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 4 of UCL group stage play. 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 Tuesday. In this article, I will be providing you with my UEFA Champions League daily fantasy soccer lineup picks for FanDuel on 11/25/20 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
Ajax (-325) vs Midtjylland, o/u 3.5
Atletico Madrid (-475) vs Lokomotiv Moskow, o/u 2.5
Bayern Munich (-500) vs RB Salzburg, o/u 4.5
Inter Milan (+115) vs Real Madrid, o/u 3.0
Liverpool (-155) vs Atalanta, o/u 3.5
Olympique Marseille vs Porto (+160), o/u 2.5
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
Robert Lewandowski ($24) is expensive, however, he is an elite player to start your lineup with on Wednesday. Bayern are the slate's largest favorite as they take on RB Salzburg. They just scored six goals against Salzburg three weeks ago, and Lewandowski had two of those goals on his way to a 58.5 fantasy point game. Lewandowski has eight goals and two assists in his last seven Bayern games, and he is -455 to score in this one which are absolutely insane odds.
Bayern should smash in this game with the way Salzburg allows goals, shots, and chances created. A secondary Bayern attacker to pair with Lewandowski is a good strategy. While Serge Gnabry ($18) and Thomas Muller ($16) are both good plays, I am headed to Leroy Sane ($17). He has entered Bayern's starting lineup now with Joshua Kimmich hurt, and he has three goals and two assists in his first three games. He is +125 to score on Wednesday and should fare well with other important peripheral stats as well.
If you don't go with the Bayern route, it is also a good slate to stack up Ajax. They have a very explosive attacking group that starts with Dusan Tadic ($20). Midtjylland defended Ajax well three weeks ago only giving up two goals, but that will likely be a different story with Ajax at home. Midtjylland are giving up 2.7 goals per game in their UCL group. Tadic is the most likely anytime scorer in this game, and he has scored in six consecutive games for Ajax. For some secondary Ajax pieces, I'm headed right down to Lassina Traore ($7) and Zakaria Labyad ($7). Labyad has played 70+ games in the last two games for Ajax, and he has two goals and two assists. Traore has played well this season with seven goals and three assists. These two are some of the best value plays on the slate.
Aside from Bayern and Ajax attackers, I am looking at some other plays including Romelu Lukaku ($19). His matchup Wednesday is solid at home against a Real Madrid defense that has not kept a clean sheet in eight games. He had two goals and two assists last weekend for Inter Milan, and he also scored twice for Belgium during the international break. He is -105 to score in this game which are the best odds in the game.
Joao Felix ($18) is a nice play as well. Atletico are significantly favored at home against Lokomotiv Moskow. He has six goals in his last five games for Atletico, and he is in a plus matchup here. Angel Correa ($11) and Marcos Llorente ($11) are good cheap plays to either pair with Felix or use as a standalone play to save some salary.
Toni Kroos ($16) is always a strong mid-tier option. His floor is strong and matchup-proof. Real Madrid also needs to press for a good result here as they sit in 3rd in the group right now. Kroos should be involved in the attack early and often.
Valentin Rongier ($6) can be used as a deep punt if you want to fit more studs in.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
The top-most group of defenders to pay up for on this slate is brutal, however, there are several good plays just below that top group. You can make an argument for Andrew Roberston ($14) at home with a good game environment against Atalanta, but he is nowhere near a must.
I like Daniel Carvajal ($13) some too. He missed a good chunk of time with an injury, but he returned for a full 90 minutes last weekend. He has definite attacking upside, and he should also be busy defensively in this game with both teams fighting for a result.
Kieran Trippier ($13) is a good defender to target as well. Like Roberston and Carvajal, he is a good attacking wingback who has a good matchup to get involved offensively. Atletico should control the majority of the possession in this game and I like Trippier's floor with chances created and defensive peripherals.
From a value perspective, Dmitry Zhivoglyadov ($9) has had several strong games mostly from defensive stats. He has scored 14+ points in all three UCL games this year. He has another good matchup to continue that streak at a good price against Atletico who should force plenty of defensive action. If you have a few more bucks to get him, Murilo Cerqueira ($12) is a good play too in this same matchup.
Also good value plays on this slate are Jerome Boateng ($9), Erik Sviatchenko ($8), and Fabinho ($8).
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
Manul Neuer ($14) is a strong play on Wednesday if you can afford him. RB Salzburg's style of play is very open and attacking-oriented which allows them to get plenty of shots even against good opponents like Bayern. Therefore, assuming Bayern win the game, Neuer won't even need to keep a clean sheet to go for 20+ fantasy points. You can see this by looking at his last game against Salzburg where he let in two goals but still finished with 26 points. If Bayern's defense can keep RB Salzburg out of the net in this one, Neuer could eclipse 30 fantasy points.
Andre Onana ($12) is one of the mid-tier GKs I am looking at on Wednesday. Midtjylland has only scored one goal in UCL play this year, and that was at home the last time they played Ajax. I have confidence that Ajax can keep Midtjylland shutout in this game which would result in a good fantasy performance for Onana.
I am putting confidence into Atletico Madrid's defense as well on Wednesday. They've allowed only two goals in eight La Liga games this season. They are also significant favorites at home in this game which makes both bonuses likely for their keeper Jan Oblak ($12).
Pierluigi Gollini ($5) is back to full health now having just played 90 minutes last weekend. He should get the start against Liverpool in this game. It is definitely a difficult matchup on the road, but his floor is strong with several save points likely coming his way. For $5, he opens up plenty of valuable dollars to get other attacking studs into your lineup.
Thanks for reading my EPL DFS lineup picks breakdown on RotoBaller and good luck!