FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday UCL Targets

MATCHES (EST)

• 3:00 pm: FC Porto vs. Juventus
• 3:00 pm: Sevilla vs. Borussia Dortmund

For detailed stats and odds, check out the

FanDuel Fantasy Soccer: Wednesday UCL Cheat Sheet

FORWARDS/MIDFIELDERS

Cristiano Ronaldo, JUV at POR ($24): Tuesday's matches featured a few goals after slow starts, but both of Wednesday's games have lower implied goal totals than anything the prior day. You could completely avoid the forwards and hope to get around 10 fantasy points from four defensive midfielders, but that's only useful in cash games. Ronaldo will be the most popular player since he has the best odds to score and the best matchup. You know he's going to take shots, as he's averaging more than five per 90 minutes in league play. The big thing will be if he can get any on target because that's what separates him from defensive midfielders. Outside of shooting, he does little else, and the main downside in this matchup is that Porto didn't allow a goal at home in three group-stage matches, including a scoreless draw against Manchester City. Even without fans, Porto know how to defend their home pitch, and that's a huge worry for Juventus in this matchup. If you want to fade Ronaldo and still back someone on Juventus, Weston McKennie ($9) may be the best play because of his defensive floor, which reached 20 points a couple league matches ago when he racked up five tackles, four interceptions and three clearances. McKennie isn't the exciting play, but if Porto make this match ugly and aim for a scoreless draw, he may finish with more points than Ronaldo. Otherwise, Federico Chiesa ($15) and Alvaro Morata ($20) are also options, but again, you're banking on them to score.

Erling Haaland, DOR at SEV ($21): Haaland is another option with the hope of goals even though Dortmund are an away underdog. He's in consideration first because Sevilla don't have a goal scorer who stands out like Haaland, who has 15 goals in 16 league appearances, averaging 1.85 shots on goal per 90 minutes. His scoring hasn't been consistent since returning from injury last month, but he's still bagged a couple braces against high-end German teams in Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig. If you don't want Ronaldo, Haaland is the next-best option for goals, even in a tough matchup. The better floor play is Jadon Sancho ($19), who has been kind of revived under their interim manager. He's hit double-digit fantasy points in each of his last nine league starts, totaling four goals and four assists from 20 shots and 29 chances created. That's about it in terms of goal-scoring for Dortmund, whereas Thomas Delaney ($7) is the best floor play as a defensive midfielder, but he has close to no upside.

Alejandro Gomez, SEV v. DOR ($19): Sevilla are the second-biggest favorite, but unlike Juventus and Dortmund, their production comes from all over. They also aren't that exciting offensively, as no one had more than two shots in their most recent 1-0 win against Huesca, who sit bottom of La Liga. Gomez has appeared in just two matches for Sevilla, but he's provided a spark, producing a goal and three chances in 108 minutes. He's on set pieces and plays a similar role to the one he had at Atalanta when he routinely hit double-digit fantasy points, mostly from chances created. Youssef En-Nesyri ($20) is the better GPP option since he leads the team with 13 league goals and he has two hat tricks in his last six starts. Playing in a central role, he's most likely to score against Dortmund, who have allowed at least one goal in each of their last seven league matches. Unless Sevilla really mess things up, they should hit the back of the net at least once. Suso ($12) is their other winger and at a surprising discount despite producing seven shots on target and 14 chances in his last nine starts. Joan Jordan ($15) is in play as a defensive midfielder who splits set pieces, but he's also three dollars more than Suso.

Sergio Oliveira, POR v. JUV ($15): As the biggest underdog, no one will be backing Porto to do much, but it's not like Juve have been dominant this season, sitting fourth in Serie A. Oliveira isn't too expensive, and he provides a decent floor from defensive stats to go with upside as the penalty taker. He had three goals in the group stage and managed a floor above 10 fantasy points in two of three home matches. If you want to go full Juve fade, Moussa Marega ($18) is most likely to hit the back of the net for Porto. Similar to everyone else on the team, he won't have much of a floor and you're banking on a Porto upset if you use him. Otherwise, there's not much else to like for them because their central midfielders are all more expensive than guys like McKennie, Delaney and Suso.

DEFENDERS

Aleix Vidal, SEV v. DOR ($6): Vidal, normally a winger, has been forced to play full-back a few times this season and that may be the case Wednesday. He doesn't have a high floor, but he's the cheapest expected starting defender and if you want to use Ronaldo and Haaland, he'll help. Otherwise, there aren't a ton of value options, with Wilson Manafa ($7) and Danilo ($8) both full-backs who have similarly minimal floors. In this range you're hoping for a clean sheet and a couple tackles, and Danilo is in the best option for that.

Chancel Mbemba, POR v. JUV ($13): There aren't any attacking full-backs worth spending on, and instead of going for Mats Hummels ($15), Mbemba provides the same floor. He hit at least 8.9 fantasy points in each group match and had 27.1 fantasy points in the draw against Man City when he had 13 clearances. He'll likely be under duress next to Pepe ($12), and that should lead to a floor around 10 or 15 points. The route may be to not spend at defender and stack a couple guys on the same team like Mbemba and Pepe or Vidal and Jules Kounde ($11).

GOALKEEPER

Wojciech Szczesny, JUV at POR ($14): You should have money to spend on whichever goalkeeper you want, so it only makes sense to go with one of the favorites. Szczesny has the best odds to win and secure a clean sheet, and he had a clean sheet in three of his last four league starts. Bono ($12) is the other favorite and has four straight league clean sheets, but he's also had a decent amount of work, making 14 saves in those matches. If you're fading Ronaldo, Agustin Marchesin ($8) is worth a shot, similar to the Lionel Messi and Keylor Navas situation from Tuesday.