FanDuel Soccer: UCL DFS Helper for Tuesday 9/19/23

The 2023-24 Champions League Group Stage is finally here.

As always, we're covering FanDuel's main slate, which kicks off at 3 p.m. EST. All betting lines come from the soccer odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, and they may change after the article is published.

Slate Overview

Dortmund (+330) at Paris St. Germain (-135)
Over 2.5 Goals: -188 | Most Likely to Score: Kylian Mbappe (-115)

Celtic (+480) at Feyenoord (-180)
Over 2.5 Goals: -162 | Most Likely to Score: Igor Paixao (+185)

Crvena Zvezda (+4700) at Manchester City (-1900)
Over 2.5 Goals: -500 | Most Likely to Score: Erling Haaland (-310)

Atletico Madrid (+155) at Lazio (+190)
Over 2.5 Goals: +112 | Most Likely to Score: Alvaro Morata (+190)

Antwerp (+1400) at Barcelona (-600)
Over 2.5 Goals: -270 | Most Likely to Score: Robert Lewandowski (-175)

Porto (-140) at Shakhtar Donetsk (+360)
Over 2.5 Goals: -140 | Most Likely to Score: Toni Martinez (+165)

Positional Breakdown
Forwards/Midfielders

This slate is headlined by two giant favorites, and one is even in their own tier.

With Manchester City playing one of the weakest teams in the group stage, Erling Haaland ($24, -310 anytime goal odds) is an incredible play. His odds to score a hat trick are just +420, so it wouldn't be too surprising if he bags multiple goals.

Julian Alvarez ($21, -125) is also odds-on to score -- and takes set pieces as well -- making him either a pivot off the popular Haaland or a player to pair with him. Jeremy Doku ($17, +155) scored his first goal for City on Saturday and remains a great value.

Barcelona are the next team we can target, with Robert Lewandowski ($22, -175) being the standout play. He has three goals and three assists in five La Liga games this season.

Joao Felix ($19, +140) made his first start for Barca on the weekend, scoring a goal while also taking six corners. If Felix doesn't start, Ilkay Gundogan ($18, +260) would take the corner kicks and be a good option.

Not being in as good of a spot at the team level means someone like Kylian Mbappe ($23, -115) could go overlooked. He's capable of scoring multiple goals against any opponent, so he makes for a good alternative to the popular forwards on the favorites.

Added Time -- There are players in the less appealing matches that have decent goal scoring odds for a middling salary. Those players include Toni Martinez ($16 +165), Alvaro Morata ($15, +190), and Igor Paixao ($14, +185).

Defenders

Neither of the big favorites have defenders that are the best for fantasy with the possible exception of Marcos Alonso ($14), who could take some free kicks for Barcelona.

Achraf Hakimi ($13) is my favorite in the glut of $13 defenders. He loves to use his incredible pace to get forward and could contribute to a goal for PSG.

Otherwise, we'll probably want to use lower salary players to save for forwards. Lucas Hernandez ($11) is also an option on the other side of defense for PSG. Yaroslav Rakitskiy ($11) is a center back who takes corner kicks and penalties for Shakhtar and could rack up some defensive stats with his team being underdogs.

The best option to save some salary is Nahuel Molina ($10). He plays for an Atletico Madrid team that's favored to win and had seven crosses in just one half on Saturday.

Some other full backs on favored teams are affordable, such as Joao Mario ($9), Josko Gvardiol ($9), and Kyle Walker ($8).

Added Time -- If we're looking to play defenders who can score in the defensive categories against favored teams, some options for low salaries are Eduard Kozik ($9), Zeno Van Den Bosch ($8), and Liam Scales ($7).

Goalies

If you play Ederson ($14), you are essentially locking in the six points for a win with Man City being such big favorites. They also have -175 clean sheet odds, so the eight-point bonus for that is likely, as well.

Keeper is typically a position where we'd like to save, since it has the highest element of randomness. Jan Oblak ($10) is one of the best keepers in the world and plays for a structured team in Atletico Madrid. He plays in a game that's the only one on the slate that's favored to fall under 2.5 goals.

Dmytro Riznyk ($8) is also a home keeper against a Porto team that will be missing a handful of players through injury or suspension.

Added Time -- Playing Gregor Kobel ($7) for $1 more than either keeper on the two biggest underdogs gives you a significantly better chance of earning a win while not using much more salary.

Looking to build some UCL DFS lineups? Check out FanDuel’s daily fantasy soccer lobby to see all the offerings for today’s slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.