SOCCER

Champions League Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 12/10/19

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez terrorized Inter in their first Champions League game this season and will have a chance to replicate their efforts in matchweek six.

The Champions League, Europe's biggest soccer competition, returns on Tuesday for matchweek 6 of the Group Stage. FanDuel will be offering plenty of contests featuring the six Tuesday matches, which begin at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Group Stage
Tuesday, December 10
Slavia Prague at Borussia Dortmund
Lille at Chelsea
Valencia at Ajax
Barcelona at Inter
Zenit St. Petersburg at Benfica
Red Bull Leipzig at Lyon


The format will be what has now become the norm on FanDuel soccer contests and what is used in this season's Premier League competitions. Lineups will consist of four forwards or midfielders, two defenders, and one keeper. Player pricing ranges from Lionel Messi at $24, to a multitude of players at $8.

Valencia at Ajax is the most important match of the day with nothing settled in Group H. Group G can be shuffled after Tuesday's action, although Leipzig is currently sitting in the top spot.

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

Forward/Midfielder

Lionel Messi ($24) and Luis Suarez ($23), Barcelona

The power duo from Barcelona had their way the last time they played Inter. Both of them scored over 40 FanDuel points with Suarez scoring twice and Messi creating six chances. Messi is tied for second in assists in La Liga while leading the league with 12 goals. He averages 1.33 goals per 90 minutes in Spain. Three of Messi's four shots were on target against Inter earlier this year. Suarez is third in goals in the domestic league averaging 0.78 goals per 90 minutes. Suarez is coming off an eight-shot performance, his most in any game this season. He has at least three shots in four straight matches. Inter have allowed over 14 shots per match and average less than 44% possession in the Champions League. Inter allowed three goals in their last group stage match. Please note that Barcelona have secured the top spot in the group, so there is a chance that the forwards could be rested.

Tammy Abraham, Chelsea ($21)

Abraham has been on-again, off-again in the Champions League, but the trend calls for a big game as Chelsea look to qualify for the knockout rounds. He scored a goal and contributed four defensive actions the first time out against Lille, for his second-best game of the group stage. He is second in the Premier League in goals with 11, and has added three assists. Abraham has seven games in a row with at least two shots and only once in that stretch has he failed to put at least one on target. His best game in the Champions League this season was fueled by three chances created, so he does not always have to be the one scoring. Lille have allowed 12 goals, the most in the group. Lille also average nearly 10% less possession than Chelsea in the European competition.

Marcel Sabitzer, RB Leipzig ($15)

Sabitzer is in great form. He has scored six goals in his last eight games, including scoring in four straight matches. He has 36 crosses in those eight matches. He has created nine chances in the last three Champions League matches. Sabitzer has been more offensive-minded since the middle of October, so his defensive numbers have gone down. However, he started the season averaging three defensive actions, only through tackles and interceptions in the first five games of the season. Lyon are still alive in the group, so they should be pushing for the win, which will force Sabitzer to play box-to-box, though potentially open the game up for Leipzig.

Defender

Yaroslav Rakitskiy, Zenit ($15)

Rakitskiy has recorded nine clearances twice in the Champions League this season. He averages over 18 points per game and has recorded an assist in all but one match. He has also drawn at least one foul in three straight games in the group stage. Rakitskiy is just shy of 10 defensive actions per match. Zenit is tied for fifth in the Champions League for tackles and first in interceptions per match. Rakitskiy scored a goal in the group stage, although his floor is based off of his solid defensive performance. Benfica do have more possession on average than Zenit, a team that has been playing on the back foot for most of the Champions League. That should give Rakitskiy more opportunity to show off his ability on the back line.

Lukasz Piszczek, Borussia Dortmund ($10)

Dortmund are expected to win the game against Slavia Prague with a shutout looking likely. Playing Piszczek is looking for a low cost defender that has a chance to be on a team that earns a clean sheet. He did record his first assist since September on Saturday in a dominant victory. He had his best game of the Champions League in the first match against Prague, as he created a chance and completed nine defensive actions. Piszczek had a respectable match against Barcelona in matchweek five as he completed five clearances.

Keeper

Andre Onana, Ajax ($14)

Onana is the only keeper on this slate that averages over 20 points, and Ajax are favored to win. The odds makers are unsure of a shutout, but Onana shutout Valencia the first time around. He has three games of at least 32 FanDuel points and has made at least five saves in four matches. He has three clean sheets allowing five goals. Four of those goals came in one game against Chelsea. Onana has at least one clearance in four straight games in the Champions League, with the three against Valencia being his tournament-high.

Roman Burki, Borussia Dortmund ($13) and Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea ($11)

These two are options for similar reasons. Both of their teams are heavy favorites with at least an 80% implied win probability. Burki's best game came against Prague with seven saves and a clean sheet. Burki is coming off a shutout in the Bundesliga as well. Arrizabalaga allowed one goal and had two clearances against Lille. Lille's three goals in the Champions League is tied for the second-fewest in the group stage. Odds give these two keepers the best probability for a clean sheet with their opponents eliminated from the competition.



Doug Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Doug 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.