SOCCER

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for Champions League 10/27/20

Luis Suarez has a new club, but he's been up to his old goal-scoring habits. Who else can we target on Tuesday's Champions League slate?

The Champions League games are coming thick and fast this season with a modified schedule due to the late start to the season. That’s exciting for those of us who love to play DFS during the group stage of the competition, so let’s look at the teams on this slate with odds coming from FanDuel Sportsbook:

HomeDrawAway
Atalanta (-130)+330Ajax (+300)
Marseille (+650)+420Manchester City (-270)
Liverpool (-950)+900Midtjylland (+2700)
Porto (-160)+290Olympiakos (+470)
Mönchengladbach (+270)+300Real Madrid (-115)
Atlético Madrid (-165)+300Red Bull Salzburg (+460)

Forwards to Target

Mohamed Salah ($8,700): Salah has a lower salary than expected given the circumstances for this match. Liverpool are giant favorites at home, as their odds dwarf all other favorites on this slate. They are playing Danish club FC Midtjylland, who lost the opening game of the group stage 4-0 at home to Atalanta. This will be a tough task for them, going to Anfield to take on the English champions.

Salah has anytime goal scoring odds of -320, something we don't see for a player at $8,700. Usually if a player is that likely to score, their salary is around $10,000. The only risk with Salah is that we saw Jürgen Klopp substitute Salah and his other teammates in the front three together at the 60 minute mark of the last Champions League match. However, Salah could score two goals before being taken off, given the matchup. That makes him a very good play and worth the salary you'll have to use on him.

Luis Suárez ($7,200): Suárez moved from Bareclona to Atlético Madrid in the offseason and has been solid for his new club. He has four goals in five league matches to start the season. He also has been shooting like crazy, averaging 5.31 shots per 90 minutes so far in La Liga. He would have disappointed fantasy managers in the last Champions League game, but that was away to the reigning champions Bayern Munich.

In this game, the matchup is much easier against Red Bull Salzburg at home. Atlético are favored to win and get back on track in this group. Suárez has their best goal scoring odds of -140, making him a good play in any format if he is going to shoot as much as he has been to start the season. His $7,200 salary is fairly low for a player who has been scoring goals in the league and is odds on to score.

Lassina Traoré ($4,200): Traoré is a deep punt play who most people probably won't know about but is an intriguing option should he get the start for Ajax. In a wild league game on Saturday in which his team 13-0, the 19-year-old Traoré scored five goals and added three assists for good measure. Now, we can't expect an eruption like that, but Atalanta are known for playing open, attacking, soccer and haven't been exactly good at keeping the ball out their net in recent Serie A games. They have allowed seven goals in their last two league matches, including three to Sampdoria at home on Saturday. Traoré is far from a safe play, but is worth considering at just $4,200 in a match that should see a lot of goals.

Midfielders to Target

Alejandro Gómez ($9,300): Gómez worked out for us on the last slate but now has seen an increase in salary to $9,300. He's still worth considering with how much he does for this attacking Atalanta side. He is currently averaging over five shots per 90 minutes and has four goals and two assists in five league matches. Gómez has also seen his competition for corner kicks shrink with Ruslan Malinovskyi recently out of the starting lineup. With the way Atalanta play, you'll usually want to get a piece of them into your lineup, and Gómez would be the best floor option for them, with also a lot of upside for goals and assists. The good news about paying up for Gómez is that he can make his value in a number of different ways, so he is definitely worth considering on this slate.

Toni Kroos ($7,400): Kroos returns to his home nation of Germany as Real Madrid travel to play Borussia Mönchengladbach. Kroos did not start in the last Champions League match but started in Madrid's El Clásico win over hated rivals Barcelona. In that game, Kroos scored 20 DraftKings points without scoring or assisting on a goal. He does this by being an accumulator of crosses through corner kicks, which also leads to creating chances. Kroos is creating a whopping 4.46 chances per 90 minutes this season in the league. He'll also throw in a few shots and fouls drawn to give him one of the best floors on the slate. If he could add a goal or an assist, he'll be one of the best midfield plays on the board.

Sérgio Oliveira ($4,200): Oliveira is a solid value play in midfield. He's playing for a favored team that is at home and should be able to dominate the ball against Olympiakos. Oliveira at least has some role for Porto on set pieces, though it's not abundantly clear how things will shake out there following Alex Telles' departure. Regardless, Oliveira is decent play if he gets some of the corner kicks, and has also shown attacking intent with two goals in just five league appearances this season. He's one of the best value options at the position, being a salary saver that you'll need to fit in some of the best plays.

Defenders to Target

Andrew Robertson ($6,500): Robertson is becoming a lock play nearly every time Liverpool are on a slate. In this match that sees Liverpool as big favorites, he's very difficult to get away from in any lineup build. In the first Champions League game against Ajax last week, Robertson had six crosses and five shot assists, reaching 15 DraftKings points without a goal or an assist. He continues to lead the Premier League in crosses, with a 57-45 lead over teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold. We liked Robertson at $7,300 on the Premier League slate, so now as a bigger favorite getting him at $6,500 feels like a good discount.

Kieran Trippier ($5,600): An old Premier League DFS favorite is back in play in this Champions League slate. It's always fun to roster Kieran Trippier at defender because he loves crossing a lot. He even got five crosses in Atlético Madrid's last Champions League match against Bayern Munich, in which they lost 4-0. Now, with teammate Yannick Carrasco missing this game, there is less competition for corner kicks for Trippier to have to deal with. Atlético should be in control in this match, which would allow Trippier to get forward and get his crosses towards the box. He's one of the better plays at defender in this game which could see Atlético keep a clean sheet given the matchup.

Sergio Ramos ($4,400): Ramos is the rare center back who is actually a viable play and not just a punt to save salary. Ramos has been on penalty duty for Real Madrid since last season, which helped him get 11 goals in La Liga last season. He also is a threat on set pieces, being good in the air. He's a similar play to a goal-dependent midfielder who you would take a punt on but also comes with the added potential of a three-point bonus for the clean sheet. That gives him good upside for tournament lineups.

Goalkeepers to Target

Alisson ($5,800): Alisson was a surprise return from injury for Liverpool's match on Saturday. So much so that DraftKings left his salary as if he's a backup to Adrián. So this gives us a discount on a keeper playing for a huge favorite. With Liverpool being -850 to win this game, it makes sense to spend the extra $100 to get Alisson instead of Ederson for Manchester City, who are only -280 favorites. Liverpool are also -110 to keep a clean sheet, so Alisson is a solid option to spend up at goalkeeper.

José ($4,000): has been in terrific form, keeping a clean sheet in six straight matches for Olympiakos. That includes a win against Marseille last week in the UCL. He'll face a tough test in Porto in this game, but he could have some knowledge about some of the players he will face. Sá played for Porto from 2016-2018, so this is a revenge game for him. How much revenge he will exact on his former club remains to be seen, but if you need to spend up at other positions, Sá will work at goalkeeper in your lineups.


Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. 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.