Matchday 9 of UEFA Champions League (UCL) Fantasy kicks off on Tuesday evening 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.
Goalkeepers
Searching for clean sheet potential on the opening night seems challenging at first but backing Juventus could succeed. The Italian side has proven themselves defensively on multiple occasions, keeping 11 clean sheets in 24 Serie A games and bagging one against both Manchester City and Aston Villa in the Champions League.
With that in mind, the cheap Michele Di Gregorio (€4.2m) could be Tuesday’s standout pick. He faces PSV Eindhoven at home.
Bookmakers tip Bayern Munich as one of the favourites to keep a Wednesday clean sheet, as they’re against Celtic. With doubt around centre-back Kim Min-jae’s (€5.2m) minutes due to an ongoing injury, they have no standout defender picks, so choosing Manuel Neuer (€5.9m) between the sticks may be a beneficial move.
Defenders
As Brest have failed to beat Paris Saint-Germain in their last 20 head-to-heads, it could be rewarding to back the latter. Whilst Ligue 1’s champions are yet to convince defensively, coming against a much weaker side will have them confident of a clean sheet.
Yet that’s not the main reason for backing the flying full-back Achraf Hakimi (€5.5m). The Moroccan has produced an impressive 10+ goal contributions for club and country this season, with multiple routes to points.
In fact, that’s a similar description for Theo Hernandez (€5.5m). Not only does he have similar attacking ability and a good-looking fixture but it’s for the same price. Hernandez goes into Matchday 9 having registered two assists in one recent match.
Five clean sheets in their first eight Champions League outings suggests Atalanta could be a great route for investment. Ademola Lookman’s (€6.7m) injury could lead managers to a defensive double-up.
That consists of wing-back David Zappacosta (€4.7m) – who has managed back-to-back Champions League assists – and centre-back Isak Hien (€4.9m), their most reliable defensive asset in terms of game time and UCL Fantasy points thus far. Both face Club Brugge, a side that narrowly reached the League Phase’s top 24.
Completing the backline is another individual that offers multiple routes to points. Benfica visit Monaco, which won’t be easy. However, as well as showing his ball recovery potential by recording 17 against this upcoming opponent in Matchday 5, Nicolas Otamendi (€5.0m) has also scored in his last two club matches.
Midfielders
Manchester City are playing at home but it’ll be difficult keeping out a Real Madrid side that has scored at least twice in 13 of their last 15 matches. With so many excellent forward options available, UCL Fantasy managers could look to Jude Bellingham (€9.0m) as a route into their attack. He’s been just as effective as his team-mates in this competition, collecting at least one return in three consecutive matches.
In terms of both domestic and European results, Milan have been hit-and-miss for most of this season. But they’re fine at scoring goals. Regularly among those is talisman and penalty-taker Christian Pulisic (€7.5m), who produced five goal contributions in his seven League Phase outings.
Meanwhile, PSG seem to have found their rhythm offensively, as at least four goals have arrived in four of their previous half-dozen. A recent Ligue 1 meeting against Brest ended 5-2, hinting at an attacking double-up. This can also be justified by the form of both Ousmane Dembele (€8.4m) and Bradley Barcola (€7.0m). The former has amassed a whopping 16 goal contributions in his last 10 matches, with the latter bagging a goal and an assist in four of his previous eight.
Bayern are facing Celtic, which brings immediate appeal. The Bavarians are relentless goal scorers – averaging over three per Bundesliga game and 2.5 in the Champions League. One of several routes into their frontline is Jamal Musiala (€9.0m). He has recently returned to full fitness and started their previous two matches, scoring in the process.
Forwards
Sticking with Bayern, Harry Kane (€10.7m) is therefore a shoo-in this week. As well as producing back-to-back Bundesliga braces, he has mustered up a huge 35+ attacking returns across all competitions this season.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid appear to currently be injury-struck. Their defence will be without both Antonio Rudiger (€6.0m) and Lucas Vazquez (€4.4m), so you’d think home side Man City are very likely to provide goals. And their standout asset is, of course, penalty-taker Erling Haaland (€11.0m). Perhaps out of form compared to his usual standard, the Norwegian has still bagged four goals and one assist in his last five matches.
Also maintaining a brilliant goal-scoring average, both domestically and in Europe, is Atalanta. The Italian outfit head into this Matchday fresh from a 5-0 win against Hellas Verona. Heavily involved in that was Matteo Retegui (€5.5m), grabbing four of those. It continues his exceptional campaign that has brought 23 attacking returns in just 22 Serie A matches.
UCL MATCHDAY 9 SCOUT PICKS
2 months, 15 days agoHi all. Would you sell Diaz for AM Slot, or just use it on Emery?