DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for Champions League 11/4/20

It’s another Champions League slate, and another set of interesting games and intriguing options of players for us to choose from. Let’s see what games we have to work with, with odds courtesy of EPL odds:

Forwards to Target

Lionel Messi ($12,300): The debate that has dominated internet soccer chat for over a decade will be a key decision point on this slate: Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The rivalry is such a hot topic that it even has its own Wikipedia page. On this particular day, there are a few signs that point to Messi being the preferred option.

Messi and Barcelona are massive -1200 favorites at home against Dynamo Kyiv. Kyiv allowed two goals in their last match against Ferencvaros, so against Barcelona, they will be totally overmatched. Messi has a goal in each of the first two group stage matches and is a stunning -550 favorite to score at anytime. When you factor in that he also gets corner kicks for Barcelona, Messi is an easy play even at this expensive salary.

Ángel Di María ($8,200): Paris St-Germain go into this game against RB Leipzig shorthanded, with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe both missing. It does help the prospects for Ángel Di María however, as he should take over the majority of set pieces. RB Leipzig are a solid team, but they have lost two games in a row and got dismantled by Manchester United 5-0 last week.

Di María has recorded just over 10 DraftKings points in both of the games in the Champions League this season, without recording a goal or an assist. If he is able to contribute to a goal, he’ll be a great play with the floor we know he has.

Marco Reus ($6,500): With Erling Haaland a doubt for this match, Marco Reus could start up front for Borussia Dortmund. Reus has been often sidelined due to injury in his career, but when healthy, he’s one of the best attacking players in the Bundesliga. He scored 11 goals in 18 Bundesliga starts last season. He gets a decent matchup against Club Brugge here as Dortmund are road favorites.

Reus hasn’t done much in his two starts in the Champions League this season, but that was in a different role. If he is starting up front, he’s a good bet to get a goal and pay off this relatively cheap salary. That would put him in play for all formats on this slate.

Pedri ($4,600): If Pedri makes the starting lineup for Barcelona, he's worth considering given his very inexpensive salary and the matchup. He's a salary relief play that you might need when making lineups given the expensive plays we want to get in our lineups.

Midfielders to Target

Paulo Dybala ($9,300): If you don’t want to spend all the way up for Ronaldo but want a piece of Juventus’ attack, Paulo Dybala makes sense. He is both a goal threat and a creative threat for the Italian champions. He might not be known for being a high floor player, but his per 90 accumulation stats in Serie A last season are impressive. He averaged over four shots, four crosses, and two chances created per 90 minutes, according to Rotowire.

With Juventus' juicy matchup against Ferencvaros, Dybala has good scoring odds of -120. With not too many strong plays at the top of the midfield salaries, he's one of the few that is really worth spending up for. His popularity might not be too high as some fantasy managers might only look to Ronaldo when thinking about a Juventus attacking option, making Dybala a solid leverage play in tournaments.

Raphaël Guerreiro ($5,300): Guerreiro is a solid value play and comes at a significant discount considering his role. He takes some set pieces for Dortmund and gets crosses from his wide position. We've also seen him get forward a decent amount, scoring 8 goals in 29 league appearances last season. He's shown a decent floor in the Champions League this season, scoring over 10 DK points without having a goal contribution buoying that total.

Dortmund have dominated the ball in the Bundesliga this season, with a possession rate of 62.1%, according to WhoScored.com. If they can approach anything like that, Guerreiro will be able to get forward and get crosses. For just $5,300, he's a nice option that is worth considering in all formats.

Joan Jordán ($4,800): Jordán had the ultimate accumulation game last week in the Champions League. He had two shots, five shot assists, six crosses, three fouls drawn, and three interceptions. That was all good for over 18 DraftKings points and it came without any goals or assists. He's Sevilla's leader in corner crosses this season, which is how he racked up all those crosses and shot assists. The defending Europa League champions are sizable favorites in this match against Rennes. We can't expect Jordán to do what he did last match every time, but if he can do half of it he's a good play at this salary.

Defenders to Target

Jesús Navas ($5,800): Navas is a long time favorite of the DFS soccer community because of his propensity to cross, even if it's aimless fairly often. The good news is that he is one of the rare players we can count on to cross without even having set pieces. In La Liga this season, he has averaged over seven crosses per 90 minutes and none of them have come from corners. With Sevilla being at home, they should be able to dictate play and let Jesús Navas get his crosses into the box. This will especially be the case if tall striker Luuk De Jong starts up top, giving Navas a good target. Navas is certainly one of the best defenders available on Wednesday's slate.

Sergiño Dest ($4,000): The defender position is not littered with great options. So a route you could go is playing a full back on the biggest favorite who is likely to attack and score at least a few goals. Sergiño Dest is an American full back who just turned 20 on Tuesday and is a highly-regarded prospect. He profiles as a player who will get forward, and should be able to in this matchup. It requires somewhat of a leap of faith to put him in your lineup, but with the number of goals Barcelona could score in this game, you can play him for an affordable salary and hope for a goal or an assist.

Dalbert ($3,000): Dalbert is a significant value at defender that might be necessary for some lineup builds. He is an attacking full back, averaging over 4.5 crosses per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 for Rennes. He also averaged over five crosses per 90 in Italy last season. The matchup isn't an easy one against Chelsea, but that is certainly baked into this salary. With little opportunity cost at defender, going all the way down to Dalbert is a good option.

Goalkeepers to Target

Neto ($5,900): With by far the best odds for the win, the best play if spending up would be Neto of Barcelona. He kept a clean sheet last week away to Juventus, so he certainly should be able to in this match, at home against Dynamo Kyiv. In fact, Barcelona has clean sheet odds of -148, so Neto getting at least 10 points is a likely outcome.

Matvey Safonov ($4,000): Safonov has made nine saves in the first two matches for FC Krasnador, and now travels to face Sevilla. While his club is a significant underdog, Sevilla's attack doesn't strike fear into opposing keepers, as they have only scored multiple in one game this season. If Safonov allows just one and makes a few saves, he's viable even if he doesn't get a win.

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.