SOCCER

Champions League Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 11/6/18

PSG desperately need a win in a pivotal group stage match at Napoli, making Neymar an attractive target. Which other players should you go after on Tuesday's main slate?

Tuesday brings the next set of Champions League group stage matches, with FanDuel offering a six-game main slate. The slate will not include the two early matches of the day -- Monaco versus Club Brugge and Crvena Zvezda versus Liverpool.

Group Stage
Tuesday, November 6th
Galatasaray at Schalke
Paris St. Germain at Napoli
Lokomotiv Moscow at Porto
Dortmund at Atletico Madrid
Barcelona at Inter
PSV Eindhoven at Tottenham


The pressure is high as the teams play their fourth match of the group stage. Dortmund, Atletico, Barcelona, and Inter can all secure their place in the knockout rounds on Tuesday. Tottenham, PSV, and Lokomotiv are looking at possible elimination.

Let's look at some players at various price points.

Forwards to Target

Neymar ($13,500) -- The PSG forward is the most expensive player on the slate, but he has averaged nearly 48 FanDuel points per match in the Champions League. That is close to 20 more than anyone else in the PSG-Napoli match. He is behind only Lionel Messi on the entire slate, and Messi is unlikely to play. Neymar scored a goal, created five chances, sent in five crosses, and was fouled four times in his most recent domestic league match against Lille. He has had at least four shots and four chances created in four of his last five matches. He has a goal and two assists in his last four matches across all competitions, and he scored a hat trick in his last Champions League outing. Neymar is a star, and his team needs him in a tough match in Naples as they are on the outside looking in now.

Marco Reus ($9,500) -- The Dortmund star is playing well in the Champions League as his team is all but assured a spot in the next round. They have not allowed a goal, so their leading scorers are part of the defense. However, Reus has been the best attacker despite much of the attention going to Paco Alcacer ($6,500). Reus has avoided a major injury this season and continues to be a catalyst during Dortmund's great start to the campaign. He scored a goal in the Bundesliga over the weekend and comes in averaging 27.3 FanDuel points per match in the Champions League. Reus has also recorded 20 defensive actions in his three Champions League games, including five tackles in the home match against Atletico.

Moussa Marega ($8,500) -- The last time Porto faced Lokomotiv, Marega scored to lead Porto to a 3-1 win. Porto are favored to win this time and implied to score at least two goals. Marega has scored in three straight games, starting with the first match up with Lokomotiv. He also added an assist over the weekend. He is Porto's top scorer at the forward position over the first three matches of the Champions league, averaging more than 20 fantasy points in the last two games. He has drawn at least one foul in each match as well as contributed eight total defensive actions. Lokomotiv have allowed seven goals and scored just once in UCL play, so Porto are in a great spot.

Midfielders to Target

Lorenzo Insigne ($9,000) -- Napoli crushed Empoli on the weekend, and Insigne had a goal and two assists in the 5-1 win. He now has seven goals and three assists in Serie A to go with his two goals in the Champions League so far. He is averaging nearly five shots a game in domestic league play to go along with an average of 2.5 key passes. Insigne scored a goal last time out against PSG, one of the six PSG have given up in three UCL matches. James Horncastle of ESPN says that the recent change of position for Insigne to a more central role has made him the best all-around Italian player. He should continue to back up that claim on Europe's biggest stage.

Weston McKennie ($7,000) -- The young USMNT player seems to be maturing right before our eyes. He is averaging close to 22 FanDuel points per game in the Champions League and was rested over the weekend to prepare for the big match with Galatasaray. McKennie has a goal and an assist in the Champions League so far, but his defensive contribution and ability to control the game have been more important. He averages over five defensive actions per match in the Champions League, which is higher than his Bundesliga output. He leads the European competition in interceptions. Galatasaray does average more possession in the competition, and they dominated possession in the first matchup between these teams. McKennie should be busy and offers a nice floor.

Jorrit Hendrix ($6,000) -- Hendrix is having a solid year in the Eredivisie, but he has been under the radar in the Champions League, averaging just 13.8 fantasy points per game. Like McKennie, his defensive numbers are up in the Champions League. Hendrix averages over eight defensive actions in the competition. He drew three fouls, had six clearances, and five interceptions the first time PSV met Tottenham. Hendrix led PSV in tackles over the weekend against Vitesse. Hendrix has also been the subject of transfer rumors to Tottenham based on his intelligent play. He will have to be smart on Tuesday if Tottenham replicate their 71% possession from the first match between these teams as Hendrix will be busy trying to slow Spurs attack much of the match.

Defenders to Target

Jordi Alba ($7,500) -- Alba is tied for the most expensive defender on the slate. His 29.2 FanDuel points per game is the highest average among defenders on the slate who have played in all three Champions League matches this season. The Spaniard has two assists and a goal in his last three matches, so he comes in on good form. He has three assists and a goal in both La Liga and the Champions League. With Messi likely out, the rest of the Barcelona squad has had to step up. Alba and Luis Suarez ($12,000) have been taking on most of the responsibility. Barcelona had 67% of possession in the reverse fixture versus against Inter, and Alba should continue to be involved down the left side.

Omer Bayram ($3,500) -- Bayram is the cheapest defender on the slate, but he should start at outside back for Galatasaray. He started over the weekend and finished with two shots, three tackles, one interception, and one clearance. He also had an 84% pass success rate. He is averaging over six defensive actions a game in his five Super Lig appearances with Galatasaray. He does not have to put in much more production than that to hit value on his cost. Bayram will also help you afford expensive stars like Neymar.

Keepers to Target

Iker Casillas ($5,500) and Alexander Nubel ($5,000) -- These are the two keepers with the best shot at clean sheets on Tuesday. That is the plain and simple reasoning behind their selections. Paddy Power puts top odds on a clean sheet for both keepers as their respective teams are favored at home. Lokomotiv have been overmatched in the Champions League, so Casillas and Porto should capitalize on their opposition's poor play. Schalke and Nubel being favored is more surprising, but they were able to hold Galatasaray off the board the last time the teams met in Turkey. Nubel has two clean sheets in four starts this season. Casillas has two shutouts in a row.



Douglas Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Douglas Smith also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username aquemini03. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her
articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.