Champions League Matchday 6: Player Picks

Well we’ve reached the final matchweek of the Champions League and we have some big matchups on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Some teams have largely meaningless games, except maybe to decide the group winners. These teams include; Arsenal, PSG, Barcelona, Atletico, Bayern, Monaco, and wonderful little Leicester (nuts I know). So what does that mean for us as fantasy players? It’s going to be a real crapshoot. If the real world managers understand the futility of these matches, which they most probably will, expect them to put out mostly unrecognizable lineup. That makes my job a little harder in trying to find players to focus on, because a lot of the big fantasy players may be out of the lineup today and tomorrow to keep them fresh for league play at the weekend. That being said, we’re going to do our best here at Never Manage Alone to give you some players to spend your fantasy dollars on.

Sergio Aguero- Oh Sergio, you unleashed a bit of a temper on my beloved Chelsea after we beat you at the quiet, and apparently not sold out Etihad. But that’s beside the point, Manchester City’s matchup this week is a bit more testy than it looks. It’s a long shot, but if for some reason Monchengladbach beats Barca by multiple goals and City lose to Celtic by multiple goals, we can have a real race for second in the group here. Knowing Guardiola, I’d bet he’s not going to take this risk especially since Aguero is out in the next 4 domestic games due to suspension. Aguero will be a little pricey, he’s currently $9,400 on Draft Kings, but he’ll be a good pickup for the match against Celtic.

Christian Pulisic- With Dortmund guaranteed entrance into the knockout phase, Tuchel might field a weakened team to keep them fresh and in contention for the Bundesliga. I’d expect Pulisic to still play a role against Real Madrid and he’s been instrumental in the matches that he’s played in this year. It’s great to see a young American player become key in a huge European side like Dortmund, and he’ll want to show his stuff at the legendary Santiago Bernabeu.

Paco Alcacer- The Spanish striker has failed to impress since signing from Valencia over the summer, but the quality is there and maybe he just needs to open his account to get the ball rolling, no pun intended. Barcelona are guaranteed a first place finish in Group C so Luis Enrique will surely be resting at least two of the three headed monster that is Messi, Suarez, and Neymar. Let’s also not forget that Barcelona beat Celtic by a whopping 7 goals to 0 last time out. Alcacer will be odds on to start this match and hopefully he will be able to bag himself his first goal for Barcelona.

Vincent Janssen- Janssen looked like a fine signing for Tottenham over the summer after scoring a dazzling 27 goals in the Eredivisie for AZ Alkmaar. Unfortunately for Spurs fans he hasn’t lived up to his promise after only scoring one goal in the 13 Premier League matches he’s played in this year. Both Tottenham and CSKA Moscow are knocked out of the next round of the Champions League and there’s no reason for either side to field a strong first team. This is the perfect opportunity to get another misfiring striker to get off the ground and for Mauricio Pochettino to give Harry Kane a rest.