Champions League is back in full force Tuesday and I will be breaking down all the games and giving out my favorite plays for both cash games and tournaments. This article will be a little different than my regular EPL content but I hope you find it useful as it will have a lot of information to help you out with this week’s Champions League slates. Let’s get to it!
Barcelona vs Lyon
A lot of people will see this matchup and complain that Barcelona got an easy game at this stage of the Champions League. As a Barcelona fan myself I disagree. Barcelona has not been very good lately only winning one game out of their last four. That one win came against lowly Real Valladolid and that was just a 1-0 win. In fact Barcelona has lost games against lower opposition specially away from home including loses at Sevilla and Levante in league play. Lyon is a good team and although their main set piece taker Fekir $7,400 is out due to suspension I still think they will give Barcelona everything they can handle. Memphis Depay $6,600 should take control of all set pieces and makes for a very good play in both cash games and tournaments. I think this game will be tight and we could see a draw with the away team getting a very important away goal. For the home team Moussa Dembele $5,600 could be an interesting play in tournaments and I would not be opposed to playing him and Depay together. Messi $11,200 is clearly Barcelona’s top play but that is a hefty price to pay with so many good options on the slate. You can look at Ousmane Dembele $8,000 who will have a share of set pieces and should easily hit value at a 3k discount from Messi. Luis Suarez $8,400 would be a gpp option only for me.
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich
This has the potential to be the best matchup of the round of 16. These are both heavyweight teams and we should see fireworks. I have to side with the home team here playing at Anfield but Bayern should be able to find an away goal. Mohamed Salah $9,500 is the top option for Liverpool and could find the back of the net Tuesday. Milner $7,400 should have a role in set pieces as well as penalty kick duties. I really like the spot for Mane $8,100 and Firmino $7,500 in tournaments as they should be low owned considering all the other options available on this slate. TAA $5,700 is always a good option at defender but i would rather pay the extra 100 dollars and play Joshua Kimmich $5,800 who should have the majority of set pieces for Bayern. Most people will pay up for Lewandowski $8,200 but I think I would rather save some money and pay down for Kingsley Coman $5,500 who has been scoring a lot of goals lately. He makes for a very good tournament play and I would not be opposed to playing Serge Gnabry $6,000 who has been playing very well lately.
Manchester City vs Schalke 04
If people are going to complain about Barcelona getting an easy game against Lyon then there might be a revolution when it comes to Man City drawing Schalke. However, just like Barcelona Man City could face some problems playing away in Germany. For Manchester City the first person we need to look at is Sergio Aguero $10,100 who has almost a 70 percent chance of finding the back of the net. I know the game is away but I really do like Aguero to score and maybe get a brace. He is my favorite forward in tournaments on this slate. After that it all depends on who City decides to start. Sane $9,100 and KDB 9,000 seem a little expensive with all the other options around them. On the other hand I could get behind playing Gundogan $6,000 who could steal a few sets at a huge discount. For the home team Caliguiri $4,700 should have a good amount of sets and I would not mind taking a shot at him in tournaments playing at home. Bastian Oczipka $3,600 could be a steal at this price. You are not going to get a clean sheet from him but he does take some set pieces and he loves to cross the ball. He might be one of the first names I lock into my lineups this week. If you want to take a dart at a Schalke goal you can look at Kutucu $4,800 who has been scoring a lot of goals lately and should be playing forward for the home team on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid vs Juventus
This is another game that could be really exciting or it could turn into a defensive juggernaut. Both teams are on top of their games and I would not be surprised if we got a 0-0 or a 2-2 draw. For Atletico the main man is Antoine Griezmann $9,300 who takes most corner and also takes penalties. He has also been scoring goals in the Champions League scoring four goals in his last 5 games. I can see him making my main gpp line. Besides Griezmann I might take a shot in tournaments with Morata $5,000 who is extremely cheap playing his former team. For the visitors Ronaldo $10,300 has been scoring goals in bunches and has a history of scoring a lot of goals against Atletico. It is sort of a homecoming for Ronaldo and I would not be shocked if he broke the slate. Dybala $9,000 who has been rumored to be on his way out of Italy also makes for a good play as he does have a role in set pieces but the main set piece guy for Juventus is Pjanic $6,600 and he should be in the starting 11 on Wednesday. In tournaments you could take a dart with Mandzukic $5,700 who has has connected with Ronaldo in two of the last 3 leagues games.
Rankings by position for tournaments
Forward
- Aguero
- Ronaldo
- Griezmann
- Messi
- M. Dembele
Midfield
- Salah
- O. Dembele
- Depay
- Sane
- Dybala
Defense
- Kimmich
- Cancelo
- TAA
- Oczipka
- Alba
Goalie
- Alisson
- Lopes
- Ederson
- Oblak
- Stegen
As always if you have any questions feel free to send me a message on discord or on twitter. I can’t wait to see all the screenshots after we dominate this week! Enjoy the slate and make sure to tune in to our slack when lineups come out since we usually drop a play or two in there as well.
Written by Jaime (Twitter: @jaimedurand1)
