This week begins the penultimate stage of the UEFA Champions League, as England and Spain go head-to-head in both semi-finals.
On Tuesday, Manchester City host Real Madrid. Then, the following night, Liverpool welcome Villarreal to Anfield.
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: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
On 39 club goals this season, Karim Benzema is putting himself as a contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or crown. Hat-tricks have helped eliminate both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the knockout stages and he comes up against a strong Man City defence that is picking up injuries at the wrong time.
Late decisions will be made over Kyle Walker (ankle) and John Stones (muscle), whilst key man Joao Cancelo is suspended for the first leg.
Despite missing two penalties against Osasuna last week, Benzema has proved he’s a player for the big occasion and will relish the opportunity to do so again.
Differential Pick: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Owned by 12% of managers, Kevin De Bruyne has scored only once in this season’s competition but has four goals and four assists from his last six Premier League outings.
Expected to play as a false nine in this match, he’s another ‘big game’ player.
Wednesday Captains
Top Pick: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Similar to his domestic season, Mohamed Salah had – by his standards – been slightly out of form in recent European matches. However, a 19-point Fantasy Premier League (FPL) haul against Manchester United silenced any doubters and he’s backed to score against Villarreal.
Eight goals arrived in his first seven UCL outings but none in the three since. For Liverpool to reach their third final in five years, Salah needs to regain continental form.
Differential Pick: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Although neither pick is from Villarreal, Jurgen Klopp’s side won’t be taking the Europa League holders lightly, having recently knocked out both Juventus and Bayern Munich.
Andrew Robertson is having an incredible season. He has only blanked twice during the last 18 league games. This includes 13 clean sheets, 12 goal involvements and six double-digit hauls. With 8% ownership in UCL Fantasy, he can repeat the goal and clean sheet from Sunday’s Merseyside derby.
Spot the Differential
A selection of players with small ownership that can give your team a boost up the rankings.
- Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool, 3%): With Joel Matip seemingly the domestic centre-back partner for Virgil van Dijk, in Europe it’s been Ibrahima Konate. He brought in 18 Fantasy points from the quarter-finals against Benfica, having scored in both matches.
- Arnaut Danjuma (Villarreal, 9%): The former Bournemouth man has already scored six times in this Champions League campaign and has the third-most points of all remaining players.
- Phil Foden (Man City, 8%): An unused substitute against Watford on Saturday, Foden is therefore likely to start Tuesday’s match.
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