UEFA Champions League: Tuesday/Wednesday
Last week we saw that UCL knockout ties can often be cagey affairs, so the premium of picking the right players is at a high during this stage of the competition.
Let’s take a look at each game and some things to consider when constructing your lineups. In each match, I am going to highlight a FW, MF, DEF/GK that I’m considering on DraftKings for this week’s matches.
Manchester City vs. Barcelona
What a difference a week makes in soccer. Before Sunday, many were questioning how long City could stay in the EPL title race. Meanwhile, in Spain, Barcelona had won 21 out of their last 23 matches in all competitions. Fast forward, and City chipped away two points off Chelsea’s first-place cushion thanks to a 5-0 hammering of Newcastle and Barca inexplicably lost at home 0-1 to Malaga, furthering themselves from Real Madrid, who sit top in La Liga. The most mouthwatering of this week’s lineup, these two soccer behemoths are no strangers to one another, having faced off in the competition the last two years. City will feel they need to get a result at home before heading off to Barcelona for the return leg. That task will be made all the more difficult with the absence of Yaya Toure in midfield. Fernandinho and Fernando will be given the task of disrupting the Barca attack of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez…the question being can they?
FW: Lionel Messi $12,700 – Look at the name and not the price tag. Consider that Barcelona have scored 67 goals in La Liga this year – Messi has played a part in 39 of those either via a goal or assist
MF: David Silva $7,300 – With Yaya Toure out suspened, the onus will be on Silva to split the Barca backline and release Sergio Aguero on goal. When Silva is on form, he is an absolute magician and his timing couldnt be more perfect coming off a two goal, one assist outing last weekend
GK: Joe Hart $4,100 – If Man City can hold off the Barca pressure and keep them out of the net, Joe Hart will have had an immense match.
Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund
Don’t look now, but Dortmund have won their last three matches in the Bundesliga while scoring 10 goals in doing so and, at least temporarily, have seemed to righted what was their fast sinking ship. Jurgen Klopp’s men head to Turin to face a Juventus side currently leading Serie A by a comfortable 9 points and not having lost a home match thus far this season. It’s an interesting tactical dynamic, as in Juventus you have a team that builds up play slowly, while Dortmund employ a frenetic fast-paced system built on pressing and running the opponent off the pitch. Klopp became famous for this back in 2013 when it took him to the Champions League Final, but recently many have wondered whether it is built to last, and the tie against Juve will go a long way in determining if Dortmund have indeed turned the corner.
FW: Marco Reus $8,900 – Coincidental that Dortmund’s recent success has come thanks to Reus scoring in all three matches? I think not. His speed could give the Juve back four issues.
MF: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang $7,400 – Considering P-E A plays as a center forward but is listed as a MF in DraftKings, he was very much used throughout the group stage and provided huge dividends in the form of three goals and two assists
DEF: Giorgio Chiellini $4,500 – When you have Andrea Pirlo serving up dead balls on a silver platter for you, you’re bound to score a few goals and that’s what this tie could come down to. It was only last year that Chiellini had three goals and three assists during Juve’s Serie A campaign. Lukas Piszczek of Dortmund is also a worthy selection given his three assists in the group stage.
Arsenal vs. Monaco
Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal squad will feel very lucky that they avoided some of the big guns in the Round of 16, having finished second in their group. Arsenal can’t take Monaco lightly, but they will feel all the more comfortable in the return leg if they’re able to get a solid win at home on Wednesday night. Monaco are currently tied in Ligue 1 in conceding the fewest goals, so getting past them doesn’t look to be the easiest of tests. Arsenal have won three straight domestically after having lost the North London Derby to Spurs, while Monaco have had an indifferent start to 2015.
FW: Olivier Giroud $8,100 – It’s hard to ignore Giroud’s price tag given his 2015 form (five goals and three assists in all competitions) considering his teammates Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck are both more expensive
MF: Santi Cazorla $7,800 – Much like Giroud, three goals and three assists in 2015 have Cazorla worthy of a MF or flex play
GK: Wojech Szczesny $4,300 / David Ospina $5,400 – Ospina is said to be suffering from a back injury and could sit this one out. I’m not particularly impressed by his price tag, so if Szczesny gets the start, I like him as a solid play. Monaco should have a tough time finding the back of the net in London.
Atletico Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen
This just seems like an annual tournament made for Diego Simeone. Year in and year out his stars get raided by the big clubs of Europe, yet Atletico find themselves in the final 16 again after being seconds away from lifting the trophy last year (my bio below is a sad reminder of that). Atletico have had some bumps to endure in Spain to kick off 2015. They were eliminated in the Copa del Rey at the hands of Barcelona and also had a hiccup at Celta de Vigo two weeks ago – Simeone admittedly got his tactics wrong. Over in Germany, Bayer have one win in 2015 and conceded five in a defeat to Wolfsburg two weekends ago (they did manage to score four, however). While I think this week’s match will be largely defensive, I think Atletico should feel good about their chances of progressing to the quarterfinals.
FW: Antoine Griezmann $6,800 – The Frenchman is absolutely buzzing in La Liga, with six goals and one assist since January 24th.
MF: Hakan Calhanoglu $6,400 – Bayer’s #10 has seven goals and four assists to his name in all competitions this year. Arda Turan is also intriguing from the Atletico side.
DEF: Diego Godin $4,300 – One of the best center backs in the world for me and an underrated goalscorer from the back. Four goals this year in all competitions to add to his six from last campaign.