Champions League GW3 Preview – Tuesday

We have a busy week of football once again, so hopefully this Champions League GW3 preview article will help narrow down your research on Tuesday and allow you to focus on some key players. As usual there are plenty of good options on this slate, so if you like someone that isn’t mentioned here then don’t be afraid to use them in your lineups.

Defenders

Alex Telles – Porto, $5200 DK, £14 YH

Porto travel to face RB Leipzig on Tuesday, which isn’t the easiest task; this is one of the most competitive groups we have seen in a while. Telles is still taking the corner kicks for Porto, however, and his salary is still reasonable on DraftKings if you want to spend up a bit at the defender position. Telles’s 8.9 Crs90 give him a safe floor on DK, but I would probably avoid him on Yahoo given that he is unlikely to pick up a clean sheet.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool, $4800 DK, £13 YH

Trent is unlikely to take set pieces ahead of the other players in this Liverpool side, but he is still reasonably priced on both sites in a great matchup against Maribor. Liverpool are away from home and have struggled a bit in recent games, but they should have enough quality to get the job done here and pick up a much needed win, with a decent shot at a clean sheet. The Liverpool fullbacks like to get forward, and whilst Moreno is a bit more expensive than TAA on both sites, he is another decent option in this matchup.

Achraf Hakimi – Real Madrid, $4500 DK, £14 YH

It’s possible that we will see Marcelo and Nacho start at the fullback positions for Real Madrid, but keep an eye on the starting lineup in case Hakimi makes it in. We don’t have much data to work with, but Hakimi has been a useful fantasy asset in the games he has played so far. This isn’t a great matchup for Real, but they are still decent favourites at home and Hakimi should be able to do enough to pay off his reasonable price tag.

Almamy Toure – Monaco, $4500 DK, £10 YH

Monaco have been in a bit of a slump recently, and it won’t be an easy task for them on Tuesday when they take on surprise group leaders Besiktas. The Turkish side are much better at home though, and Monaco should have the edge here. Both Monaco fullbacks cross frequently and nhave some nice assist potential, but Toure is the preferred option thanks to being priced at the minimum on Yahoo. They need to work on their celebrations a bit if they do win this game, though!

Dan-Axel Zagadou – Borussia Dortmund, $4300 DK, £10 YH

The Dortmund fullbacks don’t cross a huge amount, but they have plenty of assist and clean sheet potential in a great matchup against APOEL Nicosia. £10 is far too cheap on Yahoo for a player in this situation.

Caner Erkin – Besiktas, $3800 DK, £14 YH

On the other side of the ball in Monaco we have Caner Erkin, who is still priced way too cheap for a defender that takes some set pieces. Erkin has 7 Crs90 in the league this season and he should be able to do enough to help your DraftKings lineups even if he doesn’t get a clean sheet bonus. I like him less on Yahoo, with plenty of other good options at a similar price.

Marc Bartra – Borussia Dortmund, $3800 DK, £14 YH

With so many cheap fullbacks available I don’t think it’s necessary to hunt for a CB goal on DraftKings. I like Bartra a decent amount on Yahoo however, where he should have plenty of passes and a great shot at the clean sheet bonus to go along with his defensive stats.

Fade: Faouzi Ghoulam – Napoli, $5500 DK, £13 YH

Ghoulam is usually one of the top options at the position thanks to set piece duty for Napoli, but this is not a good matchup for the Algerian. He will have much fewer opportunities to cross than normal and his clean sheet potential is greatly reduced, too. We do get a bit of a discount on him here, but I would rather fade him this week, with plenty of cheaper options in better spots.

Midfielders

Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool, $9400 DK, £26 YH

Coutinho scored in the last game against Spartak Moscow, and he should have plenty more chances on Tuesday against Maribor. Phil is taking most of the set pieces when he is on the field, and he is averaging 5.2 Sh90 and 4.1 CC90 this season, after putting up 4.2 Sh90 and 2.6 CC90 in a bigger sample last year. He is one of the top options on the slate in this matchup.

Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City, $9100 DK, £25 YH

KDB has been ridiculously good this season in the EPL, but he faces a tough test at home to Napoli on Tuesday. There should be some goals here though, and KDB is likely to be involved if City do manage to score a couple. He isn’t necessary in cash games on this slate, but any time we can get an elite player at a salary and ownership discount it’s always worth considering in GPPs.

Andriy Yarmolenko – Borussia Dortmund, $8500 DK, £22 YH (F)

Yarmolenko’s floor is a little bit lower than people will assume here given that he doesn’t have a monopoly on set pieces for Dortmund. That said, he does still take some of the corners and he has plenty of upside in this matchup, with a strong chance to be involved if Dortmund can score multiple goals here. He should be able to reach double-digit fantasy points, with upside for more.

Thomas Lemar – Monaco, $8000 DK, £21 YH

Monaco will be determined to get a positive result here with the group still wide open, and Lemar should have plenty of chances to put crosses in from set pieces in addition to assist/goal upside. He isn’t an elite play at that salary, but he is certainly not a bad option on this slate, particularly in GPPs.

Ricardo Quaresma – Besiktas, $7600 DK, £18 YH

If you think Monaco will continue to struggle, then it makes sense to give strong consideration to Ricardo Quaresma. I do think a lot of people will take the discount on Quaresma over Lemar, which opens up a nice potential leverage opportunity in GPPs, but it’s still hard to ignore Quaresma completely. He has registered an assist in both UCL games this season and is averaging 13.9 Crs90 in the Turkish league, which is ridiculous when you consider the fact that some of the teams in the league only cross 14 times per game!

Steven Berghuis – Feyenoord, $5800 DK, £18 YH (F)

Everyone in the Feyenoord vs Shakhtar game is $6700 or less, and players on both sides are in play as a result. Feyenoord have looked out of their depth so far and Shakhtar were able to win against Napoli, which has led to the Ukranian side being favoured here. However, with this game being played in Rotterdam we could see more success for Feyenoord here. Berghuis has 6 goals and an assist in 7 league appearances this season, and he also takes most of the set pieces for his team. With so many forwards available on Yahoo it’s hard to play him over there at £18, but he is a great option on DraftKings at $5800, where he is M/F eligible.

Gonzalo Castro – Borussia Dortmund, $4100 DK, £16 YH

Castro only has 0.6 Sh90 in the league so far this season, but he is creating chances and crossing frequently thanks to his role as the main set piece taker for Dortmund (as well as Yarmolenko/Kagawa). Castro should have a very nice floor for a cheap price, but keep in mind that he will need assists to post a huge fantasy game., so it doesn’t make much sense to use him in GPPs if you are fading the rest of the Dortmund attack.

Fade: Christian Eriksen – Tottenham Hotspur, $7900 DK, £21 YH

Eriksen is available at a huge discount on Tuesday thanks to a nightmare matchup in the Bernabeu, which might tempt some people into playing him. I don’t think he will be a complete bust for fantasy purposes, but it’s important to keep in mind that even with the discount he is still one of the more expensive options at the position, and his floor and ceiling are much worse than normal.

Forwards

Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid, $11300 DK, £29 YH

Ronaldo looks expensive on this slate, but he still has a decent shot at a multi-goal outing even in a tough matchup. Hopefully people overrate Spurs here and are happy to fade Ronaldo, leading to lower onwnership in GPPs.

Mohamed Salah – Liverpool, $9600 DK, £25 YH

Salah has been a constant threat this season for Liverpool, and he is in another good spot on Tuesday in Slovenia. Salah has 2 goals in the competition so far (including qualifying), and he has a great chance to add to that this week.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Borussia Dortmund, $9200 DK, £26 YH

Aubameyang has 10 goals and an assist already in the Bundesliga this season, and he is facing APOEL. Don’t overthink this!

Keita – Monaco, $7300 DK, £10 YH

Keita has been used sparingly since he joined Monaco, but he has big upside when he does play (0.53 xG+xA90) and he should go completely overlooked here in this matchup. I am fine with overpaying a bit in GPPs on DK as his ownership will be extremely low, but he is especially interesting on Yahoo at minimum salary. This isn’t an amazing spot, but it might be a good idea to jump on Keita before the masses.

Quincy Promes – Spartak Moscow, $6800 DK, £17 YH

Promes was very disappointing against Maribor and then subsequently missed the next game against Liverpool due to injury, but I will be going back to the well here against Sevilla despite the fact that Spartak are underdogs in this game. Promes takes set pieces for the Russian side, and he has 6 goals and 4 assists in the league this season. If Spartak do anything in this game, Promes will be involved.

Jean-Kevin Augustin – RB Leipzig, $5100 DK, £15 YH

Bruma got a lot of attention after his performance in the league at the weekend, and he is a nice cheap option if he gets the start again. However, Augustin scored from the spot in that match and he is an intriguing GPP option himself against Porto. Augustin has shown big upside in limited minutes, with 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 appearances this season.

Fade: Wissam Ben Yedder, $7900 DK, £24 YH

Ben Yedder had a monster fantasy outing on the last UCL slate, and I expect his ownership to be a little bit inflated here as a result, especially considering a decent matchup on paper against Spartak. Sevilla are the better team here, but it’s always tough to go to Moscow and I can’t see Ben Yedder scoring multiple goals too often (the bookies have it happening around 10-12% of the time, which I agree with, and his ownership will probably be higher than that).

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! Check back tomorrow for the Wednesday slate preview, and good luck in your contests today.

All data by Opta.

 

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