RADIO
Hello, RotoBallers! I'm happy to be back with you for some mid-week soccer. The UEFA Champions League is so back! We're rolling right from some EPL action Monday into a full slate of UCL games Tuesday and Wednesday. This breakdown will focus on the main 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 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 9/14/21 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
Barcelona vs Bayern
We have a matchup of perennial title contenders to start off with on Tuesday. Bayern Munich (-105) are slight money line favorites as they travel to Spain to take on Barcelona. Bayern have fired off three straight league wins after opening the year with a draw. Barcelona - playing their first season without Lionel Messi in almost two decades - are off to an okay start in La Liga with two wins and a draw. Bayern is the better team on paper and should be the better team on the field as well. This game has a slate-high goal total over/under of 3, 3.5, and there's still a lot of talk out there about taking the over.
Chelsea vs Zenit
Chelsea (-475) are by far the biggest slate on the favorite Tuesday. They're at home facing a Zenit squad who are leading the Russian Premier League right now having not lost through seven games. However, they'll be on the road taking on defending UCL Champions, Chelsea, who are rolling in the EPL right now. This is a good spot to load up on some Chelsea attackers at home. The goal total over/under is 2.5, 3.
Dynamo Kyiv vs Benfica
One of our favorite Ukrainian Champions League teams returns again this year and host Benfica (+130) in their first game. Both teams sit atop their respective domestic leagues with no losses between them. They have also given up a combined four goals in 12 games. This could be a game where goals are few and far between which does not set up well fantasy-wise. The goal total over/under is 2.5 with the under at -125.
Malmo vs Juventus
Despite a horrid start to the Serie A season, Juventus (-210) are still one of the largest favorites on the slate. That's probably because they're taking on the lone Swedish team in the tournament this year. Malmo beat Riga, HJK, Rangers, and Ludogorets consecutively in qualifying to make it this far, but they are (unimpressively) sitting in fourth in the Allsvenskan. I see no need to overload on Juventus when they're out of form, but finding some exposure to this game is a decent strategy.
Villarreal vs Atalanta
Last year's Europa League winner - Villarreal - will be excited to show what they can do against the next level of competition this year. Villarreal (+140) have started with three draws in La Liga this year, and host Atalanta who have a draw, a win, and a loss in Seria A. Needless to say, neither team is quite in mid-season form yet. Villarreal have been playing good defense while struggling to score. I think the make for some intriguing GPP plays against an Atalanta defense that has been quite leaky in UCL play in the last few seasons. The goal total over/under is 2.5, 3.
Lille vs Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg (+155) have been scorching hot. They rattled off four straight wins to begin their season in the Bundesliga. Lille's beginning of the year has been vastly different with just one win in five tries in France. Wolfsburg has one of the better defenses in this competition which essentially takes me off any Lille exposure. Lille, however, has given up second-most goals in Ligue 1 so far which bodes well for Wolfsburg attackers in GPPs on Tuesday. The goal total over/under is 2.5 with the under at -122.
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
I wrote up Romelu Lukaku ($23) in my EPL breakdown over the weekend. He continued his awesome scoring form with a goal in a Chelsea win. He draws another great matchup at home as the slate's biggest favorite against Zenit. Lukaku is -165 to score in this game and is one of the top options on the slate.
Chelsea is one of the most stackable teams on this slate. You can head to Kai Havertz ($20) and Timo Werner ($19) for goal upside. There could be some really strong Chelsea value attackers on this slate depending on how Tuchel lines up his squad. You can check more out on that on my Twitter (@vdray5) before lock.
Lots of people are expecting a goal-fest in the Bayern @ Barcelona game, so let's go there for a minute. Whether or not you're looking to stack this game or use a one-off, Robert Lewandowski ($22) can fit your needs. He has scored six times already for Bayern in this young season and is -175 so score here. His shot volume is great with about 3.3 shots on target per game, and he is creating nearly two chances per game as well. Jamal Musiala ($16) is my favorite Bayern attacker to pair with Lewandowski. People might see his game log (from last year) and move past him, however, he has two goals and two assists already this season with some other good attacking peripherals. Joshua Kimmich ($16) is also a strong play in a stack of this game.
From the Barcelona side, a whole host of injuries is leaving them pretty shorthanded in the attack on Tuesday. Memphis Depay ($21) is their leading attacker. He has two goals so far this year and is +165 to score at home against this Bayern defense who probably aren't as strong as they have been. Pedri ($13) is the second Barcelona attacker to consider in a full stack of this game, but he's not worth playing as a one-off.
There are a handful of other attackers I like a good deal on this slate starting with Wout Weghorst ($19). His production of 20 goals and eight assists last year was a huge reason why Wolfsburg is in the UCL this season. He also has two goals and an assist already this year, and now he's taking on Lille's terrible defense Tuesday who have allowed 11 goals this year. Wout and Lukas Nmecha ($15) are one of my favorite GPP mini stacks.
Veljko Birmancevic ($12) is one of my favorite value plays on this slate. He's far too cheap for his production fantasy-wise this year with seven goals and an assist. He has been getting solid shooting stats and other peripherals for Malmo as well. Taking on Juventus is never easy for opposing attackers, but Juventus is not playing well as a team yet this year, so Malmo can hit them while they're down.
A few other names to take a look at on this large slate are Vitaliy Buyalskiy ($11) (if healthy, Viktor Tsygankov if not), and Manu Trigueros ($11).
FanDuel DFS Defenders
I love finding value defenders on FanDuel and paying up for four stud attackers in UCL even more than EPL with how valuable goals are. Early in the season, there are usually some mispriced defenders as well to take advantage of. I'll be tweeting some of them out (@vdray5) tomorrow once we get lineups announced as well.
Daniil Krugovoy ($5) is the minimum price in a good matchup to collect some defensive stats against Chelsea. He's an outside back rather than a preferred center back in this type of matchup, but that still won't keep me from playing him. At only $5, he needs just a few stats to be valuable. Teammate Yaroslav Rakitskiy ($10) is in a better position for defensive stats, and he's still fairly cheap if you have the salary to get him.
Thiago Silva ($8) isn't much of an "unknown" value guy, but he's still too cheap nonetheless. Silva should be getting five bonus points after Chelsea get a clean sheet on Tuesday, and he'll need just a few other defensive stats to be a good value.
If you have some extra money, there are good attacking defenders who bring some good upside on this slate. Ben Chilwell ($12) looks like he might be getting a start for Chelsea. He has upside with chances created and assists especially in a prime matchup like this where Chelsea should dominate possession.
Alex Sandro ($14) and Juan Cuadrado ($15) are top-tier plays if you can find the extra money to pay for them. Juventus has that great matchup against Malmo, and both of these defenders actually play more in the midfield. They provide a ton of attacking upside.
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Edouard Mendy ($14) has been awesome for Chelsea for a while now. He's about as close you can get to to a lock for both GK bonuses at home on this slate. He costs quite a bit, but the safety he provides is pretty high.
Manuel Neuer ($11) is a viable play here if you think Barcelona's attacking injuries hurts them. Bayern should win the game and Neuer will definitely see some shots, so I think he has a strong floor. While Bayern's defense is not the best of the best anymore, they're still good and can keep a beat-up Barcelona team scoreless.
Koen Casteels ($9) probably scarred a lot of FanDuel soccer players a year and a half ago on some Bundesliga slates, but Wolfsburg has one of the top defense in the UCL this year. They have given up just one goal in their first four Bundesliga games this year. They are on the road - which can be tough - against a decent attacking team in Lille, but I think Casteels keeps a clean sheet here and gets the win bonus. He's my favorite mid-tier option.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!
