This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
MATCHES (ET)
- 3:00 pm: AC Milan vs. Paris Saint-Germain
- 3:00 pm: Atlético Madrid vs. Celtic
- 3:00 pm: FC Porto vs. Royal Antwerp
- 3:00 pm: Lazio vs. Feyenoord
- 3:00 pm: Manchester City vs. BSC Young Boys
- 3:00 pm: Red Star Belgrade vs. RB Leipzig
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS
One of the major news items heading into the fourth gameweek of Champions League is the fitness of Erling Haaland ($10,200). He twisted his ankle Saturday against Bournemouth and was subsequently subbed at halftime. Unsurprisingly, Pep Guardiola was not particularly forthcoming on his status for Tuesday. If he is fit to play, he continues to be underpriced for his outrageous anytime goalscorer odds (-360 at the time of writing). City have a massive implied goal total of 2.7 and all of their forwards are affordable and will be popular in cash games and tournaments.
Julian Alvarez (MCI vs. YBO, $9,700): While Manchester City sometimes change tactics at a moment's notice, Alvarez appears to be the set-piece taker, even if someone like Phil Foden ($8,700) is on the pitch. He took 11 corners over the weekend for City (though, amusingly, all but one were taken short) and his goalscoring odds of -225 are second only to Haaland. At this price and against Young Boys, he's a lock in cash games if he starts.
Antoine Griezmann (ATM vs. CEL, $11,000): Griezmann is probably a bit too expensive in comparison to forward-eligible options on City like Jeremy Doku ($9,100) or Foden. Doku, in particular, is coming off a breakout performance where he supplied four assists with a goal. He's a cash-game priority as one of the main conduits for City's attack, but I'm sick of writing up City players, and this is one of the best spots of the entire season for Griezmann and Atletico Madrid. Their road matchup against Celtic was back and forth, and Griezmann scored a penalty while racking up 16 floor points. He takes most of the set pieces for Atletico Madrid and has nine goals in 14 starts in La Liga and the Champions League.
I'm usually not a fan of playing his teammate Alvaro Morata ($8,500) in DFS since he doesn't really offer much in terms of scoring outside of goal contributions. That said, he has the third highest goalscoring odds of the slate and DraftKings Sportsbook has Morata as +370 to score two or more goals. That's an implied probability of around 20 percent, so he's worth considering since a lack of floor hardly matters once you've bagged a brace. We saw over the weekend that multiple City attackers can bust in an elite matchup and Atletico players have access to huge ceilings. For this reason, I think Griezmann and Morata deserve your attention, at least in GPP formats.
The case against Griezmann at his price is the availability of cheaper options at forward in good matchups. Porto are the third major favorite Tuesday and many of their players are not priced up for the matchup against Royal Antwerp. Evanilson ($6,700) scored a hat trick off the bench two weeks ago in the reverse fixture and he's an excellent option in tournaments if he starts. Mehdi Taremi ($9,900) is much more expensive, but like Morata, he can supply a low-rostered brace. RB Leipzig are in a similar situation. Lois Openda ($9,300) is similar to Taremi, but options like Yussuf Poulsen ($5,400) and Timo Werner ($6,400) are affordable given their implied goal total is just below two.
I don't think many will be expecting PSG's trip to AC Milan to be a shootout, but Milan desperately need a win to have a chance to advance. If Milan score early, they might park the bus, and if PSG score early, Milan will be forced to be more aggressive at home. I think either of these game scripts could be good for PSG. Kylian Mbappe ($10,600) is capable of being the highest scoring forward on any DFS slate, while options like Ousmane Dembele ($7,900) and Randal Kolo Muani ($6,800) are affordable, though the former would be less likely to take set pieces if Kang-In Lee ($8,400) started with him. I wouldn't mind playing Rafael Leao ($7,400) in larger tournaments, either, especially if Milan go down early. He had 19 floor points over the weekend as Milan chased the game in a loss to Udinese.
MIDFIELDERS
While there are some exciting midfield options such as Jack Grealish ($7,500) (if he starts) or Xavi Simons ($9,000), I think it will be popular to spend up at least twice at forward, which will make it difficult to afford a premium midfield-only eligible option. In cash games, I wouldn't be surprised if many used Foden to occupy a midfield spot. Midfield simply isn't a strong position overall on this slate and a lot is going to depend on who starts. For example, Stephen Eustaquio ($7,200) is priced nearby and might take some set pieces, but he is often subbed early and Porto set pieces are a messy committee overall.
Matheus Nunes (MCI vs. YBO, $4,900): If Nunes or Mateo Kovacic ($4,500) start for City, either is in play for cash games. Nunes might take set pieces depending on the starting XI and he is a versatile player who has been active offensively for City in most of his starts. Kovacic is quite bad for DFS, but at this price he is cash viable. I played him in cash games this weekend and it was infuriating seeing him pass on opportunities to shoot and create chances. Despite this frustration, it's easy to see how Kovacic could hit a ceiling game with a little bit more luck in a soft matchup.
Hwang In-beom (RSB vs. RBL, $4,400): I fully realize I am highlighting an underdog defensive midfielder here, but there aren't many viable punts you can safely project to start and I'm much more confident In-Beom starting than Nunes or Kovacic. RB Leipzig have been inconsistent in all competitions this season and In-Beom managed seven floor points on the road in their reverse fixture. At home, I think Red Star can have some good sequences of play and give Leipzig trouble, and In-Beom takes most of their set pieces so long as Guelor Kanga Kaku ($7,400) is on the bench, which gives him additional bailout assist potential. Options like Koke ($4,600) are reasonable alternatives if you don't want to play an underdog. He's a defensive midfielder without set pieces, but at least he plays for a big favorite.
DEFENDERS
David Raum (RBL at RSB, $6,800): When Leipzig hosted Red Star two weeks ago, Raum scored a goal and logged an assist with 15 crosses and six shots assisted. Raum's price has increased since then and it's worth noting he split corners with Xavi Simons over the weekend in a 2-0 loss away to Mainz. That might have been more of a function of game script than a change in role for Raum, but it's at least worth considering. I'm still likely to play Raum in cash games and tournaments, but there is some fragility at this price.
Achraf Hakimi ($5,900) scored less than two fantasy points at home against Milan two weeks ago, but his league form continues to be excellent. He got two assists over the weekend and he now has four goals and four assists in Ligue 1 and UCL play. Joao Mario ($4,700) is in a good spot at home against Antwerp. Porto have a great chance to keep a clean sheet and Mario should have some opportunities to cross if they can control possession at home.
John Stones (MCI vs. YBO, $2,800): Manchester City have an implied probability of 62 percent to keep a clean sheet per the RotoWire Cheat Sheet. Whether Stones plays as a center-back or defensive midfielder, he is at least $1,000 too cheap. Nathan Ake ($3,400) is another underpriced, salary-relief option.
GOALKEEPER
Omri Glazer (RSB vs. RBL, $4,000): In cash games, it's looking like I won't have the salary to play Ederson ($5,900), who is boasting insanely high implied win and clean sheet percentages. My issue with him in cash games and tournaments is that his ceiling is probably 12 points and any time City concede against weak opposition, he doesn't pick up enough saves and often ends up with less than five points. I'll avoid him in tournaments for this reason and he isn't a priority in cash games, either. If I can't afford Ederson I'm happy to play Glazer if I have to in cash games. He's the cheapest home keeper and has plenty of save upside. Plus, I have to eventually pick the right goalkeeper one of these slates, right? (Editor's Note: No).
