UEFA Champions League Fantasy semi-finals second-leg preview

By Wednesday night, we will know which teams will compete in this season’s UEFA Champions League final.

In a reversal of last week’s England vs Spain meetings, Liverpool travel to Villarreal tonight and Manchester City hope to see off Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Here is a quick look at this week’s best captaincy and differential options for UCL Fantasy.

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Tuesday Captains

Top Pick: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Although Mohamed Salah set up Sadio Mane’s goal in the first leg, he is still out of form in this competition. Eight goals arrived in his first seven UCL outings but none in the four since.

Yet he was restricted to a 21-minute cameo against Newcastle United at the weekend to keep him fresh for this. Opponents Villarreal also rotated heavily during their 2-1 defeat at Alaves on Saturday.

Differential Pick: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

Upon further study of Jurgen Klopp’s squad management, Mane made way for Salah whilst both Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz played all 90 minutes.

Selected by 7% of UCL Fantasy managers, Mane has scored in both of his last two European starts. Before last Wednesday’s goal against Villarreal, he netted at Benfica in the quarter-finals.

Wednesday Captains

Top Pick: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Also selected as a top captain pick last week, Karim Benzema replied by scoring twice in the classic 4-3 thriller at Man City. Proving once again that he’s a man for the big occasion, the French international followed up two penalty misses against Osasuna by pulling off an audacious ‘Panenka’ penalty past Ederson.

Now on 42 club goals this season, Benzema was rested in the 4-0 win over Espanyol that secured their La Liga title. Naturally, he came on and scored. Real Madrid is synonymous with the Champions League and is still in this tie, despite Man City’s early dominance.

Differential Pick: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

Owned by 15% of managers, Kevin De Bruyne was an unused substitute against Leeds United following his brilliant performance in the first leg. A goal, assist and all-round superb display from the 30-year-old, following on from four goals and four assists during his last six Premier League outings.

Spot the Differential

A selection of players with small ownership that can give your team a boost up the rankings.

• Andrew Robertson (Liverpool, 11%): He grabbed the clean sheet points that Trent Alexander-Arnold owners could only dream of at the weekend, continuing his incredible record of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) returns. From Andrew Robertson’s last 14 appearances, there have been 20 returns – either from clean sheets, goals or assists.
• Gabriel Jesus (Man City, 6%): Also in great form is Gabriel Jesus. He’s started four of the last five matches (in all competitions), scoring seven times. With such confidence right now, expect Pep Guardiola to start him again at the Bernabeu.