Here are our Champions League DFS picks 13 October for the Fanteam Tuesday Main Event. Seven matches all kick off at 19:00 UTC, roughly an hour from now, so this is a one-window slate with a 121 budget and a maximum of three players per club. It is a top-heavy night. Bayern carry an 84.45% win chance and 3.22 projected goals. Barcelona (74.92%, 2.91 goals), Inter (76.78%, 2.87) and Arsenal (78%, with a slate-best 49.39% clean sheet chance) are not far behind. The real decisions are about how to fit those attacks together and where to save money.
Every player discussed below is listed as a confirmed starter in our data.
Captains for the Tuesday Main Event
The three safe captain options are almost inseparable, which makes this a closer call than usual.
Fermín López (BAR, 14.1) tops our projections at 7.17, with a 53% chance to score. Barcelona’s 2.91 projected goals against a Galatasaray side given just a 4.55% clean sheet chance is the foundation here. He is also cheaper than the other two, and that small saving matters on a slate where you want multiple premiums.
Harry Kane (FCB, 16.0) sits at 7.16, a hair behind, but owns the highest chance to score on the slate at 62.1%. Bayern are the biggest favourites of the night with 3.22 projected goals. If you want the player most likely to find the net, it is Kane.
Lamine Yamal (BAR, 15.5) projects 7.06 with a 47.2% chance to score. He is a fine pivot from Fermín if you expect most of your opponents to take the cheaper Barcelona midfielder.
Our best lineup captains Fermín with Kane as vice-captain. Remember the vice only doubles if the captain does not play, and with everyone confirmed that is a formality.
For big-swing picks in large tournaments, look at Ruben van Bommel (PSV, 8.7), Ezechiel Banzuzi (RBL, 8.8) and Alejandro Grimaldo (ATM, 7.4). Their averages sit around 4, but their best games reach above 10. Leipzig against PSV is a game projected for a combined 4.12 goals, which explains why both van Bommel and Banzuzi appear. These are low-owned gambles, not the default.
Captain options, 13 October
| Type | Player | Team | Opp | Salary | Proj | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safe | Fermín López | BAR | GAL | 14.1 | 7.17 | 15.7 |
| Safe | Harry Kane | FCB | VIK | 16.0 | 7.16 | 15.4 |
| Safe | Lamine Yamal | BAR | GAL | 15.5 | 7.06 | 15.3 |
| Upside | Ruben van Bommel | PSV | RBL | 8.7 | 4.04 | 10.2 |
| Upside | Alejandro Grimaldo | ATM | MUN | 7.4 | 4.09 | 10.2 |
| Upside | Ezechiel Banzuzi | RBL | PSV | 8.8 | 4.22 | 10.5 |
Stacks to build around
Two pairings stand clear of everything else.
Fermín López and Lamine Yamal cost 29.6 combined and project 14.2. They appear in 6 of our 15 lineups. Galatasaray concede a projected 2.91 goals, and a Barcelona goal often runs through one or both of these two.
Lennart Karl and Harry Kane cost 30.9 and project 13.5, showing up in 5 of 15. Karl is the better Bayern midfield option tonight. He projects 6.33 at 14.9 against Michael Olise’s 5.86 at 15.9.
The useful finding is that you do not have to choose. Our best lineup runs both pairs, plus Nathaniel Brown as the third Bayern player, and still fits under the cap. The cheap end of the roster is what makes it possible.
The secondary stacks are about leverage. Villarreal against Napoli is the most even match on the slate (44.5% win chance, 1.65 projected goals), and the Gerard Moreno and Georges Mikautadze pairing (20.3, 9.3) or Alberto Moleiro and Gerard Moreno (19.9, 8.9) each appear in 2 of 15. The Barış Alper Yılmaz and Rafael Leao Galatasaray stack is the interesting one. It costs only 13.5 for a 8.0 projection, and it sits inside our best lineup as a cheap way to grab attacking points from the other side of the Barcelona game.
Best stacks, 13 October
| Stack | Team | Salary | Proj | In our lineups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fermín López + Lamine Yamal | BAR | 29.6 | 14.2 | 6 of 15 |
| Lennart Karl + Harry Kane | FCB | 30.9 | 13.5 | 5 of 15 |
| Gerard Moreno + Georges Mikautadze | VIL | 20.3 | 9.3 | 2 of 15 |
| Alberto Moleiro + Gerard Moreno | VIL | 19.9 | 8.9 | 2 of 15 |
| Barış Alper Yılmaz + Rafael Leao | GAL | 13.5 | 8.0 | 2 of 15 |
Value plays
The budget squeeze comes from the premiums, so the value end of the player pool deserves real attention.
Goalkeeper
Jan Oblak (ATM, 7.7) projects 4.04, level with Jonas Urbig at 12.3 and only behind David Raya’s 4.86 at 12.9. Atlético are 52.28% favourites against Manchester United with a 30.78% clean sheet chance. That is the cheapest route to a solid keeper projection, and it is the choice in our best lineup. Vanja Milinković-Savić (NAP, 7.3) projects lower at 3.54 but has the highest ceiling of the listed keepers at 8.05, which suits a tournament build.
Defence
Nathaniel Brown (FCB, 11.9) is the top-projected defender at 5.07 and carries a 23.5% chance to score, unusually high for a defender. Bayern’s 37.15% clean sheet chance helps too. Grimaldo at 7.4 projects 4.09, matching Jurriën Timber at 12.5, and is the clearest value at the position. Ridle Baku (RBL, 7.8, 3.52) fills the third slot in our best lineup.
Arsenal’s defence has the best clean sheet chance of the night at 49.39%, with Ezri Konsa (4.49) and Gabriel (4.45) both above 12 in salary. If you go there, be careful about doubling up. The stacking penalty applies when several defenders or goalkeepers from one team all keep a clean sheet, so one Arsenal defender is usually enough.
Midfield and attack
The points-per-salary leaders come from teams expected to lose heavily, so they are minutes plays rather than goal plays. Nabil Bentaleb (LOSC, 3.5, 2.52) and Dilane Bakwa (LOSC, 4.1, 2.91) lead the list. From Brugge, Jan Virgili (4.3, 3.03), Hans Vanaken (4.6, 3.16) and Freddie Potts (3.5, 2.32) are all confirmed. Zlatko Tripic (VIK, 5.0) projects 3.41 with a 23.1% chance to score, the best attacking profile of the cheap midfielders.
Up front, Ayase Ueda (LOSC, 4.8) projects 3.35 with a 20.7% chance to score. At the other end of the price range, Christopher Nkunku (RBL, 11.6) projects 6.02 with a 50.1% chance to score. That is almost Marcus Thuram’s 6.11 for 2.7 less salary. Leipzig’s 2.62 projected goals against PSV make him one of the strongest plays on the board, and he is in our best lineup.
Underdogs
The Galatasaray pair already mentioned are the standout underdog plays. Barış Alper Yılmaz (6.9) projects 4.24 with a 24.4% chance to score, despite his side holding only a 10.52% win chance. Barcelona’s 1.21 projected goals conceded leaves room for a Galatasaray goal.
PSV are 18.95% to win but project 1.5 goals against Leipzig. Ruben van Bommel (8.7, 4.04), Sven Mijnans (8.9, 3.92, 25.1% to score) and Ivan Perisic (9.4, 3.71) all benefit from that open game. Matteo Politano (NAP, 8.6, 3.77) is backed by Napoli’s 28.56% win chance in the closest match of the night. Bruno Fernandes (MUN, 10.1, 3.58) is the weakest of the group on projection, so treat him as a low-owned pivot only.
Fades and pivots
Three price-based switches stand out in our numbers:
- Olise to Karl. Karl is cheaper by 1.0 and projects 0.47 more.
- Lautaro Martínez to Thuram. Thuram is 0.5 cheaper and projects 6.11 to 5.46.
- Raya to Oblak. Raya has the best keeper projection, but Oblak gives up 0.82 points while saving 5.2 in salary. That money can upgrade an outfield slot.
Anthony Gordon (BAR, 14.0, 5.25) also trails both Barcelona stack options at a similar price. He is best kept as a contrarian third Barcelona piece rather than a core play.
Final checks before lock
Our best lineup projects 65.7 points with Fermín as captain and Kane as vice-captain. It combines both premium stacks with cheap Galatasaray and Atlético pieces.
Before you lock:
- Every match kicks off at 19:00 UTC, so all lineups lock together. There is no later window to fix mistakes.
- Our projections update until lock. Check late team news before the deadline, especially for your cheap midfielders.
- Remember the safety net. A non-starter is replaced by the closest-priced cheaper teammate in the same position who starts. A player who only comes off the bench scores nothing for you.
- Stay within three players per club. A Bayern stack plus Brown already uses all three Bayern slots.
- Avoid stacking several Arsenal defenders or keepers because of the clean sheet stacking penalty.
- Watch your cards exposure in the defensive midfield value slots, since bookings cost points.
Full, sortable projections for every player, with a CSV download for your own optimizer, are on our Champions League DFS projections page.