The Champions League continues this week with the pressure ramping up across the board. The remaining teams continue to fight for a spot in the last 16. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Wednesday’s DraftKings Champions League Daily Fantasy Leagues.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barcelona
Salary: $4,100
Barcelona’s keeper might be the most expensive on the board but there is considerable potential for a clean-sheet win here and that’s impossible to ignore. We are certainly better off looking for bargain plays at other positions but we won’t mess around when it comes to selecting a goalkeeper with ter Stegen being the best option on the board for Wednesday’s competitions.
D: Alexander Anyukov, Zenit St. Petersburg
Salary: $2,800
Zenit’s defense has been very much improved of late and we feel comfortable turning to them here for their top two defenders with both of them available at under $3K.
D: Igor Smolnikov, Zenit St. Petersburg
Salary: $2,700
Anuykov and Smolnikov will both start for Zenit and play big minutes, so while they aren’t as flashy as some of the other more offensively gifted defenders, they should be able to register strong stat lines. They also come at a discount price and we’ll need that in order to help us save money for the other positions where we can get better value spending more.
D: Thomas Vermaelen, Barcelona
Salary: $2,700
With our two Zenit defenders locked in, we can look to Barcelona for a bargain play with Vermaelen expected to start in this match. He might not offer much in terms of offense but Barcelona could be in line for a clean sheet bonus and that makes Vermaelen that much more attractive at under $3K.
M: Willian, Chelsea
Salary: $4,600
Chelsea has certainly had its share of issues both at home in the Premier League and in the Champions League as well but that will only increase their sense of urgency heading in to Wednesday. That’s why we’ve got Willian, who has been excellent for them all year.
M: Miralem Pjanic, Roma
Salary: $3,400
Pjanic has really stepped up for Roma over the course of their last few Champions League games. He has become a reliable enough option to trust him in this spot as a bargain midfielder that fits perfectly in to our lineup without having to break the bank for a guaranteed producer.
M: Konstantinos Fortounis, Olympiakos
Salary: $2,800
The only way we can have enough money left over for the star forwards that we want is by investing in value bargain plays at other positions. Fortounis certainly fits the bill here. The fact that he is available at under $3K makes him an attractive option because even if he doesn’t start, he should contribute off the bench.
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F: Luis Suarez, Barcelona
Salary: $8,100
Both Luis Suarez and Neymar have stepped up for Barcelona with Lionel Messi sidelined and while either would be a good option here, we like Suarez for his experience and incredible finishing ability here. Suarez always has the potential to be the best forward on any given day, so it makes sense to lock him in as our highest priced option.
F: Hulk, Zenit St. Petersburg
Salary: $7,200
We already committed to a favorable matchup for Zenit with two of our three defenders coming from that team. We certainly aren’t afraid to invest in their most dangerous attacking player in Hulk. The fact that he isn’t as expensive as some of the other top striker options on the board makes him even more attractive, so lock him in here as the second forward on the roster.
FLEX: Thomas Muller, Bayern Munich
Salary: $7,100
Muller has the same price tag as Hulk and after debating which of the two we would rather have on our roster, we decided to go with both. Muller has the potential to match Hulk’s production in terms of his fantasy stat line and the money we saved at other positions allows us to spend a little more here on this FLEX spot.
FLEX: Andriy Yarmolenko, Dynamo Kyiv
Salary: $4,000
The only thing left for us to do at this point was find the best available player that we could still afford with the money that we have left over. While Yarmolenko isn’t as dangerous as our other forwards, he certainly has the highest potential of the players we can still afford and we feel comfortable with him in this spot.
