We approach Matchday 5 of this season’s Champions League with only one team, Man United, through as group winners so far. While this has afforded Sir Alex Ferguson the chance to rest the likes of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney for the trip to Galatasaray, there’s plenty to play for across the continent as the pressure steps up another level. As always, we’re here with a look at the Scout League standings and transfer market, while rolling out another batch of tips ahead of this afternoon’s deadline:
Scout League
Russ Kitson climbs to the top of the pile after racking up 82 points in Matchday 4. Captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned 28 points after providing four assists in PSG’s hammering of Dinamo Zagreb, while Lionel Messi and Roberto Soldado also chipped in with a goal apiece. Arturo Vidal, Thiago Motta and Anderlecht stopper Silvio Proto all registered clean sheets, while Oscar and Alan were amongst the goals again in midfield. Russ sits on 288 points, 12th in the overall standings.
In second spot is melonfresh with 275 points. He also chose to captain Ibrahimovic, while Messi was joined by fellow-scorer Sergio Aguero in a front three. Vidal and PSG keeper Salvatore Sirigu produced clean sheets, while Marco Reus, Lewis Holtby and Toni Kroos managed two goals and a couple of assists between them from midfield.
Joezzbabes slips down to third after a Matchday 4 haul of 53 points. Vidal produced a 14 point armband return, while Sirigu, Oscar, Kroos, Messi and Robin Van Persie were all amongst the points. He sits on 273 points, just inside the top 150 overall.
Pacimadeles is a non-mover in fourth. He racked up 60 points after a four point hit, though his decision to take the armband off Ibrahimovic and hand it to Messi cost eight points. Vidal, Alan, Holtby, Maxwell and Anderlecht’s Behrang Safari all produced the goods.
Finally, Sherwyne Munsami completes the top five. He sits on 270 points overall, with captain Ibrahimovic joined by Messi and Soldado up top. In midfield, Oscar, Alan and Claudio Marchisio all notched, while he also picked up three clean sheets at the back.
Market Forces
At the back, Porto, PSG and Malaga have proven particularly popular heading into today’s deadline. With three clean sheets in four, Porto keeper Helton is the most sought-after choice between the sticks, while defender Nicolas Otamendi have been snapped up by over 1,800 Fantasy managers. It’s a similar story at Malaga, where stopper Wilfredo Caballero and Martin Demichelis have acquired 1,200 and 2,400 new investors – the La Liga club have conceded just one goal so far. Back-to-back clean sheets have also helped PSG trio Alex, Thiago Silva and Salvatore Sirigu earn plenty new owners.
In midfield, the form players are the men in demand, with three of the top four points scorers, Oscar, Eliseu and Alan snapped up by a combined 10,000 new owners, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Klass-Jan Huntelaar and Roberto Soldado have been the three most popular forwards since the end of Matchday 4.
Ones to Watch
Once again, Andy has forwarded me a list of tips for this round of matches for those Fantasy managers who have been following his recommendations over the past season and a half. Also, remember that the deadline this afternoon is 4.45pm GMT, due to a couple of early kick-offs.
Shakhtar keeper Andriy Pyatov looks a strong bet for a clean sheet this evening. The Ukraine side head to FC Nordsjaelland and with the hosts scoring a single goal in the competition so far, his owners will be confident of defensive returns.
Three clean sheets in their opening four is indicative of Porto’s resilience right now. With this in mind, we’re handing Nicolas Otamendi a chance to impress. The Portuguese side need a win to clinch Group A and play host to a Dinamo Zagreb side without a goal or a point to their name so far.
Olivier Giroud gets the nod ahead of the visit of former club Montpellier on Wednesday evening. The Frenchman has now notched four times in his last three in all competitions and is finally starting to vindicate Arsene Wenger’s decision to splash the cash last summer. With Group B still undecided, a home win looks crucial for the Gunners against a side with just one point in their first four.
Ashley Young should get a chance to shine for United at Galatasaray after Sir Alex Ferguson left many of his main attacking protagonists behind, with his side already through as group winners. The former Villa man has hit the headlines after being allegedly prank called in the build up to tonight’s game and will be hoping to have the last laugh as the visitors go in search of their fifth straight win.
With a goal in each of his first four matches,Jan-Klaas Huntelaar has shown remarkable consistency for Schalke. A home clash against Olympiakos affords the Bundesliga outfit a chance to clinch their place in the knockout stages – if they are to prevail and pick up the three points required, Huntelaar will surely play a significant part.
Having scored away to City and Real Madrid in the last three, Marco Reus is afforded another road trip this week as unbeaten Dortmund make their way to Ajax. A win in Amsterdam would be enough to clinch qualification from the so-called “Group of Death” and having been given a brief sub role in the weekend win over Greuther Furth, Reus will be fully refreshed ahead of tomorrow night’s match.
TotelFootball
As many of you will have noticed, we rolled out an article on our new featured game, TotelFootball late last week. It’s something a little different and ideal for those Fantasy managers keen to take a punt with their hard-earned cash; Tuesday and Wednesday are regarded as separate Matchdays, with only the evening matches to choose from in case the early kick-offs catch anyone unawares.
With only a 4-4-2 formation currently available, it’s worth scouting the classifications for any interesting out of position prospects. Immediately noticeable amongst Tuesday’s protagonists is Shakhtar’s Henrik Mkhitaryan – down as a midfielder, his role up top has helped him notch four times so far and he could well prosper yet again as the Ukraine side travel to Group E whipping boys FC Nordsjaelland. Galatasaray forward Burak Yilmaz is also listed as a midfielder – he has scored four in his last two and hosts a youthful United side, with Sir Alex Ferguson leaving many of his experienced campaigners behind. Juventus midfielder Mauricio Isla could benefit from his defender classification if the Turin giants can keep out Chelsea – the Chilean also has provided an assist in each of his last two.
In Wednesday’s game, there are a couple of stand-outs. Milan’s Steven El Shaarawy is classified as a midfielder – playing on the left of a front three, he scored twice against Napoli last weekend and faces a trip to Anderlecht. PSG’s Jeremy Menez is also listed as a midfielder but has mainly featured as part of a front three – he has scored in each of his last two and faces a trip to Dynamo Kiev.
We’ve quickly got into the swing of things and picked a team for each of the next two evenings. Later today, we’ll stick our neck on the line by revealing the Scout’s Totelfootball selections for both tonight and Wednesday’s games.
