DraftKings UCL Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for 12/2/20

Wednesday’s Champions League slate has many more star players as opposed to what we saw on Tuesday. Here are the games we have to work with, with odds from FanDuel Sportsbook:

Forwards to Target

Cristiano Ronaldo ($12,000): With Lionel Messi again sitting out in the Champions League for Barcelona, our decision between the two soccer superpowers has been made for us. Ronaldo himself rested on the weekend, which should make him good to go the full 90 minutes here. He’s in a similar spot to the one we saw him in last week, which makes him a good play again.

Ronaldo and Juventus are the biggest favorite on the slate at home against Dynamo Kiev. He once again has the best anytime goal scoring odds on the slate at -260. Ronaldo is one of the highest volume shooters in the world, giving him a solid floor. Of course, he has a ceiling, as well, being a threat to score multiple goals in this game. He should be rostered in all formats on this slate.

Jadon Sancho ($9,100): Sancho hasn’t scored yet in the Bundesliga this season, but he has been productive in the Champions League. He has two goals and an assist in three games in the group stage and recorded over 22 DraftKings points in the last two games.

The appeal of playing Sancho is that he adds goals and assists to a floor from accumulating. He has 10 chances created and 20 crosses in those three matches. He’ll get at least a share of the corner kicks in this game, as well. Dortmund are the second-biggest home favorites on the slate, so Sancho should be in a good spot to once again produce a good game. We know that Dortmund have some of the most exciting attacking talent in Europe and can explode for a boatload of goals in games. They can win the group if they are able to win this match, so the motivation is definitely there. Sancho is able to contribute in many different ways, even without scoring. This makes him one of the best forward plays besides Ronaldo in cash game lineups on Wednesday.

Luis Alberto ($6,900): On the other side of that game between Dortmund and Lazio, Luis Alberto has a solid floor for a reasonable salary. He is a great playmaker, with 15 assists in Serie A last season. He also averaged over two shots, three chances created, and five crosses per 90 minutes in that season, according to Rotowire. He does this by taking the set pieces for Lazio, so while the matchup isn’t ideal, he could reach his value if they are able to get corner kicks. Alberto is one of the higher floor forwards on the slate, so to get him at this salary is a nice discount.

Midfielders to Target

Hakim Ziyech ($8,300): The Hakim Ziyech we knew and loved from his Ajax days has arrived at Chelsea. That version of the player would shoot on sight and cross whenever he got the chance. He's averaging 6.25 crosses and 3.0 chances created per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. He hasn't been shooting as much in the league but hasn't been afraid to let it fly in the Champions League, with over three shots per 90 in four appearances. Chelsea are slight favorites away against Sevilla, which should allow Ziyech to do his thing. He's one of the better options at the high end of the midfielders available to roster.

Ruud Vormer ($5,800): When there is an intriguing option on a team like Club Brugge, it's tough to roster them as they are usually fairly big underdogs. That isn't the case in this game, as Brugge are favorites for the first time in the group. That makes Ruud Vormer a very good play for just $5,800. He has 23 crosses in four games in the Champions League this year, including six and an assist in the previous meeting with Zenit St. Petersburg. His salary didn't increase to something completely unreasonable -- in fact it's the lowest it's been in the group stage despite Club Brugge being in a good spot. We can take advantage of this and roster Vormer as one of the best midfield plays on the board.

Miralem Pjanić ($4,400): With Messi and Philippe Coutinho both missing this game, Pjanić should take over the corner kick duties for Barcelona. That makes him a solid value at just $4,400. We saw Barcelona in a similar situation last week, away favorites without Messi. They performed well in that match and won 4-0. If they can do something similar in this game, a player like Pjanić can pay off with his role on corner kicks and free kicks. His salary didn't factor in this role, and if he has anything close to a monopoly of the set pieces, he's one of the value plays at any position on this slate.

Defenders to Target

Juan Cuadrado ($6,000): We talked about Cuadrado last week, and he delivered with over 30 DraftKings points. He did this by getting 11 crosses and 2 assists, which brought him up to four in four Champions League games. Even after that big game, his salary only rose by $200. It's not because he's in a tough matchup, as he's in a similar situation for Juventus this week, at home and big favorites. He gets corner kicks and is encouraged to push forward more so than other full backs. He's a good pairing with Ronaldo for tournaments in the hopes they can combine on a goal. This should make him the top defender on the slate once again.

Marcos Acuña ($5,000): Acuña is one of the best crossing defenders we have on this slate. He has 19 in his three Champions League games this season. He has historically been known to whip balls into the box from left back, going back to his days with Sporting CP. He also has taken a few set pieces, as the squad has seen that role change a lot as the squad has been rotating. It's not the easiest matchup, but if Chelsea try pushing too far forward, Acuña will definitely try to exploit the space. He's one of the better defender plays that doesn't carry too high of a salary.

Eduard Sobol ($4,200): Sobol is another Club Brugge player we can look at, as he's a very good option at defender. When these clubs last met, he had seven crosses and two shots. He's another example of a salary falling because of not producing in tough matchups, and we can take that discount and use it in our lineups. He'll be a popular choice because getting a defender who can actually attack while on a favored team for this salary is rare. Those kinds of plays are something we shouldn't pass up.

Goalkeepers to Target

Wojciech Szczęsny ($5,900): Juventus are one of the best defensive teams in Europe. Add that to the fact that they are biggest favorites and at home makes Szczęsny the play at keeper if spending up. Juventus are -122 to keep a clean sheet in this game, so Szczęsny is probably the keeper that's most likely to get 10 or more points on this slate.

Dénes Dibusz ($3,900): Dibusz is the play if you want to bet against Barcelona without Messi. His salary suggests that he would be a much bigger underdog than Ferencváros actually are in this match. This strategy didn't work out last week, but Dibusz had a decent game against Juventus in the last match. If he does so again he could put in a performance that won't sink your lineup, making him worth it for just $3,900.

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.