Daily Fantasy Champions League 2015: Midweek UCL DraftKings Matchups to Exploit

On the heels of an exciting weekend of domestic play comes another midweek chock-full of Champions League round-of-16 fixtures, and the intrigue trickles over into Daily Fantasy with plenty of favorable matchups.

Amid mouthwatering showdowns between international powerhouses like Barcelona and Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, dozens of world-class players will be taking the pitch. Here are the footballers most worth targeting on DraftKings for the round-of-16 affairs this week.

Atletico Madrid F Fernando Torres: $7,000 (vs. Bayer Leverkusen)

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

The Champions League brings out the best in Fernando Torres, and his new club will be intent on getting every bit of that out of him Wednesday at home.

For all of his domestic shortcomings in Chelsea blue, Torres brought it in the top European competition. He netted four goals in five appearances in last year's tournament and scored three goals in each of his two previous UCL campaigns.

There are also no struggles in league play to suggest a poor performance—Torres has three goals and an assist in his last eight appearances in all competitions.

The embattled Spanish striker has established himself as Atletico's No. 9, which will open up opportunities against a tough, but susceptible Bayer defensive group. Their 17.8 fouls per game is worst among all clubs in the UCL, which will give Torres and Co. plenty of chances.

Bayer Leverkusen M Hakan Calhanoglu: $6,400 (at Atletico Madrid)

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

After establishing himself as one of the most reliable midfielders throughout group play, Bayer midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is set to continue his recent UCL tear as the round of 16 begins Wednesday.

In his eight UCL matches this season, Calhanoglu has been absolutely on fire. He logged two goals in his first four appearances, also adding two multi-assist performances throughout that span.

Calhanoglu is without a goal or assist in his last three UCL fixtures but has still dominated the stat line with an average of 9.67 points in that span. Their midweek opponent is Atletico Madrid, who ranks just ninth in La Liga in possession. The openings will allow Calhanoglu to continue his recent spurt with completed crosses and shots on goal, even if he doesn't impact the score sheet.

Juventus M Paul Pogba: $5,300 (vs. Borussia Dortmund) 

Alessandro Di Marco/Associated Press

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been etching his place as one of the world's next superstar footballers, yet still sees a bargain of a price tag at $5,300 heading into a midweek match with Borussia Dortmund.

Pogba saw a span of four straight matches with a goal in all competitions throughout January, and he has been similarly dominant in UCL play. His last three performances in the tournament have produced an average fantasy point total of 13, with eight crosses and 11 fouls drawn in his last four matches to add even more points.

Dortmund has performed worlds better in UCL play than domestically, but they still rank just 17th among UCL clubs in interceptions per game. Meanwhile, no club has produced more fouls than Juventus, and that will put Pogba in an even better position to thrive.

Barcelona D Dani Alves: $5,200 (at Manchester City)

David Ramos/Getty Images

Dani Alves is the short-term scapegoat around Barcelona after his clumsy mistake cost his side three points in La Liga over the weekend, but he has the perfect opportunity to right his wrongs Tuesday against Premier League champions Manchester City. 

Date/Opp	A	S	C	FPTS
11/25 at APOEL	1	3	7	23
11/5 at Ajax	0	0	5	10
10/21 Ajax	0	2	8	14
9/30 at PSG	1	0	8	14
9/17 APOEL	0	0	5	7

The Brazilian defender appears to be one of the most offensive-minded back-line players to choose from, with two assists, five shots and a whopping 33 crosses this season in UCL play. He's been easy money in recent months in Europe's top competition, accruing fantasy point totals of 23, 10, 14 and 14 in his last four performances.

Alves' 13.6 points per game in fantasy rank second behind Atletico's Cristian Ansaldi among defenders entering Tuesday, but Barcelona's attacking presence against City should see Alves to many chances. Add that to the apparent fact that he's the self-proclaimed assists leader to Lionel Messi, per Daily Mail's Jonny Singer, and he's an even easier pick.

Atletico Madrid GK Moya: $4,400 (vs. Bayer)

There are easy-money Daily Fantasy selections, and then there's Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Moya in Champions League play. 

The Spanish goalkeeper failed to win the last time out against Juventus on Dec. 9, but it wasn't due to any fault of his own. In that performance and in his previous four (all wins), Moya has kept a clean sheet. 

Every time Moya has taken the pitch in a UCL fixture this season, he's come away with a clean sheet. Against a Bayer squad that ranks 13th among UCL clubs in shots on target per game, should anything different be expected?

Advanced club stats courtesy of WhoScored.com unless otherwise noted.

Steven Cook covers Daily Fantasy football for Bleacher Report. Follow and interact with him on Twitter.