FanDuel Soccer: Champions League DFS Helper for Wednesday 4/13/22

As always, we're covering FanDuel's main slate, and that kicks off at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday. All betting lines come from Soccer odd, and they may change after the article is published.

Slate Overview

Manchester City (-135) at Atletico Madrid (+400)
Over 2.5 Goals: +110 | Most Likely to Score: Mahrez (+170)

Benfica (+950) at Liverpool (-380)
Over 2.5 Goals: -260 | Most Likely to Score: Salah (-155)

Positional Breakdown
Forwards/Midfielders

Liverpool are clearly the side to load up on for this two-match slate. The Reds are -260 to win at home against Benfica and -130 to score at least three goals. With the Manchester City-Atleti match likely to be a low-scoring affair, the Reds stand alone as the team to stack.

Mohamed Salah ($21; -155) has the slate's best goal odds and will see the highest draft percentage, assuming he starts. I added that qualifier because I have a hunch the Egyptian superstar may be rested for this match. Salah has been a little off-color lately and might benefit from a breather. At home and holding a 3-1 aggregate lead, Liverpool probably can afford to rest their talisman, so that's something to keep an eye on. But if Salah plays, he's the top option on the slate.

Diogo Jota ($18; +120), Sadio Mane ($19; +110), Roberto Firmino ($17; +110) and Luis Diaz ($18; +135) are all outstanding picks if they get in the starting lineup. Liverpool are in such a delicious spot that whoever starts in their front three will be an elite play. If Salah starts, I'll be tempted to fade the chalk and use two of these guys instead.

You can make a case for dedicating at least three attacking slots to Liverpool players. That's where Thiago ($10; +550) and Fabinho ($11; +650) come in. They have some appeal, as well, in a match in which the Reds will see a lot of the ball. Fabinho could be on penalties if Salah sits. On a slate lacking value, these two can be very handy.

It's incredibly rare for us to be able to get Manchester City's best players at anything other than high popularity, but with Liverpool sure to be extremely chalky and Man City in a tough road matchup, stacking City might be a wee bit contrarian.

Give me all the Kevin De Bruyne ($20; +310). KDB is in pristine form and has netted six goals across his past six games in all competitions. He's taken 18 shots in that time, getting forward more than he has at other times this season. He's also created an astounding 16 chances in the past three games. Versus Liverpool last weekend in a match full of top-tier talent, De Bruyne stood out above the rest. A world-class playmaker, KDB's floor/ceiling combination is unmatched when he's scoring goals like this.

Elsewhere on City, Riyad Mahrez ($19; +170) has the top goal odds in the match, while Bernardo Silva ($17; +300), Phil Foden ($17; +260) and Raheem Sterling ($18; +220) also have better goal odds than anyone on Atletico Madrid.

For Atleti, it's hard to get jazzed about using any of their players. They took zero shots in the first leg, and even though they trail 1-0 heading into Wednesday's match, Atleti will likely still be pretty defensive-minded for a majority of the game unless City score early. Luis Suarez ($16; +270), Joao Felix ($17; +390) and Antoine Griezmann ($18; +460) have the talent to produce if they are given more freedom to play.

Defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold ($15) and Andrew Robertson ($13) are great plays at home versus Benfica. Both should have ample opportunities to get forward, and these two handle a lot of the corners. Trent also takes some free kicks, and both make a lot of sense as pieces of Liverpool stacks. Konstantinos Tsimikas ($12) is a viable target, as well, if he gets a start.

Benfica center-backs Nicolas Otamendi ($14) and Jan Vertonghen ($11) can give us valuable floors in a match in which they'll be very active.

Atleti's defenders offer high floors, too, and they are some of the most logical ways to save salary. Felipe ($7) might wind up as the lowest-salaried starter among all players. Stefan Savic ($11) and Reinildo ($10) are also expected to start.

Joao Cancelo ($14) is always a good play whenever City are in action. He has six assists in Premier League play and sent in four crosses in the first leg.

Goalies

Alisson ($13) has the best win odds (-380) as well as the top clean-sheet chances (+110). Benfica mustered a decent amount of attacks in the first leg, putting three shots on target. They'll probably have a tough time repeating that showing at Anfield, but with Benfica trying to dig out of a hole, they might force Alisson into a few saves. That gives the Reds' goalie something other than the win bonus to fall back on if he does give up a goal.

Ederson ($11) is +118 to keep a clean sheet in Madrid, which says a lot about what oddsmakers think of both this Atleti attack and Man City's defense. Ederson was a spectator in the first leg but should be more involved this time around, especially if Atleti are forced to open up and chase the tie. At a friendly salary, Ederson will likely be the most popular keeper.

Underdogs Jan Oblak ($9) and Odysseas Vlachodimos ($7) have lower salaries and save volume working in their favor.

For all the talk about Atleti's extreme defensive setup in the first leg -- what did you expect from this side? -- the plan mostly worked as they limited City to only two shots on goal and 0.8 expected goals, per FBRef. It shouldn't shock anyone if Atletico give City all they can handle on Wednesday, and while Oblak's +380 clean-sheet odds aren't pretty, this Atletico team is capable of frustrating and shutting out City. If it happens, Oblak could wind up as the premier keeper play of the slate.

Punting with Vlachodimos is rolling the dice on save volume in an effort to be contrarian and to get more salary for the rest of your lineup. The Benfica goalie will likely see a barrage of shots on his goal, but he can be a worthwhile play if he can keep the Reds from scoring three or four. That's a big if, though.