, but it is the closest in terms of win percentages, meaning it should be a back-and-forth match. Rafa pulled all the right strings against Maccabi Haifa last week as he finished with 32.9 fantasy points. Dusan Vlahovic ($19) was quiet last week against Paris Saint-Germain and will need to bounce back at home against Benfica. He's pacing Juventus in goals and shots on goal in league play, which realistically should translate to Champions League play. He and Filip Kostic ($17) have been the focal point of the Juventus attack, making them viable plays at home.
Christopher Nkunku, RBL at RMA ($16): RB Leipzig suffered a shock defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk last week and Christopher Nkunku was limited to 11.9 points. This was out of the ordinary for him in comparison to last season's European campaign where he scored 11 goals and provided one assist across 12 matches in the Champions League and Europa League. That included a hat trick against Manchester City and a goal against PSG, so he's no stranger to scoring against a top side. Even if he doesn't score, Madrid gave up four shots on target and nine scoring chances to Celtic, and RB Leipzig is arguably a better attacking side. Nkunku leads Leipzig's attack with Timo Werner ($16), who was absent from the previous match. For my money, Luka Modric ($15) is a great value at his price and could offer an alternative if you don't love Leipzig in this spot. If you want to look somewhere different, Viktor Claesson ($16) and Lukas Lerager ($15) have a matchup against a Sevilla side who gave up a huge amount of shots on goal, chances created, corners and of course goals, which may be worth targeting.
Dolev Haziza, MHI v. PSG ($10): Rarely can you find a $10 midfielder who takes the majority of set pieces for his team. In the case of Haziza, you can as he's took four of five free kicks against Benfica last Tuesday. It's unlikely he creates a ton of attacking output against PSG, but at this price, you're looking for him to hit double digits as a budget-friendly option. Even if the attacking output isn't there, defensive statistics like tackles, interceptions and clearances could get him to that number, which will likely match the game flow as Paris Saint-Germain dominate possession. Nicolas Seiwald ($9) took two of Red Bull Salzburg's free kicks last week and is in a similar position as Haziza as they travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
DEFENDERS
Strahinja Pavlovic, RBS at CHE ($12): Pavlovic led all players in clearances in this same slate last week and has a matchup away to Chelsea, where he should again see a high volume of defensive stats. There's definitely a few other options that are cheaper than Pavlovic, but his matchup and propensity to make clearances feels like a pretty safe play. It's also worth noting Chelsea forced the second-most clearances on last week's six-match slate. Another player who could make a fair bit of clearances is David Alaba ($11). It's possible I'm reading too much into this with the matchup being much different this week, but RB Leipzig forced a whopping 39 clearances against Shakhtar Donetsk last match. If they force Real Madrid into a fraction of that, Alaba should benefit in some capacity.
Victor Kristiansen, COP v. SEV ($8): There's only a one-match sample size, but I feel that 90 minutes was enough to recommend Kristiansen in a home match against Sevilla. He paced Copenhagen with five of their seven free-kicks and ended with three scoring chances created. Sevilla were abysmal in a 4-0 loss to Manchester City and offer an ideal matchup for the Danish side at home. Although teams typically give up a high volume of attacking stats to Manchester City, it's noteworthy that they gave up 10 shots on goal and 22 chances created. If they give up even half of those numbers, it's not impossible for Kristiansen to have a small share. Also, given his price you won't need a ton of production to meet value, making this a pretty straight forward play. Another player who is a bit more expensive but close in price and should be an intriguing play is Sergio Gomez ($10). He should start once again at left-back and has the second-best clean sheet odds. He was solid in the win over Sevilla as he created two scoring chances and made two clearances to finish with 17.5 points. City are huge favorites and Gomez is an effective way to get a slice of them.
GOALKEEPERS
Thibaut Courtois, RMA v. RBL ($12): I said this last week, but it's tough to overlook Courtois's momentous Champions League campaign in goal last season. Despite consistently being an underdog (in the knockout rounds), he led the competition in saves and clean sheets. He'll be at home against Leipzig on Wednesday and should be able to once again build upon his 29-point outing against Celtic last week. Aside from Courtois, Ederson ($14) has the second-best clean sheet odds behind Gianluigi Donnarumma ($15), though both teams could easily keep clean sheets in favorable matchups. Josh Cohen ($6) is the cheapest goalkeeper on the slate and could easily concede multiple goals with multiple saves, which would give him a decent fantasy day. Odisseas Vlachodimos ($10) was huge last season for Benfica and started strong with 23 points in his first group-stage match.
