SOCCER

Champions League Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 2/12/19

Marcus Rashford has been a key figure for a resurgent Manchester United, and the Red Devils get a home matchup against a short-handed PSG side. Who else should you target on Tuesday?

The Champions League, Europe's biggest soccer competition, returns for the knockout rounds on Tuesday. FanDuel will be offering plenty of contests featuring the two Tuesday matches, both of which begin at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Round of 16
Tuesday, February 12th
Paris Saint-Germain at Manchester United
Porto at Roma


Both home teams are favored on Tuesday as the line has slowly moved toward Manchester United due to their recent run of form and PSG's injury woes. Saturday's win marked Manchester United's 10th in their last 11 matches across all competitions. PSG beat Bordeaux, 1-0, on Saturday but has lost two of their last nine across all competitions. Marco Verratti ($7,500) was able to recover from an injury scare in time for Saturday's match, but PSG will be without Neymar, Thomas Meunier and Edinson Cavani.

Porto was played to a 1-1 draw over the weekend but remain at the top of the league in Portugal. Porto have drawn three of their last four matches across all competitions. Roma had a convincing win versus Chievo on Friday night. It was their first win in four matches across all competitions. Recent form makes this a very even match.

Let's look at some players at various price points who will have an impact on Tuesday's slate.

Forwards

Edin Dzeko ($12,500) -- Roma's Dzeko is the most expensive player on the slate and for good reason. He leads the slate in FanDuel points per game during this season's UCL play, and it's not even close with Neymar out of contention. Dzeko has five goals, which is tied for third in the competition among all players (not just this slate). He also has three goals and an assist in his last four games while earning man of the match honors in two. While Porto allowed just 11 shots per match in group play, they did foul a touch more than 15 times per match. Dzeko has taken shots from the penalty spot, as well, so he could benefit from Porto's aggressiveness, and he profiles as one of the strongest plays on the slate.

Marcus Rashford ($11,500) -- Rashford was rested over the weekend as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer mentioned he already had his lineup for PSG in mind. That would leave one to believe that Rashford was always the top choice to lead the line. He has six goals in the last eight games he has started and is a big reason why Manchester United have been on their incredible hot streak. He had his best game in the Champions League on the final day of group play, scoring a goal and tallying 25.0 FanDuel points. Rashford will also look across and see PSG star Kylian Mbappe ($12,000) and possibly be extra motivated to show who is the better under-25 player.

Tiquinho Soares ($7,000) -- The Brazilian is a typical central striker. Soares has nine goals and an assist on the season for Porto. He averages 3.6 shots per match and is fouled nearly twice per 90 minutes. In Porto's last match, Soares led the team with four shots. He has Porto's best goals-to-games ratio and must fill in for the injured Moussa Marega. Of the remaining teams in this UCL campaign, Roma allow the second-most shots per game while averaging less possession than Porto. With Marega out, Soares should take on the full load up front for Porto, and he provides a good value option at forward.

Midfielders

Paul Pogba ($9,500) -- One cannot talk about the resurgent performance by Manchester United without talking about Pogba. He has shined right along with Rashford during the hot streak. Pogba is the most expensive midfielder on the slate, but given his recent form, the price may be a little low. He averages more than 20 points per match in the Champions League and is coming off a two-goal performance in Premier League action. He has eight goals in the last 10 games while adding five assists. Pogba has also been tasked with penalty duties, giving his DFS outlook a big boost, and he has nearly an 80% conversion rate for Manchester United. Pogba and Rashford have excelled under Solskjaer and will likely be at the heart of everything the Red Devils do going forward.

Hector Herrera ($8,000) -- Herrera is another player who is stepping up to fill in for Porto's top goal scorer, Marega. He played every game of the group stage and scored twice. The Mexican international scored Porto's only goal over the weekend. The midfielder contributes on both sides of the pitch as he is averaging nearly three defensive actions across all competitions. He also averages more than one shot and one successful dribble per match to go along with an 84% pass completion rate. Since the World Cup, Herrera's stock has been on the rise. He is attracting plenty of attention for a possible summer transfer, including from Tottenham, and there's no better way to get a move to a big club than to play well in the latter stages of the UCL.

Bryan Cristante ($7,000) -- Cristante led the Roma midfielders in touches in their past match as the 23-year-old was employed behind Patrik Schick, who is out for Tuesday's match. Schick is just one of Roma's injury concerns, and Schick's absence puts more responsibility on Cristante. Cristante has four goals and three assists in Serie A but will likely need to support the back line against Porto. His defensive numbers in the Champions League are better than in Serie A as he averaged slightly more than four defensive actions in his five matches during the group stage.

Defenders

Eder Militao ($6,000) -- The four players priced above Militao on the slate -- all of which are good options -- are much more well known, but Militao is a vital piece of Porto's overall team play. The entire Porto defense played well during the group stage, allowing just six goals to help them win their group by five points, though the group wasn't a tough one. Militao played five of the games and even added a goal against Schalke. The 21-year-old Brazilian averaged five clearances and one tackle to go along with two interceptions per match in the group stage. The number of clearances per match is more than his average in Liga NOS. Although he can play center-back, Militao played right back this past Friday and was second on the team in touches while taking two shots. He may be able to take advantage of Roma's injuries and become more involved offensively, raising his DFS ceiling.

Rick Karsdorp ($4,000) -- There are plenty of good defensive options for Tuesday's slate, but Karsdorp may be the biggest value. He has started the last five matches for Roma across all competitions and recorded an assist this weekend. Kostas Manolas ($6,000) did return to training, but it seems unlikely to impact Karsdorp's position on the squad. Karsdorp does have some attacking ability and has been used as a midfielder. He enjoys playing the long ball as he averages close to three per match. Karsdorp is a bit of a risk as he is inexperienced in the Champions League, but his ability to contribute around the pitch gives him a nice floor at a bargain salary.

Keepers

David De Gea ($6,000) -- De Gea leads all keepers who are available in average FanDuel points in the Champions League. He had three clean sheets in five games during the group stage and has held a clean sheet in four of his last six matches overall. He had 12 saves across the group stage, as well. Fulham actually tested him last weekend, but De Gea had no trouble, notching three saves en route to a clean sheet. De Gea is considered one of the best keepers in the world, and he's capable of a big day against anyone.

Antonio Mirante ($5,000) -- Mirante is taking the place of the injured Robin Olsen, who actually averaged more FanDuel points per match in the group stage than De Gea did. Roma's match against Porto is supposed to be low scoring, so Mirante and Porto's Iker Casillas ($4,500) are both in play. Mirante is less of a known commodity and more expensive than Casillas, which should make him the lower-owned keeper of the two. He is also coming off a clean sheet. Remember, Porto relies on defense and averages less than 12 shots per match in the Champions League, so Mirante is capable of a clean-sheet win in this spot.



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.