UEFA Champions League (UCL) Fantasy: Scout Picks Matchday 8

Matchday 8 of UEFA Champions League (UCL) Fantasy takes place on Wednesday night and, as usual, we’ve got our Scout Picks to bring you ahead of the deadline.

Remember, these selections are for the upcoming Matchday in isolation.

How to play UCL Fantasy 2024/25

Based on the fact that all 18 matches kick off at the same time in Matchday 8, UCL Fantasy managers will get access to all line-ups ahead of the deadline. So, for once, we only really need a starting XI with these Scout Picks and not a competitive XV.

It also means that Fantasy managers can react to any unexpected benching or rotation before finalising their teams.

Goalkeepers

With only one goalkeeper necessary this time, pick any of the €3.9m options to help enable funds elsewhere. Settling on who starts between our sticks depends on the line-ups.

There has been some rotation between Leverkusen’s Matej Kovar (€4.3m) and Lukas Hradecky (€4.8m), so whoever starts could be a great pick. The Germans host an already-eliminated Sparta Prague, a side that has lost their last five European matches.

Defenders

Starting a back three this week makes investing in two budget-priced defenders a shoo-in. In this case, Feyenoord’s Thomas Beelen (€3.8m) and Crvena Zvezda’s Young Woo-Seol (€3.8m), as they both start for their clubs.

Doubling up on the Leverkusen defence has huge appeal, considering most other managers will go into the round owning just one. With this in mind, Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.8m) makes the cut. The Spaniard offers huge attacking potential going into any given game and the fact that he’s already reached double-digits for such returns reflects that.

Inter have kept a clean sheet in all but one Champions League match thus far. The Serie A champions use wing-backs, meaning Federico Dimarco (€5.5m) and Denzel Dumfries (€5.5m) can regularly advance into their opposition’s final third. Both offer considerable attacking potential – especially the latter, having netted three times in his previous four.

Midfielders

It’s a four-man midfield, therefore let’s go as cheap as possible on a fifth midfielder. Club Brugge’s Chemsdine Talbi (€4.0m) fills that role.

With Scout Picks staple Mohamed Salah (€10.1m) omitted from Liverpool’s squad, there’s more money than usual sloshing around in midfield. So, then, Manchester City’s in-form Phil Foden (€9.2m) – with six goals in four FPL Gameweeks – gets the nod for the must-win home match against Club Brugge.

Back to Leverkusen, whose fixture is tough to resist at both ends. They’ve shown they can be relentless when at home to weaker opposition and talisman and penalty taker Florian Wirtz (€7.9m) is highly likely to be involved in their goals. He’s one of UCL Fantasy’s most explosive players, having managed two 18+ pointers in this league phase.

Meanwhile, something appears to have clicked at Real Madrid. Los Blancos have netted at least two goals in each of their latest 10 games, making them extremely reliable offensively. One of two great routes into their attack against Brest is Jude Bellingham (€9.0m), who registered two Matchday 7 assists.

Completing the midfield, we head over to Bayern Munich. After an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Feyenoord, they’ll be hoping to bounce back. By averaging three goals per game in the Bundesliga, Slovan Bratislava will find it extremely difficult to stop the Bavarians – their defence has been the competition’s worst so far. Because of this and his overall form this season, Michael Olise (€6.7m) is an enticing option.

Forwards

Sticking with that match, Bayern’s elite attack is spearheaded by Harry Kane (€10.7m). The Englishman has produced 23 goals across this season’s Bundesliga and Champions League, entering the Matchday in top form.

Another attack worth doubling up on is Real Madrid. The suspension of Vinicius Junior (€11.2m) not only hands penalties over to Kylian Mbappe (€10.9m) but also gives the Frenchman some extra responsibility. This is a good thing, considering he bagged a hat-trick without his team-mate at the weekend. 

Finally, Julian Alvarez (€8.3m) arguably has as much, if not more, potential than several premium forwards this week. Atletico faces the poorly-performing Salzburg defence and Alvarez has been fantastic recently, hitting five goals in his latest three Champions League matches.

There is almost enough money left over in this draft for managers to get Erling Haaland (€11.0m) instead of Alvarez if preferred. One of the Inter defenders could be downgraded to Dayot Upamecano (€5.0m) in that case.

Captaincy

UCL Fantasy managers have one shot at captaincy this week, so avoiding risks could be wise.

Based on his home fixture, penalty taking duty, and fact he spearheads one of the best attacks in Europe, Kane could be the standout captaincy option.

One player who could challenge Kane for the armband is Wirtz. Being a midfielder means he picks up an extra point for a clean sheet and each goal scored, which could attract managers looking for a high ceiling. As well as having a great home fixture, similar to Kane, he is also on penalty-taking duty and goes into the round in form.

There are lots of other great picks to consider, including Haaland and Mbappe.

UCL MATCHDAY 8 SCOUT PICKS