Matchday 13 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
Inter may be playing away from home but avoiding the Champions League’s best defence could be risky. The safest route into this elite backline is goalkeeper Yann Sommer (€5.5m), who has helped keep a whopping 10 clean sheets in 12 matches.
Additionally, Paris Saint-Germain play at home with arguably the nicest-looking match on paper. Aston Villa are a threat but have also been inconsistent in Europe. For that reason, Gianluigi Donnarumma (€5.8m) could be a great Wednesday option.
Defenders
Back-to-back clean sheets against Bundesliga rivals Leverkusen show that Bayern Munich can defend against tougher sides. As good as Inter are defensively, they’ve failed to convince in attack. Taking that into account, we could see a 0-0 draw here, making a double-up of Eric Dier (€4.2m) and Kim Min-jae (€5.2m) very rewarding.
French giants PSG have home advantage in this first leg and impressive defensive performances against Liverpool could convince managers to buy multiple names at the back.
Both flying full-back Achraf Hakimi (€5.7m) and centre-back Willian Pacho (€5.0m) offer multiple routes to points. The former has produced 10+ goal contributions this campaign, whilst the latter has proven ball recovery talent in this competition.
Meanwhile, our pricey team requires a budget option to complete the defence. Grabbing an Arsenal defender is tempting, but their clean sheet chances are even lower than Aston Villa’s. If Matty Cash (€4.5m) fails to produce a defensive masterclass – something Villa have done previously in Europe – then he can still bank ball recoveries against a lively PSG frontline.
Midfielders
Real Madrid may be one of the most intimidating attacking sides in the world, but they have failed to keep a single clean sheet in any of their previous eight matches in all competitions. Arsenal are at home to them and boast Bukayo Saka (€9.0m) as a standout pick. As well as taking penalties, Saka has delivered six goals and 10 assists in just 16 Premier League matches, proving how efficient he is when fit.
Back to Villa, they’ve conceded to Club Brugge, Celtic, Monaco and Leipzig, showcasing how shaky they can be at the back. Combine that with PSG’s impressive frontline, and doubling up on the French champions’ attack could be a shoo-in.
Whilst Ousmane Dembele (€8.5m) is the obvious option because of his scintillating season, an exciting route is Bradley Barcola (€7.2m). He heads into this off the back of three assists in his previous three games.
One essential attack to double-up on is Barcelona’s. Top of La Liga, the Catalans have netted more goals than any other side both domestically and in the Champions League. One significant contributor towards this is set-piece specialist Raphinha (€7.7m). The Brazilian has amassed an eye-watering 11 goals and five assists in just 10 UCL starts.
Another player with potential to steal the show is Lamine Yamal (€7.3m). The 17-year-old bagged a 12-point haul in the previous round, once again displaying his big-game ability. Like in Euro 2024, he helps his side win with some big end-stage performances.
Forwards
Inter may have the competition’s best defence, but backing against Bayern at home, having averaged close to three goals per Bundesliga game, could go wrong. Leading their attack is main man and penalty taker Harry Kane (€10.8m). The England captain has mustered up 30+ goals across both this season’s Champions League and Bundesliga, not showing any signs of slowing down.
Key injuries in Arsenal’s defence could boost Real Madrid’s chances in north London. Los Blancos have become offensively inevitable at this point and backing their frontline should be a priority for UCL Fantasy managers. For example, Kylian Mbappe (€11.1m). Despite a ropey start, he is having an excellent debut season in Madrid, accumulating 30+ goal contributions across all competitions.
Completing both our frontline and a Barcelona attacking triple up is Robert Lewandowski (€9.6m). He has a fantastic opportunity to punish Dortmund’s inconsistent defence and has largely gone under the radar due to the performances of Raphinha. But nine goals from 10 Champions League starts is impressive, and backing against him could prove devastating for ranks and mini-league positions.
Captaincy
Tuesday offers several viable armband options, but the best could well be Bukayo Saka. Efficient, on penalties and at home versus a shaky defence, he has an advantage over forwards because he can grab additional points via a clean sheet and a midfield goal.
Alternative options include Bayern penalty taker Harry Kane – against the best Champions League defence – and Kylian Mbappe, with his 30+ overall goal contributions.
Captaincy on Wednesday could be even tougher to decide. Barcelona and PSG have been brilliant this season, but the latter occasionally struggle to break teams down. With that in mind, backing either Robert Lewandowski or Raphinha could be the way to go. The Pole plays further ahead, but the set-piece taking Brazilian continues to be hugely influential for them.
You can’t rule out PSG at home against Aston Villa, though. Their standout captaincy option is surely midfielder Ousmane Dembele, one of Europe’s best players this season.
UCL MATCHDAY 13 SCOUT PICKS
