The knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) competition kick off in a matter of hours and, ahead of Matchday Seven, we’re back with our Preview of the upcoming action for our European Fantasy managers…
This round of sixteen is one long, drawn out process. Having served a two-month break in the European off-season, the powers that-be have decided the eight fixtures will be spread across four days and two separate weeks. Great for television rights but, from a Fantasy perspective, not so straightforward to preview our favourites.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona
The first fixture in our coverage sees reigning champions Barcelona travel to the BayArena in Germany to face the Group E runners-up, Bayer Leverkusen.
Following on from another La Liga mishap at Osasuna last weekend, Pep Guardiola’s men can all but bid farewell to retaining their Spanish title, with a giant 10 point gap between themselves and Real Madrid. Nigh on all of Barcelona’s concentration from hence forth will be pinpointed on winning the Champions League for the third time in four years, then, with the added incentive of becoming the first side to retain the title.
Sitting sixth in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen have a mountain of a task in hand if they are to stop Barca but, if they are to stand any sort of chance, the cheap UCL goalkeeper, Bernd Leno, will need to be at his utmost best. If Guardiola’s men triumph, then, almost inevitably, it will be Lionel Messi inflicting the damage – the little Argentine was the top-scoring Fantasy player in the group stages, with 43 points.
Ones to watch: Bernd Leno (Leverkusen), Lionel Messi (Barca)
Lyon vs FC APOEL
While the group-stage exit of both Manchester sides drew plenty of headlines, the real surprise story was the unexpected, and wholly deserved, rise of FC APOEL.
The likes of Gustavo Manduca and Ailton are available for bargain prices and, if Lyon underestimate their opponents in the way that Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk did before them, another “upset” won’t be too far away.
The Ligue 1 side, despite a surprise home defeat to Caen on Saturday, will be able to call upon an armoury of firepower to thwart the visitors’ absorbing counter-attack style of play. Michel Bastos, with his thunderous and pinpoint delivery, will adorn many midfields, while the return of Lisandro means that he and Bafe Gomis offer all sorts of options up top for those with a space to spare.
Ones to watch: Michel Bastos (Lyon), Gustavo Manduca (APOEL)
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Benfica
The Russian side have been dealt a major blow before a ball has even been kicked, with the news that Danny, their star Portuguese midfielder, is out for the season with a serious knee injury.
Zenit – who are in the middle of their domestic break – will need to be at the top of their game to compensate for the lack of midfield guile. With this in mind, 5.0 priced Nicolas Lombaerts, the UCL top scoring defender to date (a fiend with the new recovered ball bonus), will be a key figure in the first leg tie.
Lombaerts and company are likely to have their work cut out, though. Opponents Benfica are in imperious, unbeaten, form so far this season. Pulling all the strings in the midfield will be Nicolas Gaitan (linked heavily with Manchester United) while the strike-force of Oscar Cardozo and ex-Bolton Wanderers loanee Rodrigo are in hot goalscoring streaks. The latter with five goals in his last four games and the former with eight in nine.
Ones to watch: Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit), Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica)
AC Milan vs Arsenal
Arguably the biggest tie of the round. Two of the tournament’s high-profile sides come face to face to tussle for a spot in the quarter finals. With three appearances in the final between them over the last seven seasons, both clubs will fancy their chances of progressing.
Milan may currently be sat atop of Serie A right now but that only tells part of the story; inclement weather in Italy has kept their rivals from catching up on the fixture front. Massimo Allegri’s side have hit a bump in the road over their most recent crop of games, though a weekend win at Udinese did hint at a return to form.
The hosts have drawn and lost their last two at the San Siro, though, and Arsenal will arrive in confident mood after Saturday’s comeback at Sunderland. We’re picking out two highly competent –and in-fom- strikers from either side as our ones to watch, with goals looking inevitable. If that proves to be the case, Zlatan Ibramhimovic and Robin Van Persie are the men for the job.
Ones to watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Milan), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)
CSKA Moscow vs Real Madrid
We now move on to next week’s four fixtures. With all our trades needed to be made by 7.30pm this evening for next week’s games, though, the schedule hardly does European Fantasy managers any favours. In terms of injuries, it’s a case of crossing your fingers that lady luck stays on your side.
Like their fellow Russian qualifiers, a lot will be determined by just how well the CSKA back-line can keep the opposition attack at bay. The experience and goalscoring ability of Sergei Ignashevich make him stand out that little bit extra in comparison to his team-mates.
For the visitors, it goes without saying that, if you can afford him, Cristiano Ronaldo is the one man you want to own. By now we’re all well aware that he’s pretty good (119 goals in 122 games for Madrid) at this football lark and it’s just a matter of whether his hefty UCL price-tag of 12.4m is too much of a burden, with other great heavyweights (Lionel Messi) stealing your budget. Nearly a full 3 million cheaper, though, Karim Benzema is a more than ample Fantasy understudy.
Ones to watch: Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Napoli v Chelsea
Napoli are not really in gangbusters form (0W, 4D, 1L in last five league games) right now but are in the knockout stages very much through merit, as much as Manchester City fans may beg to differ.
Chelsea are hardly in better form (1W, 3D, 1L in last five league games) but also find themselves in the thick of a Champions League fight and believing that progress to the further stages to be more than a distinct possibility. An expectation, in fact.
Having a Russian billionaire on the training ground sidelines is hardly conducive to a tension free atmosphere but Juan Mata is one man who, despite all those around him floundering, has kept his cool to date and will be vital to flying home with a first leg advantage.
In true Italian form, Napoli will be looking to stifle an opposition attack -lead by Fernando Torres- to another night to forget in front of goal and rely on the likes of Edinson Cavani on the counter. A UCL price-tag of 5.0 for defender Salvatore Aronica looks the most enticing to us to consider.
Ones to watch: Salvatore Aronica (Napoli), Juan Mata (Chelsea)
FC Basel vs Bayern Munich
Man United fans won’t be too pleased having to watch FC Basel duke it out against one of their European arch-rivals, Bayern Munich. The Swiss side fully deserved their spot in the knock-out stages of the competition, though, and now there’s an interesting little sub-story to this fixture.
Xherdan Shaqiri is one of the rising crop of Swiss starlets currently blooming and, as a result of his promise, has recently earned a €10 million transfer to Bayern Munich from Basel. Team-mate Granit Xhaka is thought of even more highly and could be an alternative.
The thing is, Shaqiri is remaining in Switzerland until the end of the season and now finds himself in the odd situation of playing for his current club against future club. We don’t doubt he’ll give his all but can’t help but find novelty in the circumstance, though Shaqiri’s talents suggest he is bound to be at the heart of the action, regardless.
For now Bayern will just have to make do with the likes of Franck Ribery, Thomas Mueller, Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez as they look to get a foothold in this tie. Domestically, though, Jupp Heynckes’ side have been poor on the road, winning just two of their last seven- Basel will be determined to get a foothold in the first-leg next week.
Ones to watch: Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel), Franck Ribery (Bayern)
Marseille vs Inter Milan
At the start of the season Marseille were enduring a torrid time in Ligue 1, while their fortunes in Europe offered a beacon of hope. Now the form has improved on the domestic front and Didier Deschamps’ side will come into their tie against Inter bursting with positivity, just as their opponents have begun to stumble following their own domestic recovery.
Loic Remy was on Harry Redknapp’s radar in the recently-closed transfer window, Mathieu Valbuena has seen an uptick in form with four assists and a pair of goals in his last four league games, while Nicolas N’Koulou is getting plenty of plaudits for his performances at the back. A whole gamut of affordable UCL squad fillers with more than enough potential to ponder.
Inter, meanwhile, have become a tepid proposition in the last few weeks, as their defence has faltered and results have taken a real turn for the worse. Diego Milito scored four in the recent 4-4 draw at Palermo and Yuto Nagatomo is nice and cheap at 5.0 but we’ll highlight Wesley Sneijder, more in hope that he’ll remember the form that saw him guide Inter to Champions League glory a couple of years ago. You’ll need more than a few shekels, and a midfield space, spare to afford the Dutchman.
Ones to watch: Nicolas N’Koulou (Marseille), Wesley Sneijder (Inter)
