Fantasy La Liga: Wednesday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

2:00 p.m: Celta Vigo v. Sporting Gijon
2:00 p.m: Real Madrid v. Villarreal
4:00 p.m: Real Sociedad v. Las Palmas
4:00 p.m: Granada v. Athletic Club
4:00 p.m: Barcelona v. Atletico Madrid

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Celta Vigo: Daniel Wass
Sporting Gijon: Moi Gomez, Douglas Santos
Real Madrid: Toni Kroos
Villarreal: Manu Trigueros
Real Sociedad: Carlos Vela, Ruben Pardo
Las Palmas: Tana, Nabil El Zhar
Granada: Andreas Pereira, Omer Atzili
Athletic Club: Benat
Barcelona: Neymar, Lionel Messi, Ivan Rakitic
Atletico Madrid: Koke

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Sergio Alvarez, VGO v. GIJ: Real Madrid's Kiko Casilla is definitely the safest play, but he's also by far the most expensive. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is also a possibility, as Barcelona have won five of the last six against Atletico Madrid in all competitions, though Atleti won the most recent. However, Celta Vigo are the second-heaviest favorites on the slate, as Sporting Gijon have been held scoreless in their two previous road matches this season. It's not a significant savings to go with Alvarez over Casilla, but it's certainly helpful in a slate packed with upper-tier players.

DEFENDER

Yuri, SOC v. PAL: Real Sociedad led La Liga in crosses through the first four weeks, and Yuri has played a big part in it, sending in 21 over the last two games. He has also taken four shots (two on target) over that span, and if Sociedad can improve on their 18.64 percent cross accuracy (ninth-worst in the league), Yuri, who has only connected on 16.67 of his, could turn some of his crosses into assists.

Douglas Santos, GIJ at VGO: Douglas got the start last week in the midfield in place of Moi Gomez, and he sent in six crosses, including every corner. It's certainly possible Gomez gets his starting job back, which would severely limit Douglas' playing time, but if the latter is in the lineup, he's certainly worthy of fantasy consideration given his relatively low price on DraftKings.

Tito, GRA v. ATH: After sending in 15 crosses in his first three matches, including nine his most recent start, Tito failed to make the first XI last weekend at Real Betis. However, he came on for the second 45, and if he's on the field for kickoff Wednesday, he has solid crossing upside for a home team against a side that's allowed four goals in their last two games.

MIDFIELDER

Benat, ATH v. GRA:Benat leads La Liga in crosses this season, and while his consistently high floor is comforting for cash players, they'll have to spend plenty of cash to get him on DraftKings, as the only midfielders (he's not forward eligible) priced ahead of him are Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale, Neymar, Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema. Nevertheless, Athletic are the only road favorites, and Benat was able to pick up two assists last weekend against Valencia.

Andreas Pereira, GRA v. ATH: Pereira is the only player in La Liga to send in double-digit crosses (15) and take double-digit shots (12) through the first four games, and while only one of his crosses was accurate (making even Jesus Navas blush), he's still likely to take corners again if he's in the starting lineup. Granada may be underdogs, but they are at least at home and they've scored in every game this season even though Pereira hasn't found the back of the net yet.

Daniel Wass, VGO v. GIJ: Wass, who has sent in 14 crosses in the last two league games, should be taking corners for the team expected to score the third-most goals on the slate, trailing Real Madrid and Barcelona. Wass also took three shots in his last start, and if he can keep that going, he could be looking at a big score.

FORWARD

Cristiano Ronaldo, RMD v. VIL: With Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid on the slate, it initially appears tough to decide which high-priced forward to go after. However, with Atletico Madrid visiting Barcelona in a match that should be tight, there's every reason to go after Ronaldo, who did not play this past weekend due to a sore throat. Villarreal have started off the season well, holding opponents to just two goals in four matches, but they haven't faced an attacking force like Ronaldo, who has only two goals in his last two games. Yes, Lionel Messi had 91 fantasy points on DraftKings in his last two games, but he'll now go up against the best defensive team in the world. That's not to say he'll be shut out, but Ronaldo's upside is higher.

Carlos Vela, SOC v. PAL: Vela finished last weekend tied for the fifth-most crosses in La Liga this season, which is an impressive feat given that he's only played 147 minutes. His 0.17 crosses per minute is the highest average of any player who has sent in at least 10 this term, and he figures to have plenty more Wednesday since he will be taking a some corners too.

Guiseppe Rossi, VGO v. GIJ: Celta Vigo have almost the same expected goal odds as Barcelona, and while we can't pretend the two attacks are in the same stratosphere, the bookmakers are expecting the former to score, which leads to Rossi, who netted in the Europa League last week and could start Wednesday after coming off the bench last weekend. He's taken four shots, all on target, in his last two appearances (114 minutes), and his relatively low price allows Ronaldo to fit comfortably in.