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Hello, RotoBallers! I'm happy to be back with you for some mid-week soccer. We had our first full slate of UEFA Champions League games Tuesday. Yesterday's breakdown article was a mixed bag of results. Some studs like Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, and Romelu Lukaku who I recommended had good games, but there were some dud calls like Wout Weghorst, Memphis Depay, and everything Malmo. I had some nice GPP calls in Alex Sandro and Manu Trigueros, but it still wasn't good enough. Let's bounce back with another great slate Wednesday. This breakdown will focus on the main UCL slate on FanDuel for Wednesday. Keep reading this breakdown for my DFS soccer picks on RotoBaller and see how to have success on Wednesday'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 Wednesday for the main slate. In this article, I will be providing you with my UEFA Champions League daily fantasy soccer lineup picks for FanDuel on 9/15/21 for the slate that locks at 3:00 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
Atletico Madrid vs Porto
Last year's La Liga winner - Atletico Madrid (-165) - are off to a nice start this year level on points with Real Madrid atop La Liga standings. They host Porto to start off their UCL campaign who are yet to lose this year in five games in Portugal. Both teams are pretty strong defensively hence the goal total over/under of 2, 2.5 which is firmly the lowest on the slate. There are a handful of one-offs in this game to target but not much more than that.
Club Brugge vs PSG
PSG (-360) were already one of the annual UCL title contenders, and then they managed to pick up Lionel Messi. They start their title campaign on the road against Club Brugge, who have become a regular in the Champions League in the last few years due to their success in the Belgian Pro League. PSG should control this game and win, but Brugge usually gives a good effort. There are definitely some reasons to get a PSG mini stack going on Wednesday. The goal total over/under is 3, 3.5.
Inter Milan vs Real Madrid
On paper, this is the closest matchup of the slate with Inter Milan (+145) slight money line favorites at home. Neither team have lost in their domestic leagues yet and have fairly similar stats. This should be a hard-fought game with solid plays on both sides depending on how you go about building your lineup. The goal total over/under is 2.5, 3.
Liverpool vs AC Milan
Liverpool (-230) are one of our significantly favored teams on the slate in a really solid fantasy spot at home. They're back to healthy now after a tough year last year, and they've started off in nice form with three wins and a draw against Chelsea. They host an AC Milan side that is off to an equally nice start with a 3-0-0 record in Serie A. Liverpool is a really strong team at home and will have some solid attackers to target on this slate. The goal total over/under is 3.0 with the over at +100.
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig
Another familiar EPL team, Manchester City (-305), take the field in UCL play Wednesday. They are hosting an RB Leipzig squad that is off to a poor start in Germany due to some tough fixtures. Their one win this year came against Stuttgart, but they have losses to Wolfsburg, Mainz, and Bayern Munich on their results list already. City should dominate this game at home and we can target them for fantasy purposes as well. The goal total over/under is 3.0 with the over at -108 (second-highest total on the slate).
Sporting CP vs Ajax
We have Sporting CP hosting Ajax (+135) in our last game on the slate. Sporting got off to a hot start in the Primeira Liga with three straight wins but have drawn their last two games. Ajax are near the top of the Eredivisie scoring a lot of goals like we know they can. Vegas has this game as fairly even with the road side - Ajax - small money line favorites. There are going to be solid low-owned plays from both teams on this slate. The goal total over/under is 2.5, 3.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
There are a crazy amount of attacking studs on this slate (13 $20 and over to be exact). The three PSG stars, Lionel Messi ($24), Kylian Mbappe ($23), and Neymar ($22), all have a good matchup. Messi leads the slate with anytime scoring odds at -140 but has just 25 minutes so far this year for PSG. Neymar hasn't played a full game yet either. Mbappe - on the other hand - has four goals and three assists already giving him the best form of the bunch. PSG will dominate ball possession in this game and all three of these attackers are in a prime spot for a big fantasy performance. I would rank them Mbappe, Messi, Neymar.
Mo Salah ($22) will be a popular pivot off PSG attackers. He has -120 anytime scoring odds and has had a nice start to his season with three goals and two assists in the EPL. He's by far my favorite Liverpool attacker to play on this slate.
We saw home teams play well on Tuesday going 2-4-2 if that's any indication of how to approach this slate. Real Madrid's defense was weak last year, and they're not off to a very good start this year with six goals allowed in four games. You'd expect better from a club like them. That puts some Inter Milan attackers like Lautaro Martinez ($20), Edin Dzeko ($19), and Hakan Calhanoglu ($17) into my player pool. Martinez has two goals this year and is +185 (best on the team) to add to that tally. Dzeko is more of a GPP goal-upside guy, and Calhanoglu is the best peripherals guy out of the three with his ability to create chances. Like the PSG trio, you probably only play one of these guys based on whoever fits your build.
Some of the other attackers I'm looking to target on Wednesday are Paulinho ($19), Pote ($16), Sebastien Haller ($21), Riyad Mahrez ($18), Vinicius Junior ($17), and Hans Vanaken ($13).
Sandro Tonali ($8) is essentially my only value call on this slate for attackers. He should rack up some defensive stats against Liverpool in this game.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
Trent Alexander-Arnold ($15) is back to his 2019 form, if not better. He's going to be one of the top pay up options at DEF on any given EPL/UCL slate until further notice. I'll play him in almost any home matchup right now. If you have the cash for him, you can go ahead and pay.
Achraf Hakimi ($14) has really solid attacking upside in this matchup. PSG should control the ball against Club Brugge which will allow Hakimi to get involved in the attack early and often. He leads the team in chances created so far this year, and has two assists to his name already as well.
Pedro Porro ($13) is a final top attacking wingback to pay up for. Ajax is not known for their defense - although they have only allowed one goal this year. Porro has good appeal with his ability to get attacking peripherals from a defensive position. This is a good matchup for him as I think there should be a solid amount of peripherals in this game environment.
There are some very nice value defenders to consider on Wednesday until Tuesday including Fikayo Tomori ($11), Joel Matip ($7), and Felipe ($6).
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Liverpool's home defense is rock solid, and with their more consistent backline this year, clean sheets are starting to rack up. Alisson ($11) is very fairly priced on this slate with his good upside. Liverpool is favored and playing at home. AC Milan is still good enough to force Alisson to make some saves, but I think they keep a clean sheet and Alisson goes off on this slate.
Aside from four goals against Stuttgart, Leipzig only has one goal in their other three games. They're facing one of the best defenses from last year in Manchester City on the road. Not only should City win the game giving Ederson ($13) the win bonus, they should be able to keep a clean sheet here and give Ederson a 20+ point game.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
