Daily Fantasy Champions League 2015: Round-of-16 DraftKings Matchups to Exploit
After a long layoff, the Champions League will finally be back in action with an enticing quartet of midweek matchups to begin the round of 16. But these top-notch clubs don't figure to be anywhere near rusty in the midst of various title runs.
Eight of the final 16 will have to wait until next week to do battle, but here's a glance at the best matchup plays for Tuesday and Wednesday on DraftKings for the first UCL action in months.
Bayern Munich F Robert Lewandowski ($9,500)
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
| 12/10 CSKA Moscow | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 11/25 at Manchester City | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 11/05 Roma | 0 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| 10/21 at Roma | 1 | 1 | 4 | 25 |
| 9/30 at CSKA | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 9/17 Manchester City | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Bayern Munich are hitting their stride in domestic play as they gear up for a Champions League title run. They should have their way with Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of 16, with Robert Lewandowski leading the charge.
The striker, acquired before the season, has faced his fair share of criticism following a goal drought in league play, but he got some of those critics off his back with a goal in his most recent outing. He's notched two goals and two assists in five UCL matches this season, having logged a better rating in the tournament than in league play.
Shakhtar are hosting Munich and will start confident, but there's no shaking the fact that their only two wins in group play came against an overmatched BATE Borisov. Against a massive uptick in competition, their defense won't be able to keep up.
Porto F Jackson Martinez ($8,500)
| 6 | 1 | 23 | 10 | 16 |
Whenever a player hailing from a lower club goes on a tear in the Champions League, the world's best take notice. Such is the case with Porto attacker Jackson Martinez as he gears up for a round-of-16 run.
His Porto side faces Basel on the road in Wednesday's tilt, which looks to be a matchup nightmare for the home club. Porto has the second-best overall rating of any UCL squad, while Basel ranks in 20th behind six clubs that didn't even make it this far.
Martinez's recent surge has put him on some top clubs' wish lists, per Eurosport:
Against a Basel squad that ranks 23rd in tackles per game among UCL clubs, Martinez should have plenty of chances to add to his five tournament goals (six including the playoffs).
Chelsea M Cesc Fabregas ($7,200)
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas' minutes have been limited as of late, but he should be fully unleashed when the Blues face Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
The Spaniard has only logged 90 minutes of game time in his last three appearances combined, but Chelsea will need every bit of his creative passing and attacking potency against PSG. He figures to have opportunities against a club ranking 12th in the UCL in tackles per game.
The Blues have been mired in low-scoring affairs as of late, which could continue in a matchup against PSG. If that's the case, Fabregas' strong-minded presence should still result in a helper.
Real Madrid D Alvaro Arbeloa ($4,000)
With Real Madrid's defense bottling up virtually everybody they face, a round-of-16 matchup with Schalke 04 should result in another defensive struggle, with Alvaro Arbeloa inevitably showing up again.
The defender has been hot as of late, notching an assist in two of his last three appearances for Madrid. His value isn't lost on fantasy owners, as he's averaged more fantasy points per game than all but four defenders who could take the pitch this week.
Schalke rank a lowly 19th in shots on target per game, and Arbeloa should help Madrid to keep them at bay on Wednesday.
Porto G Fabiano ($4,800)
Few clubs still left standing in the UCL struggled down the stretch of group play more than Basel, who scored just one goal in their final two matches. Facing streaking Porto and goalkeeper Fabiano, the struggles should only continue.
Fabiano has secured four clean sheets already amid five wins this season, and he has scored double-digit fantasy totals in each of his last three UCL matches.
Advanced club and player statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com unless otherwise noted.
Follow Bleacher Report's Daily Fantasy soccer writer Steven Cook on Twitter for more analysis.
