SOCCER

Champions League Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 12/11/18

Koke and Atlético are still battling for the top of the group with Dortmund, and both sides have great matchups. Who else can you target on the last matchday of the Champions League group stage?

Tuesday brings the last 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 -- Galatasaray versus Porto and Schalke versus Lokomotiv Moscow.

Group Stage
Tuesday, December 11th
Napoli at Liverpool
Tottenham at Barcelona
PSV Eindhoven at Inter Milan
Dortmund at Monaco
Atletico Madrid at Club Brugge
Paris Saint-Germain at Red Star Belgrade


Among the seven teams still vying to advance are Napoli, Liverpool, Inter, PSG, and Tottenham. Liverpool needs the most help while the other English club on the slate, Tottenham, can miss out depending on Inter's performance.

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

Forwards To Target

Kylian Mbappe ($12,500) -- PSG still have to clinch a berth in the next round, but they have a great matchup. There is also a proven record of goals in their Champions League matches, as there have been over 2.5 goals scored in 19 of their last 20 in the competition. Red Star Belgrade have allowed 13 goals, which is worst in the group and only two fewer than the worst in the entire competition. Mbappe has 12 goals in the domestic league and has added two in the Champions League; he has a combined six assists across the two competitions. Mbappe had seven shots with three on target when PSG beat Belgrade 6-1 in the first meeting. Mbappe tallied a goal and an assist.

Dries Martens ($10,500) -- Mertens had two goals in the last group stage match and is part of a dynamic attack that has pushed Napoli to the top of their group. He is averaging nearly four shots a match in the Champions League and will take on a shot any time he has a sight of goal. He averages more shots in the Champions League than in Serie A, but he has tallied seven goals in the domestic league. The hybrid midfielder/striker has also added four assists in Serie A. Mertens returned to Napoli after a long run at the World Cup, so he was slow to get going. He has found his form as he was named the Serie A player of the month from a fantasy standpoint. Napoli can finish top of the group, but to do so Mertens must lead the attack.

Luuk de Jong ($9,000) -- Eindhoven are out of contention, but they have scored a goal a game in the competition with de Jong leading the team with three goals. He has 14 goals and 3 assists in 15 league appearances. The former Newcastle man put his name on the map this season with a stunning bicycle kick goal in the end of November and now every game becomes an audition. He has been the subject of rumors with Club America in the past and the rumors continue with his scoring outburst. Everton are one of the latest teams to be discussed, along with Mbappe's PSG. This will be his last audition on the biggest stage in Europe. The forward won six aerial duels against Inter last time out, which was one of his more successful matches in the air in the Champions League, so he may be able to maintain possession for PSV and add to his passing totals.

Paco Alcacer ($6,500) -- Alcacer may not start, but he has redefined the term supersub. He is scoring a league goal every 28 minutes and is among the top scorers in the Bundesliga, as well as the most accurate. Mbappe scores every 69 minutes, the second-best mark in European leagues. Alcacer did start the last match against Monaco and hit the post once to deny him a second goal. He added one more shot and completed two tackles. Monaco have nothing to play for, so they may not put out a full-strength lineup. Dortmund can overtake Atletico in Group A for a better draw in the Round of 16. Obviously it is a gamble to play Alcacer if he does not start, but his track record shows he can be valuable in limited minutes.

Midfielders to Target

Ivan Rakitic ($9,000) -- Barcelona have won four games in a row and have a chance to eliminate Tottenham from the Champions League. All first team players are available and the question is, "Will they role out the first-choice tea?" Rakitic's durability makes him a likely candidate to start. Rakitic had over 80 touches and completed nearly 95% of his passes in Barcelona's 4-2 win over Tottenham early this competition. He also scored his only goal of the Champions League against the English side. Rakitic has added two assists and averages over two shots per game. He also averages over three defensive actions per match, but his job is to control the match and he will try to do that against Spurs.

Koke ($8,500) -- Koke is Atletico's second-leading scorer in the Champions league. He has played in four of the five matches scoring twice while adding an assist. His passing rate is near 90% success. He is also averaging over four defensive actions per match in the European competition. The versatile midfielder controls the center of the pitch with his passing and ability to hold onto the ball often finding several key passes per match. In the first match against Club Brugge Koke had, by-far-and-away, the most touches on his team. Madrid still have top of the group to play for, so Koke can boss this match once again.

Matias Vecino ($7,500) -- Vecino has covered more ground than any other player in the Champions League and he will need to be active against the PSV attack that have nothing to lose. The defensive midfielder has scored a goal in the competition, but his job is to guard the back line. He has played in every match of the group stage putting in a solid defensive effort. He is averaging three tackles, 1.2 clearances, and 1.2 other defensive actions per game. Those numbers are higher than his Serie A output, but he has started just eight matches in the domestic league. It is worth noting that he has completed double the amount of successful dribbles in the Champions League, 2.4 per game, than in Serie A and he is averaging 2.4 shots per match. He has a solid floor from defensive actions and a sneaky chance to contribute offensively.

Defenders to Target

Achraf Hakimi ($5,500) -- Hakimi has played in three Champions League matches for Dortmund. The outside back has been more offensive minded as he has three assists to equal his total in 10 Bundesliga matches. He does average close to six defensive actions in Bundesliga play. His passing percentage is above 86% across all competitions and Dortmund have completed the second-most passes in the competition. Dortmund are also averaging 60% possession while allowing only two goals. With Monaco having nothing to play for Dortmund should own possession allowing Hakimi to be involved from the wing as he sends in crosses looking for Alcacer and others. The International Centre for Sports Studies have named Hakimi as the top fullback in European leagues over the last three months and Dortmund are looking to make his loan deal permanent.

Trent Alexander-Arnold ($5,000) -- Alexander-Arnold led all Liverpool players in touches the first time they faced off with Napoli. He finished the match with one shot on goal, two clearances, and two interceptions. He was being rested over the weekend, but was forced on early against Burnley. He has matured quickly for Liverpool, even being called World Class, and has shown confidence on the ball that any manager would want on their team. He has also shown he is dangerous on free kicks. Alexander-Arnold will need to be heavily involved as Liverpool face a must win game. He will have to take some gambles and get involved offensively.

Keepers to Target

Roman Burki ($6,500) -- Dortmund are looking for their fifth clean sheet in six matches, so pairing one of their defenders with Burki can be highly beneficial. His best game of the Group Stage came against Monaco as he held a clean sheet after five saves. He has had at least two saves every game and is the only keeper to start every game to average over 20 FanDuel points. He did allow a goal in the Bundesliga, but it was off a penalty kick. If Dortmund decide to give him a rest, back up Marwin Hitz ($4,000) is still a good option.

Jan Oblak ($5,500) -- Atletico have back-to-back shut outs and kept a clean sheet against Monaco in the last Group Stage match. That was his best game on FanDuel as he scored over 20 points. He faced three shots in that match, just as he did in La Liga this weekend, and walked away with the clean sheet. They also blanked Dortmund 2-0 in the previous match as Atletico seem to be hitting their stride in the European competition. The top results with the best odds in this match are a clean sheet for Oblak.



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.