SOCCER

DraftKings Daily Fantasy Soccer Helper for UCL 3/17/21

Joshua Kimmich and Bayern Munich look set to breeze through to the quarterfinals. Who else should we target on Wednesday in the Champions League?

The last four teams that have a chance to make the quarterfinals of the Champions League take the pitch on Wednesday. Here are those teams, with odds for the games from EPL odds:

HomeDrawAway
Chelsea (+130)+210Atlético Madrid (+230)
Bayern Munich (-320)+470Lazio (+700)


Forwards to Target

Robert Lewandowski ($11,000): Assuming he gets the start, Lewandowski is clearly the top play. He has been on a ridiculous goal-scoring run, with nine goals in his last six games. Overall in the Bundesliga, he has 32 goals in 24 appearances. No one else in Europe's top five leagues has more than 23, per WhoScored.com. Lewandowski scored in the first leg and is an overwhelming favorite to score in this game. His any-time goal-scoring odds are -350, which means he has roughly a 78% chance of scoring a goal. By comparison, Thomas Müller is only a -110 favorite to score, yet the discount to go down to him from Lewandowski is only $900. This makes Lewandowski worth the high salary, as he clearly stands above the rest at forward.

Luis Suárez ($7,700): Suárez is the leading-scorer for league-leaders Atlético Madrid. His 18 goals are the second-most in La Liga, behind only Lionel Messi. With Atlético down 1-0 after the first leg, they should be attacking more often in this game. Suárez has never been shy about shooting, and this season is no different. He's averaging 3.74 shots per 90 minutes, according to Rotowire. He's the best forward option that doesn't play for Bayern Munich and is a good option in this middle tier of the forward position.

Also Consider: Leroy Sané ($8,700), João Félix ($7,300), Luis Alberto ($7,100)

Midfielders to Target

Hakim Ziyech ($9,200): Ziyech should start for Chelsea in place of the suspended Mason Mount. This could mean that he not only takes his spot in the lineup but also takes his place on set pieces. Ziyech with a lot of set pieces would make him one of the best midfielders on the slate. He averages over five crosses, two shots, and two chances created per 90 minutes. Chelsea had 63% possession in the first leg, so that should set up well for Ziyech to create chances throughout the game. He may go overlooked as he doesn't play for the biggest favorite on the slate, but he definitely makes sense as a play.

Joshua Kimmich ($8,400): Kimmich had a down game in the first leg, but that should be more of the exception than the rule. He only had 6.5 DraftKings points in that game but had over 20 in the three games in the group stage. Kimmich gets a majority of Bayern Munich's set pieces, but he isn't a typical defensive midfielder that only scores points from crossing on corners. He also averages nearly three chances created per 90 minutes and has 10 assists in 19 league matches this season. He can definitely rack up points through peripherals, and his total could be hard for even a player who scores a goal to match. He's the second priority behind Lewandowski if trying to get pieces of Bayern, which is obviously something you'll want to do on this slate.

Koke ($4,600): Koke is the value midfielder you may need to fit in the other high-salary players. His ceiling isn't great, but there is a chance that he could get some set pieces. Even if he doesn't, his lowest DraftKings score in the last 11 games is 5.3. That won't kill your lineups, and there is some upside there if he does get on set pieces. This makes him usable at $4,600.

Also Consider: Serge Gnabry ($7,500), Yannick Carrasco ($6,700), Adam Marušić ($3,200)

Defenders to Target

Kierran Trippier ($6,000): Trippier missed the first leg, but will be good to go in this game. If you've played fantasy soccer on DraftKings for a long time, you remember when Trippier was a plug-and-play during his days in the Premier League. He doesn't quite produce fantasy points at the same level as he did then, but he's still a good option. He takes some corner kicks for Atlético and had 10 crosses in their last league match. With Atlético trailing heading into this second leg, they could activate Trippier more, which would allow him to get higher up the pitch and cross balls into the box more often. This makes him the defender with the highest upside on the slate.

Benjamin Pavard ($4,200): Known for his stunning World Cup goal for Argentina against France, Pavard isn't quite that talented of an attacking player as that goal would suggest. However, he is still useful in fantasy. Many fantasy managers will look to Alphonso Davies for $500 more if they want to play a Bayern defender, but even though Davies is a flashier talent, Pavard averages more shots and crosses per 90 minutes than him. So, if he's going to be less popular and easily has a path to more fantasy points, he's the preferred option of the two Bayern full backs.

Also Consider: Reece James ($5,600), Renan Lodi ($4,900), Niklas Süle ($3,200)

Goalkeeper to Target

Jan Oblak ($4,400): Oblak is considered to be one of the best keepers in the world, and he plays for an Atlético team that has conceded just 18 goals in 27 games in La Liga this season. This game was fairly cagey and figures to be low scoring given the way the two teams play. Manuel Neuer ($5,900) might be the best raw play, but there are a lot of good options at the outfield positions with high salaries, so if we have to save salary somewhere, goalkeeper is where you should do it given the nature of the position.


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.