DraftKings Soccer: Champions League DFS Helper for 9/29/21

Wednesday in the Champions League brings another great slate for daily fantasy purposes. Let’s look at the games, with odds from Soccer odd:

Forwards to Target

Robert Lewandowski ($11,500): The current saying for Bundesliga watchers is that Robert Lewandowski is inevitable.

That was true for 19 straight games up until Friday’s league match. The good news is that he’ll have an excellent chance of starting a new streak on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich are huge home favorites against Dynamo Kiev. Fantasy players may be a bit gun-shy to go all-in on Bayern after Real Madrid let people down on Tuesday, but Bayern are much more of a well-oiled machine than Madrid at the moment. Lewandowski is also a better goal scorer than anyone on Real Madrid, so the concerns of an upset should be minimal.

The big Polish striker is a stunning -340 favorite to score at any time. $11,500 isn’t too restrictive of a salary when considering his goal-scoring record over the last two seasons. It’s tough to make lineups that don’t include Lewandowski, as he stands above the rest of the players on the slate.

Memphis Depay ($9,500): In a post-Messi world for Barcelona, Memphis has become their main man. He's wanted to become a main man at a big club since joining Manchester United in 2015, but after that move didn't work out, he dominated in Ligue 1 with Olympique Lyonnais. He had double-digit goals and assists in the three seasons in which he stayed healthy. With his new club, he's looking to be a similar threat.

Memphis leads Barca with three goals this season. He's also taken all but one corner kick for the club this season, per Rotowire. He also has at least 16.7 DraftKings points in every game besides a 3-0 defeat against Bayern in the first match of the Champions League.

It could be tough to squeeze in Memphis if you are also playing Lewandowski, but it is possible with some value plays available.

Maximilian Philipp ($5,000): Philipp is one of the value forwards that can help you get to Lewandowski and other players with high salaries. Philipp takes corner kicks for Wolfsburg, who are at home in their match against Sevilla. They are slight underdogs in this match, but the odds suggest that it should at least be competitive. It's tough to get a set-piece taker for a lower salary unless they are huge underdogs, so Philipp makes for a good value at forward.

Others to consider: Cristiano Ronaldo ($10,000), Leroy Sané ($8,300), Jonathan David ($6,600)

Midfielders to Target

Joshua Kimmich ($8,200): Kimmich is perhaps the second piece you'd want from Bayern Munich outside of Lewandowski. He's the accumulator on the team, getting his fantasy points through taking all of the corner kicks on a team that dominates possession and chances in most of the games they play. Kimmich isn't just a floor play though, especially in this matchup.

The Bayern midfielder has been contributing to goals quite often this season, with three goals and three assists in six Bundesliga games this season. He's not like rostering someone like Toni Kroos, who you have to just hope can get an assist for a ceiling game. Kimmich is the rare floor player who can have a huge, slate-breaking game.

Bayern should have the ball most of the game, allowing Kimmich to create, even from his deeper midfield position. Playing him with Lewandowski for the correlation is definitely a good strategy on this slate.

Daniel Parejo ($5,300): Parejo has a tough matchup away to Manchester United, but that's factored into his salary. He brings a safe floor because he gets a large majority of set pieces for the Yellow Submarine. We saw Manchester United concede a goal from a corner last game, and it could be a spot of vulnerability for them, which give Parejo a chance at an assist. Either way, his affordable salary puts him in play given his floor.

Xeka ($4,000): Xeka is potentially the best value on the slate. He has been taking corner kicks for Lille with Yusuf Yazici now out of the side as the team looks to shake things up. Lille have been struggling in Ligue 1 this season but have been playing better than their results. They have been a 53.7% possession team in the league, according to WhoScored.com. They are underdogs away to RB Salzburg but should be able to at least compete in this game. At this salary, he's a good candidate to put into lineups with the high-salaried players.

Others to consider: Luka Sucic ($6,500), Maximilian Arnold ($6,100), Ivan Rakitic ($4,900)

Defenders to Target

Juan Cuadrado ($5,800): Cuadrado's salary is down to a much more palatable $5,800 after he came in at an astronomical $8,700 last time out. He should be the primary set-piece taker for Juventus with Paulo Dybala set to miss this game. The matchup is tough against Chelsea, and we won't see the 33 crosses he had in a Champions League game last season. However, the attack should go through him to some extent, and he could easily hit double-digit crosses. He's the top defender if looking to roster one with a high salary.

Marcos Acuña ($5,300): Acuña is one of the most consistent crossers from the full back position in Europe. He has averaged over seven crosses per 90 minutes in La Liga this season. He does this because he takes corner kicks but also from open play. Sevilla are similar to Liverpool in that they love to attack with their full backs. So if they are to impose their will on this game, it will be through Acuña and Jesus Navas. This makes Acuña a great option in all formats.

Gilberto ($3,600): Gilberto is a wing back for Benfica who is attack-minded. He had four crosses in less than 60 minutes in his last match. For just $3,600, he's a value play at defender, and if you get the full game out of him, he could get seven or eight crosses.

Others to consider: Alex Telles ($5,700), Benjamin Pavard ($5,100), Reinildo ($3,700)

Goalkeepers to target

Manuel Neuer ($5,900): If you spent up for Thibaut Courtois on Tuesday's slate, you got burned badly. That doesn't mean we shouldn't play Neuer in a similar spot though. He's kept three clean sheets in seven matches so far this season and is favored to do so here at -144 odds. If you want to get a safe option at keeper Neuer is your best bet.

Wojciech Szczęsny ($4,300): Even with Chelsea being favored in this game, it's hard to imagine them going away to Juventus and dominating. That puts Szczęsny in play as a goalkeeper on a good defensive team playing at home. His risk of blowing up and having negative points is probably less than the other underdog keepers, making him a decent value at 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.