SOCCER

Champions League Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 10/23/18

Sergio Aguero and Manchester City have a great matchup, and the forward has top odds to score with a ceiling that outweighs his heavy cost.

Tuesday brings the next set of Champions League group stage matches, with FanDuel offering a six-game main slate. The slate will not include the two early matches of the day -- AEK Athens versus Bayern Munich and Valencia against Young Boys.

Group Stage
Tuesday, October 2nd
CSKA Moscow at Roma
Lyon at Hoffenheim
Viktoria Plzen at Real Madrid
Benfica at Ajax
Juventus at Manchester United
Manchester City at Shakhtar Donetsk

Manchester City and Juventus are two of the top three favorites to win the Champions League. It should be no surprise that they are both favored this week along with Madrid and Roma.

Let's look at some players at various price points.

Forwards to Target

Sergio Aguero ($12,500) -- City is heavily favored and Aguero is the top odds choice for goal scorer. Aguero did find the net over the weekend and had plenty more opportunities that Joe Hart kept out with great keeping. Aguero has scored once this season in the Champions League after tallying four goals last season. He has been a mainstay in the City Champions League lineup for over seven years. He knows how to handle the big stage and Shakhtar should not be a tough opponent. Aguero also has six goals in nine Premier League appearances and is very close to a must-play despite his high price.

Dusan Tadic ($9,000) -- The former Southampton player's move to Ajax continues to pay off as he thrives in the Eredivisie. He has six goals and three assists in nine appearances and is one of the team's highest rated players. He also recorded an assist during the last matchday. He is averaging over two shots and three key passes a game in the Dutch top league despite playing in six different positions this season. Benfica are among the best defensive teams in Liga NOS, but they allowed two goals to AEK Athens last time out in the Champions League. Ajax have won all but one match at home this season, which was a draw in the league opener.

Reiss Nelson ($6,500) --When Nelson scored twice on his Full Bundesliga debut this weekend many Arsenal fans were asking for a recall in January. It was just a matter of time before he made his way into the Hoffenheim lineup and he announced his presence in a game controlled by Nelson's current team. There is still a chance that he would start the game on the sideline, but Hoffenheim are in last place and a win against Lyon would put them right back into the picture. Why not go with your most in-form players? Teams in this group have all allowed at least three goals, so no team has shown a defensive mindset.

Midfielders to Target

Isco ($9,000) -- Isco returned to the Real Madrid lineup for 60 minutes this weekend and should be ready to go for Tuesday. He was active on the defensive end and also created four chances off of six crosses. In his only Champions League action this season he created five chances and scored a goal against Roma. Madrid's opponent, Viktoria Plzen, have allowed seven goals, the most in the tournament. Bettors would not get much money back if they chose four or more goals in a match being played in Madrid. Isco has played in six different positions and averages close to three defensive actions per match. However, his offensive output in the Champions League match exceeded his averages in league play. Real Madrid have been in a goal drought, but Isco's return and a match up with Plzen sets up for great relief for the Madrid attackers.

Pizzi ($7,500) -- The Benfica midfielder has created four chances in both Champions League games thus far. He has also scored four goals and added four assists in league play this season, and is averaging three defensive actions per match in Liga NOS from his central midfield position. Pizzi also has an assist in three straight matches across all competitions, including the last time out in Champions League play against AEK Athens. He averages nearly two shots and over three key passes per game for the top team in Portugal. Benfica's only loss since domestic league play resumed is to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Pizzi has been a big part of that success as he is their top rated player.

Defenders to Target

Leonardo Bonucci ($6,000) -- Bonucci is averaging over 17 FanDuel points per match in the Champions League. He has played one game that required more attention to defense and one that allowed him to get forward, but he thrived on both ends. The match against Manchester United calls for more attention to the defensive side. Interceptions and clearances are his forte in the domestic league, but he is averaging 2.5 blocks per match in the Champions League. Bonucci also likes to play long balls, so if United gives him time on the ball he will look to spring Cristiano Ronaldo ($13,000). His first duties will be to slow down the United attack.

Sergey Krivtsov ($5,000) -- Someone is going to have to try to slow down Aguero and that responsibility should go to center back Krivtsov. The Shakhtar defender started one of the two Champions League games and was credited with three blocks, two clearances, four interceptions, and one tackle. His team has only allowed six goals in their domestic league, but City is likely better than any competition in Ukraine. City is averaging 63.3% possession in the Champions League. Krivtsov's ceiling rises simply based on the number of opportunities he should have to complete a defensive action and he should be low owned, much like the next player.

Roman Hubnik ($4,500) -- Plzen's 34-year old central defender has played the entire 90 minutes in every match this season other than one in which he was sent off against Slavia Prague. He is their backbone. He will be very busy against Real Madrid and look to match his stats from the Roma game. He was credited with 15 defensive actions on October 2nd. His average in league play is 11.5, so he brought his game up against better opponents. Roma finished with 65% possession, which is very close to Madrid's league average.

Keeper to Target

Keylor Navas ($6,000) -- The Real Madrid keeper -- who is expected to start -- is the highest-priced goalie on the slate, but it makes sense. With 14 midfielders across all price-points averaging over 20 points, there are savings to be had through the middle of the field that allows Navas to slot into the keeper spot. Real Madrid have a 94% implied win probability and they are getting three goals in handicapping. Plzen are averaging a goal per match, but they were shut out against Roma. On paper, a clean sheet for Navas seems likely.

Andre Onana ($4,500) -- Both the Ajax and Benfica keeper, Odisseas Vlachodimos ($4,500), have appeal, but the Ajax keeper gets the nod. The game will be played at Ajax and Onana is averaging a point more than Vlachodimos. Ajax is also a slight favorite with limited goals expected. Ajax has only allowed one goal through two matches. Onana made three saves in the match against Bayern and earned two clearances despite allowing the goal.



Douglas Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Douglas Smith also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username aquemini03. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her
articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.