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Hello, RotoBallers! I'm happy to be back with you for some mid-week soccer. The busy European soccer schedule stays busy this week with Matchday 5 of UCL group stage play. This breakdown will focus on the early-only UCL slate on FanDuel for Tuesday. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Tuesday's slate.
The large majority of my DFS content will be EPL or UCL-related, however, there is always more soccer DFS to cover. If you want to chop it up with myself and other RotoBaller writers about non-EPL/UCL leagues or other sports, consider becoming a premium member and joining our ever-growing community of DFS and fantasy sports enthusiasts! We have had some great conversations in the Premium Slack chat about the past few UCL slates.
You can also get access to my brain for questions and edits to lineups for Tuesday. In this article, I will be providing you with my UEFA Champions League daily fantasy soccer lineup picks for FanDuel on 12/1/20 for the slate that locks at 12:55 pm ET. Be sure to also check out our other DFS lineup picks for other active sports. You can always find me on Twitter @vdray5 if you have any questions. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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UCL DFS Lineup Picks - Overview
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid (-280), o/u 3.5
Lokomotiv Moscow vs FC Salzburg (-170), o/u 3.0
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
Shakhtar have gotten destroyed recently in the Champions League losing games to Monchengladbach 6-0 then 4-0. Now they get a tough home matchup against a Real Madrid team that will be looking to clinch a spot in the next round with a win. Karim Benzema ($23) might be returning from injury on Tuesday. If he gets the start, he is the most likely anytime scorer on this slate at -163. Benzema is a deadly scorer in the Champions League and should be considered a top option on Tuesday.
If he does not start, it will likely be Mariano ($13) in the starting lineup. He would be one of the best value plays on the slate if he is in the starting squad.
Toni Kroos ($15) is one of my favorite mid-tier cash plays on Tuesday. He can be paired well with whichever striker starts for Real in this game.
There are only two attackers to spend up on in my opinion on Tuesday. One of them is Benzema whose status is in question. If he does not start, I will use my money on Dominik Szoboszlai ($21). With Salzburg's aggressive style of play, Szoboszlai has one of the stronger floors in this price range. He also has plenty of goal upside at +130. This matchup is not great as Lokomotiv Moscow have not conceded many goals this year, but Salzburg have the attacking talent and style to score multiple goals on any team.
Sekou Koita ($13) has not scored in UCL play this year, but he has 10 goals for the team in Austria this year. Koita has the best anytime scoring odds in this game at -110 with Patson Daka ($17) injured on the bench.
The Moscow attackers as a group are severely underpriced. They're playing at home against a Salzburg side that is allowing an average of 3.5 goals per game in the UCL. Anton Miranchuk ($16) has easily been the most productive attacker for them this season. He has a combined nine goals and assists in all competitions. The next most is Fedor Smolov ($14) with three who won't even be starting in this game. Ze Luis ($9) is one of the better value plays on Tuesday purely due to matchup.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
Dmitry Zhivoglyadov ($11) continues to be one of the best dollar-for-dollar defender plays on any slate. After going for 15+ fantasy points in his first two UCL games, his fantasy production has dropped slightly. However, both games against Atletico Madrid were difficult matchups. This game against Salzburg should be full of peripherals stats which Zhivoglyadov has done well collecting. He also has solid attacking upside in this game at home against a porous defense. He has three assists this year and is second on the squad in crosses. While crosses don't count for points on FanDuel, they do indicate involvement in the attack and can lead to chances created. He is one of my favorite defenders on this slate from a floor and ceiling standpoint.
Mykola Matvienko ($7) is an awesome value play. In his only UCL start of the year, he scored 14.1 fantasy points. Shakhtar will be under pressure again in this game against Real, so Matvienko will have plenty of opportunities to get defensive stats. He is a superb way to save some cash on Tuesday. Valerii Bondar ($8) scored 15.6 fantasy points in the first game against Real Madrid. He's a great value option as well. The two can definitely be paired together if you're thinking Real dominates this game as they should.
Murilo Cerqueira ($12) has been stellar in UCL play this year at getting defensive peripherals. He has three 20+ games in four UCL games. This is a strong matchup for him to continue racking up those stats against Salzburg.
Andreas Ulmer ($9) is a final defender to consider on Tuesday. He has shown the most attacking upside this year out of the Salzburg defenders. With their style of play, he can get involved with some shots and chances created now and then. He has the most attacking upside out of all the cheap value defenders on this slate.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
The selection of goalkeepers on this slate is a crapshoot. Thibaut Courtois ($14) has been difficult to trust. And now he's super expensive in a road matchup. There's some merit to paying up for him in hopes of both bonuses. While he looks good for the win bonus, it has been hard to rely on him for the clean sheet part. Real have kept only four clean sheets all season, and just one of those has been in UCL play.
Andriy Pyatov ($7) is essentially getting crossed off my list even at this price. Shakhtar have given up a combined 10 goals in their last two UCL games, and they gave up two to Real in their first meeting. He has very little chance at either bonus and probably will not make enough saves to make up for that.
Cican Stankovic ($12) and the Salzburg defense are also bleeding goals in UCL play. They have allowed 14 in just four games. They might be favored here, but Lokomotiv Moscow is no push-over. Stankovic might be able to come away with a win bonus, but he has almost no shot at the clean sheet bonus on the road. That's not something that interests me for $12.
All that leaves us with Guilherme ($9). He is fairly priced on this slate I believe. He should be able to make plenty of saves on Tuesday which helps his floor. Lokomotiv have been playing solid defense in UCL play too with only five goals allowed in four games. They did concede twice to Salzburg in their first matchup, but Lokomotiv have also kept three straight clean sheets. That will be no easy task on Tuesday however.
There is no clear obvious play at GK on Tuesday. It's best to choose who fits with your specific lineup build.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
