DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Tuesday-Wednesday UCL Picks

For detailed stats and odds, check out the Fantasy Champions League: Tuesday-Wednesday Cheat Sheet.

MATCHES (EST)

Tuesday, 3:00 pm: Manchester United vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Tuesday, 3:00 pm: Roma vs. FC Porto
Wednesday, 3:00 pm: Ajax vs. Real Madrid
Wednesday, 3:00 pm: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Borussia Dortmund

FORWARDS

Kylian Mbappe, PSG at MUN ($8,600): Not having Neymar ($9,500) and Edinson Cavani ($7,900) is obviously a huge blow to the PSG attack, and while Manchester United have been flying since the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjær as interim manager, they haven't exactly been lock-tight defensively. Mbappe is a matchup nightmare for any team, and while he was playing really well before Neymar went down, he's continued to be extremely productive, finding the back of the net in six of his last seven starts (eight goals in total), including five on 18 shots (14 on target) in his last four games while adding two assists on 11 chances created. Those looking to capitalize on set pieces will quickly land on Angel Di Maria ($8,100), who had two goals on 17 shots (five on target), two assists on 15 chances created and 32 crosses in his last five games, but there's no question Mbappe has significantly higher upside than Di Maria, who has actually been sharing set pieces with Julian Draxler ($5,900, midfielder).

Marco Reus, BVB at TOT ($7,800): Reus has made the scoresheet in six of seven starts since the final Champions League group stage match in December, as he has five goals on 23 shots, including 10 on target, and two assists on 10 chances created over that span. Playing at Wembley isn't the easiest matchup, but Dortmund have the highest win odds among the underdogs and Reus is a big reason why. This price range will also have you considering Marcus Rashford ($7,600), who will probably be higher owned than Reus for a variety of reasons, one of which is that people are simply more familiar with him because he plays for the biggest club in the Premier League. He's been awesome of late too, scoring five goals on 29 shots (15 on target) and drawing nine fouls in his last six starts. I don't think going with Rashford is a bad move, but you can get even slightly better production from a teammate who is $1,500 less (more on that guy later). So, if you're still looking for a forward in this range, Roma's Edin Dzeko ($8,400) always has a solid shot floor, though he too has a cheaper teammate alternative in Stephan El Shaarawy ($6,400), who has a goal in three of his last four appearances.

Vinicius Junior, RM at AJA ($6,200): Vinicius has been a very active attacker since joining the starting lineup, and while he basically put up a donut in this past weekend's Madrid derby, he came into that match with 21 shots, including 11 on target, and 10 fouls drawn in five starts. He only scored one goal over that span and failed to pick up an assist on his nine chances created, but you won't find a cheaper path into the Madrid attack, one that has the highest implied goal total on the slate despite playing away. Karim Benzema ($8,200), who had three goals on nine shots (four on target) in his last three starts, and Gareth Bale ($10,000), who had two goals in his last three games, are the more recognizable names who probably have higher upside, but they'll obviously eat up a lot more salary. The biggest negative with all of them, though more so for Vinicius and Bale, is that the Madrid bench is stacked with excellent attackers like Isco ($8,000, midfielder), Marco Asensio ($7,300, midfielder) and Lucas Vazquez ($6,300, midfielder/forward), making a full 90 minutes unlikely.

MIDFIELDERS

Hakim Ziyech, AJA v. RM ($7,600): No player on this week's slate took as many shots as Ziyech during the group stage, a time when he averaged 14.80 fantasy points per 90 minutes thanks to 5.00 shots, including 2.20 on target, 5.20 crosses, 2.40 fouls drawn, 1.20 tackles won, 1.20 interceptions and 1.00 fouls committed. He has been ridiculously prolific during league play, averaging 6.30 shots, including 2.50 on target, 9.30 crosses, 1.90 fouls drawn, 1.90 tackles won and 1.00 interceptions per 90, though we always have to preface that by saying the Eredivisie is a pretty defense-optional league. The group stage also included opportunities to pile up fantasy points against the likes of Benfica and AEK Athens, though Ziyech did average 4.00 shots, including 2.50 on target, 5.00 crosses, 2.00 fouls drawn and 2.00 tackles won per 90 in two starts against Manchester United. I know this feels like an incredibly long stat dump, but it's all to say that Ziyech is a significant fantasy scorer, partially because of his role on set pieces, and while he comes into the match against Real Madrid as the biggest underdog on the slate, there may not be a more reliable floor.

Paul Pogba, MUN v. PSG ($6,100): Pogba might be the second-most mis-priced players on the slate. While he doesn't have a role on corners for Manchester United, he is their designated penalty taker and leads them in goals, assists, shots, shots on goal, chances created and fouls drawn in the Premier League this season. He's been magnificent ever since Solskjær took over as manager, scoring eight goals on 39 shots (21 on target) and assisting five others on 18 chances created in nine starts. The matchup against Paris Saint-Germain may seem tough on paper, but the game has the second-highest implied goal total and it wouldn't surprising at all to see Pogba have a major impact. If you're more concerned with set pieces, Toni Kroos ($6,700) should continue to see a dominant share of Real Madrid's dead balls, though he surprisingly has just one assist in 16 La Liga starts this season, plus two more in six Champions League appearances (five starts). Or if that doesn't suit you, Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini ($6,900) had two shots, two fouls drawn and 14 crosses in his last start, which came against AC Milan, and he's well rested after being suspended for their match this past weekend due to yellow card accumulation.

Jadon Sancho, BVB at TOT ($4,700): Sancho's shared role on set pieces hasn't led to a plethora of crosses, though he has created multiple chances in six of his last seven starts, a time that's also seen him take multiple shots four times and draw multiple fouls three times; oh, and he had two goals and two assists over that span. It's never easy relying on Dortmund set pieces, and they are also away underdogs against Tottenham, but the match is the closest of the four this week and still has a decent implied goal total. Priced like many defensive midfielders, Sancho is a solid wing attacker and could give fits to a Tottenham back line dealing with a number of injuries and playing on a quick turnaround.

DEFENDERS

Alex Telles, POR at ROM ($5,300): Telles leads all players on the slate in crosses during the Champions League this season, and he's been especially prolific of late in domestic league play, sending in 32 in his last three games. His role on set pieces will always keep him involved, and while traveling to Rome is apparently bad enough to make Porto the second-heaviest underdog on the slate, Roma continue to be very inconsistent defensively. Usually one of the most expensive defenders on a slate, Telles' salary this week hardly prices him out, which could cause him to be heavily owned in cash games.

Dani Alves, PSG at MUN ($2,700: Speaking of highly owned in cash games, Alves figures to be really popular because of his absurd price. His starting position will affect his realistic floor, though even if he starts in the defensive midfield, he won't have to do much for this salary. That being said, he showed what kind of player he still is this past weekend against Bordeaux, finishing with six crosses and four fouls drawn, certainly a solid output for less than $3,000.

Danny Rose, TOT v. BVB ($4,100): Any consideration for Tottenham usually includes Kieran Trippier ($5,400) because of his role on set pieces, but one issue this week is that Trippier played a full 90 minutes this past weekend, which could move manager Mauricio Pochettino to start Serge Aurier ($4,600) on Wednesday. If that's the case, a quick pivot to Dortmund's Raphael Guerriero ($5,000) could certainly work, especially since he's been starting as an attacking midfielder for much of his season and has a role on set pieces (not to mention two goals on eight shots and two assists on 11 chances created in his last three starts). However, Rose, who is much more likely to start because Ben Davies ($4,400) remains sidelined with a groin injury, has actually been a better fantasy producer of late, with one assist on six chances created, four shots, 31 crosses, eight fouls drawn and four tackles won in his last three starts. Given their respective salaries and production, why not pay down for one of the cheapest starting fullbacks?

Ashley Young, MUN v. PSG ($4,700): A majority of Young's fantasy value comes from set pieces, though Manchester United have been winning plenty of dead balls now that they're much more focused on their attack. Young was rested for his past weekend's win over Fulham, but he sent in 30 crosses and created nine chances in his previous three starts. If you don't want to depend on set pieces, Ajax's Nicolas Tagliafico ($4,500) is a very well-rounded fantasy-point producer, averaging 1.40 shots, including 1.20 on target, 2.00 crosses, 2.20 tackles won, 3.00 fouls drawn and 2.20 interceptions per 90 minutes in five group stage starts, all figures that are fairly close to what he does during Eredivisie play. The matchup against Real Madrid doesn't lend itself to much clean sheet optimism, but Ajax don't back down from bigger clubs, so Tagliafico should be active on both ends of the pitch.

GOALKEEPER

Iker Casillas, POR at ROM ($4,200): Roma and Tottenham forced more saves than all other teams during the group stage, though Spurs will be without leading goal-scorer and shot-taker Harry Kane. Porto come in as pretty sizable underdogs, but Casillas has gone nine straight games without allowing multiple goals, a span that included four clean sheets. It's a move that comes with risk, as Roma have scored multiple goals in five of their last six, including four games with three goals, but his low salary helps alleviate some of that. And if you're feeling riskier, Andre Onana ($4,000) is the cheapest home goalkeeper, though he's facing a Real Madrid attack that scored multiple goals in six of their last seven games, including 10 in their last three.