This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
The second day of Champions League looks quite a bit different than Tuesday's opening matches. There are three similarly-lined favorites, which should spread out rostership more than what there was with Manchester City and Barcelona the prior day.
MATCHES (ET)
- 3:00 pm: Arsenal vs. PSV Eindhoven
- 3:00 pm: Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United
- 3:00 pm: Benfica vs. Red Bull Salzburg
- 3:00 pm: Real Sociedad vs. Inter Milan
- 3:00 pm: SC Braga vs. Napoli
- 3:00 pm: Sevilla vs. Lens
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
FORWARDS
Harry Kane, BAY vs. MU ($10,300): Kane has the best goalscoring odds on the slate and is pretty affordable. He has taken to his new squad well, already scoring four goals in league play. Bayern are the third-biggest favorite on the slate, but they aren't much behind Arsenal and Benfica. Bukayo Saka ($10,200) is in a set split but always will have a role for Arsenal, who are home against PSV in their return to Champions League. Without the injured Gabriel Martinelli as an option, Saka stands out for Arsenal, as Leandro Trossard ($8,200) is midfield only.
Angel Di Maria, SLB vs. RBS ($7,000): Di Maria has traditionally had set pieces at every stop he's made as he does with Benfica. At such a cheap price for an attacking player on sets and penalties in a great spot, he's an easy play for cash games.
Looking at cheaper options, Youssef En-Nesyri ($6,000) has the slate's third-highest goalscoring odds and is priced down to a lower level. Gabriel Jesus ($7,500) is who I have the most interest in for Arsenal, especially in tournaments, as he could get overlooked, assuming he's in the starting XI. He's somewhat cheap for the most likely goalscorer on the slate's biggest favorite.
MIDFIELDERS
Joshua Kimmich, BAY vs. MU ($7,500): Kimmich is just too cheap for his role in what should be a set-piece majority, though Leroy Sane ($7,200) could steal a few. He may not have the goal upside of some of the other plays on the slate, but he has big assist upside and pairs well with Kane. In cash games, he is one of my first looks. Other midfield options for Bayern are also in play. Leon Goretzka ($4,900) is cheap and has put up double digits in his last three league matches with a surprising 13 shots from four starts.
Piotr Zielinski, NAP vs. BRA ($7,100): Napoli are the biggest favorite of the away teams, meaning they would be much closer if not bigger favorites than the big three on this slate if they were at home. Zielinski is more of a cash play rather than tournaments with his set-piece duties.
Ivan Rakitic, SFC vs LEN ($4,400): Rakitic should be on most set pieces for Sevilla in a strong matchup with Lens. He is one of the safest plays on the board and pretty much a lock and load in cash games. Even in tournaments, he makes a lot of sense as he gives you the salary relief needed to get into the higher tier.
Declan Rice ($4,800) and Kai Havertz ($5,500) make some appeal in the cheap tier for Arsenal, but I lean to the discount with Rice who has at least been consistent to start the season, while Havertz has yet to settle into his new role and was even benched over the weekend. Casemiro ($3,400) is also a cheap piece I'm intrigued by as he can pop for goals every now and then, but this obviously isn't a great matchup.
DEFENDERS
Federico Dimarco, INT vs. RSO ($5,800): The minutes haven't been great for Dimarco, but when he plays, he crosses at such a high clip he gets there for DFS. The price worries me a little, as I kind of like the idea of paying down on this slate. He has a split of sets for Inter and they are slight road favorites in the slate with the lowest-implied total. Teammate Denzel Dumfries ($4,600) is a cheap price and plays on the other wing for Inter, while Alexander Bah ($5,100) is another decent play in that tier for Benfica.
Jesus Navas, SFC vs. LEN ($4,200): The Sevilla pair of Navas and Adria Pedrosa ($5,400) make some appeal, as they have been active crossing the ball in open play and Sevilla should be on the front foot against Lens. Takehiro Tomiyasu ($3,200) is a decent price if he starts for Arsenal, though minutes aren't guaranteed and I hardly ever get excited with Arsenal full-backs. Outside of these plays in GPPs, it makes sense as always to correlate your defenders with your goalkeeper for a clean sheet stack.
GOALKEEPERS
Marko Dmitrovic, SFC vs. LEN ($5,200): On these six-game Champions League slates, there's usually at least one underdog goalkeeper who gets there with saves. For example, Tuesday's highest-scoring keeper allowed three goals but racked up 13 saves. Most of the time, I like the idea of playing whatever range I fall into after I've built the rest of my lineup.
Sevilla are slight favorites, but Lens have the third-lowest implied total and I like getting to Dmitrovic. If you can pay up, Benfica and Anatolii Trubin ($5,700) have the best clean sheet odds. If you fall in the cheap range, any of them are fine, but if you are stacking one team, then you'll want to play a goalkeeper you aren't super heavy on their opponent.
