SOCCER

Champions League Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 11/26/19

Gabriel Jesus should take Sergio Aguero's spot at the front of the Manchester City attack in what should be a lopsided match, and he's one of many great plays on Matchweek 5 of Champions League group play.

The Champions League, Europe's biggest soccer competition, returns on Tuesday for matchweek 5 of the Group Stage. FanDuel will be offering plenty of contests featuring the six Tuesday matches, which begin at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Group Stage
Tuesday, November 26
Dinamo Zagreb at Atalanta
Olympiakos at Tottenham
Bayern at Crvena Zvezda
Paris Saint-Germain at Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid at Juventus
Shakhtar Donetsk at Manchester City


The format will be what has now become the norm on FanDuel soccer contests and what is used in this season's Premier League competitions. Lineups will consist of four forwards or midfielders, two defenders, and one keeper. Player pricing ranges from Robert Lewandowski at $23, to a multitude of players, including potential Juventus starter Daniele Rugani at $8.

Five teams, including both from Madrid, can advance to the Round of 16. The teams from Madrid are in the only two games that do not have a clear favorite.

Let's look at some players at various price points who will have an impact on Tuesday's slate.

Forward/Midfielder

Gabriel Jesus, Manchester City ($20)

With Sergio Aguero ($21) taken off over the weekend with a suspected groin injury, it should be time for Jesus to shine. He should be rested as well having played only 32 minutes in the last Premier League games. He has played only two Champions League matches, but he has a goal in one and an assist in another. He created a total of five chances in those two games. Shakhtar allow 13 shots per match and average 5% less possession per match than City. City have scored at least three goals in their last three matches against Shakhtar, and Jesus will be in the center of the attack for a City team that can clinch their berth in the next round on Tuesday.

Karim Benzema, Real Madrid ($19)

Benzema is in his best form in recent memory. He has scored in three straight games across all competitions for a total of five goals. Benzema has 25 league goals in the calendar year 2019, which is tied for third-best across Europe's top five leagues. He has 12 goals and 6 assists this season across all competitions. Real Madrid have won three in a row across all competitions, scoring a total of 13 goals. The match with PSG is expected to be close, but Benzema has great odds to be Madrid's first goal scorer. There is some risk in playing Benzema, as PSG dominated when these teams played earlier in the group stage, but Benzema is on fire.

Juan Cuadrado, Juventus ($14)

Cuadrado has been outperforming his salary in all three of his Champions League games. He also comes in on good offensive form, drawing four fouls and picking up an assist on Saturday. The converted midfielder still has his ability on the ball, including in dead ball situations, but has added value based on his defensive responsibilities. He has 19 defensive actions in his three Champions League games. That goes along with 1 assist, 6 chances created, and 14 fouls drawn. Cuadrado averages 23.2 FanDuel points in the Champions League. Cuadrado just extended his contract with Juventus until 2022, so he will want to reward his club for their faith in his play.

Defender

Joshua Kimmich, Bayern ($15)

Kimmich averages close to 19 points per match in the Champions League thus far. He created five chances against Red Star in their first match up in the group as Bayern won 3-0. It was Kimmich's best offensive display of the Champions League. Kimmich was credited with 12 crosses in that match. He had 15 crosses in the last Champions League match against Olympiakos and 23 total over the last three matches. Kimmich has drawn eight fouls in the last five games. He is more of an offensive-minded defender, but he has at least one tackle in every game. Bayern have three straight shutouts across all competitions.

Serge Aurier, Tottenham ($12)

Aurier has not had a lot of playing time in the Champions League, but last time out, he scored 34.4 points due in part to recording an assist. He recorded an assist over the weekend against West Ham as he continues to be more involved offensively. Aurier has recorded at least two crosses in five straight games after a season-high 14 against Watford. FanDuel has credited Aurier with six chances created in his two Champions League matches. He is more defensively minded than Kimmich, so he also recorded 11 defensive actions in those two games. He has five tackles and three interceptions in the last two Premier League matches.

Colin Dagba, PSG ($9)

Dagba has been playing well after getting a chance due to injury. He scored 10.6 points in the only Champions League game he played this season. In Dagba's seven starts this season, six of them have been clean sheets. The 21-year-old defender is still developing, but his pass success rate is over 90% in all competitions, and the back line of PSG have not missed a beat with Dagba at outside back. It is worth noting that he did not start this weekend, but he was brought into the game for the last 25 minutes. It may have just been to give him a break before a big Champions League match, but please check the starting XI about an hour before the match.

Keeper

Paulo Gazzaniga, Tottenham ($13)

Gazzaniga and Tottenham have back-to-back clean sheets in the Champions League. Tottenham are coming off an important win in which their biggest offensive names put their fingerprint all over the match, but the keeper has shown signs of improvement. Gazzaniga has three saves in three straight games. He had a season-high 12 saves against Liverpool at the end of October, which may have been a bit of a turnaround for the Spurs. Gazzaniga scored a total of 58 points in the last two Champions League matches, and Tottenham are big favorites as they look to clinch a berth in the next round.

Pierluigi Gollini, Atalanta ($10)

Gollini allowed four goals to Zagreb in the first Matchweek, but much has changed since that game. Atalanta are now favorites with a clean sheet as two of the top three odds for final score line. Gollini has made at least two saves in every match and gave up just one goal to Manchester City last time out. This was, by far, Atalanta's best showing of the Champions League. Two matches ago in Serie A, Gollini was able to hold Sampdoria without a goal despite Atalanta being down a man for the last twenty minutes. Zagreb have been inconsistent of late, scoring just once in three of their last five across all competitions.



Doug Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Doug 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.