Champions League Focus – The Last Sixteen, First Leg

Back after a two-month hiatus, our thoughts turn to European action this midweek with many of us looking to quickly draw a line under last night’s events at Anfield. The Champions League affords us the perfect distraction and with the first leg of the last 16 just a few hours away, we reacquaint ourselves with its workings once again:

Scout League Standings

Obviously, at this stage we’re unable to have a look at each player’s new team, so for now we’re simply giving a shut out to the top five contenders in the Fantasy Football Scout league. In top spot sits Melonfresh – he accrued 427 points over the group stages, which is 25th spot in the overall standings and 32 points off the summit.

In second is Russ Kitson. He is just five points behind our Scout League leader and is in 39th position overall, with 422 points to his name so far. JDB is in third with 415 points, Tricky2006 makes fourth spot with 411 points, while we have a tie for fifth position, with Shindokung and Ion4ef both racking up 405 points after the opening six rounds.

Market Trends

As squads are reassembled, faith in Borussia Dortmund seems to be on the up. The Bundesliga outfit square up to Shakhtar Donetsk this time round and right across the classifications, they have received significant investment; Roman Weidenfeller has earned 8,000 new owners in goal, while Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski have all picked up plenty more, with Reus the most popular Dortmund player since the last round of matches – over 17,000 have snapped him up.

Juventus have also proven popular ahead of their showdown with Glasgow Celtic. Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo have all acquired many new owners – Vidal’s classification as a defender, allied with his spot-kick duties, have made him the number one target heading into the knockouts, with over 27,000 picking up the Chilean international.

PSG are another team with many new backers. Salvatore Sirigu and Thiago Silva have earned over 10,000 extra owners in goal and defence respectively, while Jeremy Menez (8,000) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (12,000) have made their way onto radars prior to their double-header with Valencia.

Porto pair of matches with Malaga seems to have divided opinion, though. While the likes of keeper Helton (13,000) , midfielder Lucho Gonzalez (14,000) and forward Jackson Martinez (5,000) have been snapped up for the Portuguese side, Malaga trio Martin Demichelis (9,000), Eliseu (10,000) and Isco (7,000) have all proven popular picks.

Ones to Watch

With the first round of the last 16 taking place over four evenings, Fantasy managers need to factor in a little extra balance to their squads, as we are afforded the chance of changing captaincy from one night to the next – a similar scenario to the recent Euro 2012 tournament, where the “stick or twist” dilemma was a crucial aspect of the game. This tactic plays a major part in our selections:

Arturo Vidal comes into consideration as Juventus make their way to Celtic Park. With three goals, an assist and a couple of clean sheets already accrued, Vidal’s explosive armband capabilities were highlighted in Matchday 5 with a 15 point return against Chelsea. A clean sheet and the possibility of attacking points makes the Chilean a real bargain at 5.5.

With tomorrow’s Shakhtar v Dortmund tie looking too close to call, we turn to the Bernabeu for alternatives. A home clash with former club United hands centre stage to Cristiano Ronaldo and, having warmed up with a weekend hat-trick, he looks primed to produce as Jose Mourinho looks to take an advantage to Old Trafford in three weeks’ time.

We’re opting for a couple of options from next Tuesday’s matches as armband alternatives. Porto’s home form across the group stages was key to their qualification. The Portuguese side won all three matches in front of their own fans and they’ll fancy their chances of maintaining that run of form when Malaga roll up in a week’s time. With that in mind, Lucho Gonzalez gets the nod. The top scoring Fantasy midfielder thus far, the 6.5 priced Argentine has racked up 38 points and has scored or assisted in each of his last two home matches.

A home clash with in-form Bayern is far from straightforward but with just 3% ownership and a price tag of 8.0, Theo Walcott could prove a real differential option against the Bundesliga giants. Goals look likely in this one and if Walcott can replicate his recent domestic form, Arsenal could position themselves in the driving seat before a difficult return leg in the Allianz Arena.

While Galatasaray have opted to add a couple of big-name players to their ranks ahead of a head-to-head with Schalke, we’re choosing to overlook Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba and instead keep faith in their in-form front man Boruk Yilmaz. Less of a flair pick than either of the above, he’s been banging in the goals and, at 6.5, looks a strong captaincy option in the mid-price bracket, with Barcelona facing a tricky trip to AC Milan in the evening’s other match.