We’re counting down the hours until this season’s Champions League final gets underway. As always, we assess the Fantasy iTeam (FiT) Player Price List and offer two players per team for your perusal ahead of this evening’s deadline.
A free Fantasy football app, FiT is available on a number of mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android. Fantasy managers have until 10 minutes before the first kick-off in any given Matchday to make any final alterations to their starting XIs – this evening, then, that deadline is 7.35pm, as Barcelona and Juventus square up in Berlin.
We’ve supported FiT throughout the competition and have an official Fantasy Football Scout League, with an iPad mini available to the winner. There’s also a VIP European Match Day Experience for two on offer for the overall winner of the Fantasy iTeam Champions League game.
Barcelona
Lionel Messi’s superhuman efforts of late have somewhat overshadowed Neymar’s own superb run of form. The Brazilian prodigy tallied ten goals and two assists in his last ten starts, which is just two strikes and an assist shy of Messi’s haul over the same period.
With Messi an automatic pick for the majority of Fantasy managers, those undecided on Neymar and Luis Suarez as a double-up option should consider that the latter missed Barcelona’s last two league ties with a hamstring knock – although he did make a swift recovery to clock 78 minutes in the Copa del Rey final.
Neymar (11.5) has been irrepressible in the Champions League knockout stages, notching six goals in his previous four starts. Moreover, the former Santos starlet ranked second only to James Rodriquez (six) in term of key passes (five) during the semi-finals, highlighting the strong creative edge to his game.
Dani Alves (7.1) has been one of Barca’s chief facilitators in recent matches, serving up six assists in the Catalan club’s last eight fixtures in all competitions. The Brazilian played a pivotal role in Barcelona’s 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final, laying on two assists for his team-mates.
Alves’ relentless raids down the right flank have also reaped rewards on the European stage, considering he was the only defender to register an assist in the semi-finals. Although he hasn’t netted recently, Alves did attempt the most shots (four) of any Barcelona player outside the afore-mentioned attacking trio over his side’s last four league ties, illustrating his eye for goal.
Juventus
Carlos Tevez (10.3) was rested for three of Juventus’ final four Serie A clashes, before lasting the full 90 minutes against Verona on the last day of the season. As such, the ex-Manchester United marksman should be in prime condition when he lines up against Luis Enrique’s men.
Tevez boasts solid form, having tallied three goals in six starts in all competitions, including the winner in the first leg of the Old Lady’s semi-final against Real Madrid. Indeed, during the semi-final stages, the Argentine led the way for shots (five) and efforts inside the box (three) for Juventus and was placed second in terms of key passes (five) among all players.
Furthermore, Tevez could well be encouraged by the fact that Barcelona conceded three goals in their last Champions League match-up and failed to keep a clean sheet in their previous trio of European road ties.
Whilst the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba offer alternatives in the centre of the park, we’re opting for an in-form differential as our second for the Serie A winners. If you’re looking for a cut-price option to help balance the books, Roberto Pereyra fits the bill perfectly. On loan from Udinese, the Argentina international (priced at a mere 4.6) has enjoyed success in the “number ten” role of late, netting in his side’s last two fixtures.
Admittedly, Pereyra has been restricted to substitute duties in Juventus’ recent Champions League ties, yet his late-season flourish could tempt Massimiliano Allegri to hand him an increased role in Berlin. Indeed, bearing in mind that no player has featured in more Serie A fixtures for Juve in the campaign gone by, Pereyra looks set for a role off the bench at the very worst as the Italians look to upset the odds and emerge triumphant.
FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT LEAGUE
With just today’s final remaining, Adriel Cheung leads our FiT League on 852 points – 26 points ahead of Gavin Rolston, whilst Juan Garcia is close behind Gavin in third, on 825 points. The league name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 11155.
