The Champions League returns this week with the first leg of Round of 16 action beginning on Tuesday afternoon. That means a return to DraftKings with some major cash on the line in Daily Fantasy Leagues. There will be plenty of competitions with the headline event the UCL $25K Golazo that includes a $5,000 prize to the winner. Here is a look at our optimal lineup for Tuesday’s DraftKings Daily Fantasy Leagues.
GK: Keylor Navas, Real Madrid
Salary: $3,700
Real Madrid are the biggest favorites for Tuesday’s competitions. We have no problem starting strong by plugging in their starting goalkeeper. Real Madrid has allowed just three goals in six Champions League games so far. The win should be the closest thing to a lock on the board and the clean sheet is a very real possibility versus Roma.
D: Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea
Salary: $4,300
Chelsea has started to turn things around in the Premier League, but their biggest focus is the Champions League where they still have the opportunity to bring home some hardware. Ivanovic has been their most consistent defender all season and he should be a strong option for Tuesday.
D: Danilo, Real Madrid
Salary: $3,600
Sticking with the theme of a strong performance for Real Madrid, it only makes sense to plug in a pair of capable defenders at under $4K beginning with Danilo.
D: Raphael Varane, Real Madrid
Salary: $3,200
Varane will be our other defender option from Real Madrid at just $3.2K. Danilo and Varane aren’t nearly the most expensive options on the board at their positions, but they definitely have the potential to produce.
M: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid
Salary: $4,200
The value options from Real Madrid aren’t just limited to defender position as Kroos should be a lock for a strong performance. Available at just $4.2K, Kroos should be a lock as a value fantasy midfielder.
M: Danijel Milicevic, Gent
Salary: $4,200
Milicevic is another reasonably priced midfielder that should have plenty of opportunities to produce in what could be a high scoring game as a key playmaker for Gent.
M: Luka Modric, Roma
Salary: $4,100
There is no doubt that Roma will face an incredibly tough challenge from Real Madrid, but Modric’s upside is fairly high when you consider his club’s need for production and his price tag for Tuesday’s competition.
F: Diego Costa, Chelsea
Salary: $7,000
After a terrible start to the season, Costa appears to have turned things around somewhat with much better play of late. After finding the back of the net for Chelsea again in this past weekend’s win over Newcastle United, he should have plenty of confidence heading in to the first leg of the Round of 16. Chelsea will need him to produce on the big stage versus PSG and his price point makes him an excellent fit for our roster.
F: Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
Salary: $7,000
Real Madrid has the potential to score goals in bunches, but considering Ronaldo’s price tag for Tuesday, it makes a lot more sense to go with a better value option in Bale. There is every reason to think that Bale will find the score sheet and he is available at almost $4K less than Ronaldo for Tuesday’s competitions. Real Madrid has been an offensive juggernaut in Champions League action as they have scored 19 goals in six games so far, so expect another big output from them.
FLEX: Artem Dzyuba, Zenit
Salary: $6,000
Zenit will be in tough against Benfica, but it should be a high scoring game. Dzyuba is an excellent option to produce up front. His relative price point compared to some of the other top forwards make him a solid value option for Tuesday’s Champions League action.
FLEX: Baba Rahman, Chelsea
Salary: $2,100
With exactly $2.1K left over to spend on our final FLEX position, it only makes sense to plug in the player with the highest potential to produce. Rahmen isn’t a lock, but he has high upside if he plays significant minutes and he is worth taking a chance on based on the rest of our lineup for Tuesday’s Champions League action.
