Yahoo DFS Soccer: Wednesday Champions League Picks

Yahoo DFS Soccer: Wednesday Champions League Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Soccer series.

MATCHES (EST)

2:45 p.m: Sporting CP v. Olympiacos
2:45 p.m: Atletico Madrid v. Roma
2:45 p.m: Anderlecht v. Bayern Munich
2:45 p.m: Juventus v. Barcelona
2:45 p.m: Paris Saint-Germain v. Celtic
2:45 p.m: FC Basel v. Manchester United

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

FORWARD

Neymar, PSG v. CEL (€28): Paris Saint-Germain have already qualified for the knockout round, but a win would all but guarantee they finish first in the group ahead of Bayern Munich, who they play in the last matchday of the group stage. Neymar is the most expensive player on the slate, but he's scored no fewer than 17.45 fantasy points in the Champions League thanks to at least one goal in each match. And while he failed to score in last weekend's Ligue 1 match against Nantes, he had bagged six goals on 16 shots on targets while assisting two others and drawing 28 fouls in his previous six matches in all competitions. Pivoting to Edinson Cavani (€26) is a viable strategy, as he comes in with the highest anytime goal scorer odds on the slate, though his floor is lower than Neymar's. The same could be said about Kylian Mbappe (€24), though the salary differences aren't big enough to make Neymar a worse per-Euro option.

Robert Lewandowski, FCB at ADL (€26): Lewandowski has the second-highest anytime goal scorer odds on the slate, coming off a brace against Augsburg at the weekend when he put all four of his shots on target and drew five fouls. He's scored in three consecutive starts and has had at least 9.55 fantasy points in both of his last two Champions League outings despite not finding the back of the net. In fact, his only UCL goal this season came against Anderlecht in September. Regardless of the UCL struggles, Lewandowski will lead the line for a Bayern side that revolves around him in the attack and is expected to score the second-most goals (trailing PSG) among Wednesday's 12 teams.

Bas Dost, SPOR v. OLY (€10): Dost has been in excellent form of late, scoring five goals and assisting another in his last three domestic matches. He's quite goal dependent, but at the minimum price he doesn't have to do much to make value. Looking around at the other goal scorers on the slate, Dost has the same anytime goal scoring odds as Romelu Lukaku (€24) and Antoine Griezmann (€22) while having better odds than Gonzalo Higuain (€23), Paulo Dybala (€23), Luis Suarez (€22) and Edin Dzeko (€20), each of whom cost at least €10 more.

MIDFIELDER

Bruno Fernandes, SPOR v. OLY (€16): There are plenty of bigger names in the player pool, but Fernandes is in a great spot at home against Olympiacos. He not only leads Sporting in shots during Primeira Liga play, but he's also likely to be on most set pieces. Both situations give him plenty of opportunities for fantasy points, and he also puts himself in good positions to draw fouls (oh, he leads Sporting in that category too). Sporting are the third-biggest favorites on the slate, trailing only PSG and Bayern Munich, so it certainly makes sense to have exposure to one of their best fantasy producers. If you're willing to take a little bit of a gamble, it's possible that Daniel Podence (€10) gets a start, and while he's played minimally this season, he's taken four shots and won four fouls in his last 90 minutes of domestic league action.

Paul Pogba, MUN at BSL (€20): Recently back from injury, one he suffered against Basel back in September, Pogba scored one goal and picked up an assist during last weekend's 4-1 win over Newcastle. Basel have been solid during UCL play, and they have a legitimate shot at making the knockout round, but Manchester United look ready to attack with Pogba back in the fold. He usually has a solid shooting floor while also drawing fouls, and with all of the other Man United midfielders pretty questionable in terms of reliable fantasy production, Pogba provides access to the favored side.

James Rodriguez, FCB at ADL (€18): The Bayern Munich midfield can go in a number of different directions, many of which alter James' fantasy upside. He could be on set pieces, which helps his assist upside, or he could be playing even more forward on the wing in place, or even along with, Kingsley Coman (€17). Thiago Alcantara (€18) is also a possibility for a start, and there's no denying the upside of Arjen Robben (€20). All of this is to say that we need to see who is starting in the Bayern midfield Wednesday but that we probably want at least one piece.

DEFENDER

Joshua Kimmich, FCB at ADL (€16): Kimmich continues to be one of the best attacking weapons for Bayern Munich, and we get to have him with the potential of a clean sheet bonus to boot. He was wonderful in the first matchup between these two teams, scoring 19.55 points thanks to a goal on his only shot and an assist. He's actually coming in with assists in both of his last two Bundesliga matches as well, which included four accurate crosses, four tackles won and won fouls drawn combined. Bayern Munich should be in control for most of this match, which means Kimmich could rack up a handful of pass points too, solidifying his floor while keeping his upside high.

Juan Bernat, FCB at ADL (€13): On the other side of Kimmich could be Bernat, with both David Alaba (back) and Rafinha (ankle) being held out with injuries. Bernat started this past weekend's Bundesliga match against Augsburg, and while he didn't put up a huge fantasy effort, one match under his belt and just as easy an opponent should allow him to accumulate enough, especially with the clean sheet bonus, to pay off his salary.

Tobias Figueiredo, SPOR v. OLY (€10): Continuing our pattern of targeting cheap players from Sporting, Figueriedo could get a start Wednesday, as Sporting deal with a number of injuries and a suspension along the back line. It's possible that Jeremy Mathieu (€10) returns from injury and slots back into the starting XI, but either player at this price with the expected clean sheet odds make for decent options.

GOALKEEPER

Alphonse Areola, PSG v. CEL (€16): The goalkeeper pricing continues to be very tight, and with a number of value plays available, there doesn't seem to be a big need to look at moving away from the goalkeeper with the highest implied win and clean sheet odds. Celtic aren't a bad attack, which should give Areola a few save opportunities, but PSG are still a significantly better side.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Andrew M. Laird plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: kingmorland, DraftKings: andrewmlaird, Yahoo: Lairdinho.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew M. Laird
Andrew M. Laird, the 2017 and 2018 FSWA Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's Head of DFS Content and Senior Soccer Editor. He is a nine-time FSWA award finalist, including twice for Football Writer of the Year.
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