Category Archives: UCL Fantasy

Fantasy Football, FEATURED, UCL Fantasy

UCL Fantasy: Team of the Season So Far

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UCL Fantasy is back and as we gear up for the UEFA Champions League knockout phase, we look at the team of the season so far from the group stages. There are some surprising inclusions and omissions in the team and now the big question is, do defenders offer the best value in the game?

Forwards

 

Alassane Pléa

He has been the real star of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s UCL run so far as they managed to secure a spot in the knockout stages on goal difference in a group that includes Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Pléa finished the stage with the highest goals (5)+assists (3) and scored the most points amongst forwards with 41 but has failed to convert his form in Europe domestically, having scored just three goals and assisted one in 16 games for the “Die Fohlen” and their participation in the tournament’s next edition hangs in the balance as they currently languish at seventh in the Bundesliga table.

 

Neymar

The current Ligue 1 Player of the Year also had a good showing in the initial stages returning in every game he started, finishing as the joint top scorer with six goals and accumulated the second-highest points amongst forwards with 40 points. He helped PSG move out of the “Group of death” with his performances but his highlight so far was the hattrick he scored against İstanbul Başakşehir F.K on matchday six.

 

Álvaro Morata

Morata has been on the receiving end of some scathing criticism lately but has let his numbers on the pitch talk for him and with six goals in the UEFA Champions League so far, it makes him the joint top scorer along with Neymar, Haaland and Rashford. So he couldn’t have done much better. One to consider as they take on Porto in the Round of 16 – the best fixture on paper.

 

Honourable mentions: Ciro Immobile (37), Erling Haaland (32) and Marcus Thuram (32)

 



Midfielders

 

Ferran Torres

Pep Guardiola had a serious problem on his hands at the start of his UCL campaign with a hectic schedule coming up and a squad that was already depleted due to injuries to key players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus and the only fit striker in the squad – Sergio Agüero injured himself in the first matchday of the group stages against Porto. The Manchester City manager had to get creative and he decided that new signing Ferran Torres should fill in at #9 and his decision paid dividends as he scored five minutes after coming on for the injured Agüero in a 3-1 win. Torres went on to score in the next four out of five games he started and became Pep’s go-to goalscorer in the tournament. He was rewarded generously for his performances and finished as the joint top-scoring midfielder with 34 points in UCL fantasy.

 

Mohamed Salah

Most would’ve pegged Salah to be one of the top scorers in Fantasy at the start of the tournament and the Premier League Player of the Year didn’t disappoint with three goals and an assist for which he received 34 points. He is tied with Torres for the most points by a midfielder.

 

Honourable mentions: Kingsley Coman (33), Diogo Jota (33), Joaquín Correa (32) and Juan Cuadrado (32)

 

Defenders

 

Cristian Romero

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the team of the season, Romero has been a real gem in UCL Fantasy this year. He finished the group stages as the top-scoring player in fantasy with 50 points despite playing just five games. Romero is a real champion when it comes to ball recoveries and got 22 points just for the bonus. This makes Romero the player with the highest floor in the game and he even became a captaincy option towards the end with his potential to keep a clean sheet along with his ability to generate bonus points.

 

Angeliño

The RB Leipzig left wing-back was at his goal-scoring best in the Champions League, netting three times and assisting another three goals, making him the second-highest scoring player in fantasy after Romero despite keeping just one clean sheet. Talk about a defender that loves to score.

 

Zaidu Sanusi

Sanusi might not have the same goal-scoring threat as the guy above but was helped by an easy group in the tournament that included Marseille and Olympiacos – the two lowest-scoring teams in the group stages with just two goals each to their name. Hence, Porto finished with the highest number of clean sheets (5) along with Manchester City in the same group and Sanusi accumulated 46 points.

 

Chancel Mbemba

Another defender from the Porto team that conceded in just one game, Mbemba is the cheapest player to feature in the TOTS at €4.8M and finished just below teammate Sanusi with 38 points due to zero goal involvements and lower ball recoveries.

 

Mats Hummels

Hummels got 37 points to his name mostly on the back of ball recoveries for which he finished second to Romero but even then, it is a sizeable difference between Romero’s 72 recoveries and Hummels’s 54 with both playing the same number of games.

 

Honourable mentions: Marquinhos (36), Andrew Robertson (35), Raphaël Guerreiro (35) and Berat Djimsiti (35)

 



Goalkeeper

 

Edouard Mendy

Mendy was immediately deputized as the man between the sticks for Chelsea after signing from Stade Rennais to solve their goalkeeping issues and he has impressed in his debut UCL season, keeping a clean sheet in four out of five games and conceding just once – a penalty Vs Rennes. He is the highest-scoring keeper in the game so far with 29 points and slightly edges out Porto’s Agustín Marchesín by a point.

 

Honourable mentions: Agustín Marchesín (28) and Ederson (26)

 

Team of the season after the group stages

Check out FFTitan‘s UCL Fantasy MD7 stats and preview here.
Fantasy Football, FEATURED, UCL Fantasy

UCL Fantasy Player Rankings: Matchday 6

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As UCL gears up for the final week of the group stages, it is all down to the final equations that could help a team secure a coveted spot in the next round of this prestigious tournament. It is going to be a thrilling week as each team in contention will try to put in their best performance and fancy their chances to make it through. These are our UCL Fantasy Player Rankings for matchday 6:

Note: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Porto, Liverpool, Chelsea, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Juventus have already qualified for the next round.

Forwards

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Romelu LukakuInter MilanVs Shakhtar Donetsk10.8MThe last time Inter played Shakhtar at home, Lukaku scored two goals and assisted another in a 5-0 win in the Europa League semi-final.
2NeymarPSGVs İstanbul Başakşehir11.4M
3Ciro ImmobileLazioVs Club Brugge10.5MClub Brugge has to be one of the easier opponents for Immobile to score against if he is to extend his goal-scoring streak to eight games.
4Cristiano RonaldoJuventus@Barcelona12M
5Kylian MbappéPSGVs İstanbul Başakşehir10.9MIt seems like the right game for him to break his goal-scoring deadlock.
6Lionel MessiBarcelonaVs Juventus12.1MThe Atomic Flea is still the most explosive player to get this week.
7Alassane PléaBorussia M'gladbach@Real Madrid8.4MPléa is now the highest scoring forward in the game and is in absolutely unreal form in the UCL scoring five goals and assisting three so far. A goal/assist every 45 minutes. He is going to be a key player if Borussia are to get a result from this game with Real Madrid also in contention to qualify.
8Mergim BerishaRB SalzburgVs Atletico Madrid7.2MHe has now scored in three consecutive champions league games and plays for a strong attacking team.
9Karim BenzemaReal MadridVs Borussia M'gladbach10.5M
10Dušan TadićAjaxVs Atalanta9.1M

Midfielders

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Bruno FernandesManchester United@RB Leipzig9.5MHe is one of the best options regardless of which opposition he plays against and United will be hoping for the best of him in a must win game. There will be time constraints for him however as they play the Manchester Derby next in a few days.
2Joao FelixAtletico Madrid@RB Salzburg9MSomeone who shoots at will is hard to ignore against a team that can't stop conceding.
3Diogo JotaLiverpool@Midtjylland7.9MIt is customary to rank a player who plays against Midtjylland even if he is surrounded by B team players in a meaningless game.
4Lars StindlBorussia M'gladbach@Real Madrid8.2M
5Joaquín CorreaLazioVs Club Brugge8.1MCorrea is listed as a midfielder but plays OOP as striker and has strong underlying stats that need to be converted into goals and assists.
6Jadon SanchoBorussia Dortmund@Zenit10M
7Christian PulisicChelseaVs Krasnodar9MChelsea against the team that has conceded the most shots in the league is a big mismatch. It was evident in their 0-4 victory in the reverse fixture where Pulisic scored.
8Dominik SzoboszlaiRB SalzburgVs Atletico Madrid7.1M
9Ferran TorresManchester CityVs Marseille7.7M
10Serge GnabryBayern MunichVs Lokomotiv Moscow9.8MHe will be desperate to turn his bad run of form around and Lokomotiv is a game where he can test his upside.

Defenders

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Trent Alexander-ArnoldLiverpool@Midtjylland6.7MHe averaged 10.3 points in the first three games and had two assists to go along with three clean sheets before injury brought him to a halt. Not often do defenders have so much upside to go along with a good opportunity at securing a clean sheet.
2MarquinhosPSGVs İstanbul Başakşehir5.6M
3Achraf HakimiInter MilanVs Shakhtar Donetsk5.9M
4Kyle WalkerManchester CityVs Marseille5.6MMarseille might have finally scored their first goal(s) of the tournament but I am still not convinced since both were penalties against Olympiacos. They still don't look like much of a threat from open play.
5Mats HummelsBorussia Dortmund@Zenit5.1M
6Cristian RomeroAtalanta@Ajax4.9MNot expecting a cleansheet but his ability to get recoveries is his most appealing attribute.
7Zaidu SanuziPorto@Olympiacos4.8MPorto have kept a cleansheet in their last four UCL games. The only time they conceded goals was in a 3-1 loss against Manchester City on MD1.
8AngeliñoRB LeipzigVs Manchester United5.4MHe is a defender with numbers that would even make forwards jealous. Angeliño has returned with a goal or assist in nine out of 15 games this season.
9Diego CarlosSevilla@Rennes5.1M
10César AzpilicuetaChelseaVs Krasnodar4.9MChelsea and City have conceded the least goals so far with just one.

Goalkeepers

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Zach SteffenManchester CityVs Marseille4.2MCity have conceded just one goal so far and I expect them to end the group stage that way.
2Keylor NavasPSGVs İstanbul Başakşehir5.5M
3Agustín MarchesínPorto@Olympiacos5.2M
4Roman BürkiBorussia Dortmund@Zenit5.7M
5Caoimhin KelleherLiverpool@Midtjylland3.8MThe cheapest keeper in the game and has kept a clean sheet in both of his games for Liverpool so far. Perfect if you need a keeper just for this week.

You can find additional UCL Fantasy resources for the 20/21 season here.

Fantasy Football, FEATURED, UCL Fantasy

UCL Fantasy Captain Picks: Matchday 6

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In the final week of UCL Fantasy group stages before we get a wildcard, players with a knockout berth to play for double their worth in our UCL Fantasy captain picks for matchday 6:

UCL Fantasy Captains for Matchday 6

 

Romelu Lukaku Vs Shakhtar Donetsk (H)

There is a lack of clearcut captaincy options for Wednesday this week with Lukaku being the only exception. He was the hero in their last champions league game against Borussia with a brace in a thrilling 2-3 victory. Now for the last hurdle on their path to the knockout stages, they take on Shakhtar who sit second in the group and are a win/draw away from a spot in the knockouts. Inter will be desperate for a win and pin all their hopes on Lukaku again as they did the last time Inter played Shakhtar at home. It was the Europa League semi-final in August this year and they won it 5-0 on the back of two goals and an assist from Lukaku. His experience will be key here if they are to win and qualify.

 

Ciro Immobile Vs Club Brugge (H)

It is a simple equation for Lazio and a win or draw against Club Brugge will make them advance to the next round. Top-scorer Ciro Immobile heads into this game in red hot form having scored in seven consecutive games for Lazio across all competitions and is a good bet to be on the score sheet against a team that has conceded six goals over their last two UCL games. Both 3-0 losses to Borussia Dortmund.

 

Neymar Vs İstanbul Başakşehir (H)

PSG at home against Istanbul is still one of the easiest games on paper this week but it is still a must-win for them and they will look at Neymar to spur them onto victory. Despite having a slow start in the tournament, Neymar has been gaining some form over the past few weeks and now has three goals over his last two UCL games. Istanbul have conceded four goals in each of their last two games and we could see more of the same as PSG look to wrap up their group-stage chapter for the year.

 

Differential Captains

 

Bruno Fernandes Vs RB Leipzig (A)

This is shaping up to be the most exciting game of the week as both teams sit on the same amount of points and both Manchester United and RB Leipzig will fancy their chances of winning the game and going to the next stage. Goals can be expected in this game and if United are to score then it is hard to expect Fernandes to not be involved. Depending on how the game goes, he might be subbed out early as United play against Manchester City next in the league.

 

João Félix Vs RB Salzburg (A)

Salzburg’s attack-attack-attack philosophy and high-line have left a gaping hole in defence which explains why they have conceded the second-highest goals in the tournament (15) behind Ferencvárosi (16). They are the only team along with Lazio to have scored and conceded in each game so far. Both teams head into this game needing a victory to secure qualification. However, a draw should do the job for Atletico. Goals are to be expected in a game involving RB Salzburg and wonderkid Félix will look to be on target again as he did in the reverse fixture where he scored a brace in a 3-2 win.

 

You can find additional UCL Fantasy resources for the 20/21 season here.
Fantasy Football, FEATURED, UCL Fantasy

UCL Fantasy Player Rankings: Matchday 5

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As UCL counts down to its last two matchdays in the group stage, we look at how players from Atalanta could help you move up ranks as the end of round one in UCL Fantasy edges closer. These are our UCL Fantasy Player Rankings for the week:

Note: Lewandowski, Messi, Goretzka, Coutinho, Neuer, Ter Stegen have been rested by their respective teams after securing a berth in the next round.

Forwards

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Erling HålandBorussia DortmundVs SS Lazio11MThere isn't anyone more deserving of the #1 spot than the current top scorer in the tournament.
2Duvan ZapataAtalantaVs Midtjylland9.7M
3Cristiano RonaldoJuventusVs Dynamo Kyiv12M
4Alejandro GómezAtalantaVs Midtjylland8.5MZapata for the ceiling. Papu for the floor.
5Romelu LukakuInter Milan@Borussia11MThe duo of Lukaku and Martinez spells trouble for a Borussia team missing key players such as Bensebaini and Elvedi in defense. He also scored a brace in the reverse fixture.
6Karim BenzemaReal Madrid@Shakhtar Donetsk10.5M
7Mergim BerishaRB Salzburg@Lokomotiv Moscow7.1MNot many might have heard of this budget forward but he scored in both the games against Bayern and assisted two goals against Atletico. Now he goes up against Lokomotiv who are second in shots conceded only to Krasnodar and he could be a good differential.
8Anthony MartialManchester UnitedVs PSG9.5M
9Ciro ImmobileLazio@Borussia Dortmund10.5MImmobile sunk Dortmund with a goal and assist in the reverse fixture. Who doesn't love a good revenge game?
7NeymarPSG@Manchester United11.5M

Midfielders

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Bruno FernandesManchester UnitedVs PSG9.5MThe introduction of Van De Beek in midfield allows Bruno more attacking freedom and makes the man with three goals and an assist in the tournament an even more tempting asset.
2Mohammed SalahLiverpoolVs Ajax11.5M
3Josip IličićAtalantaVs Midtjylland8.9MHis four goal haul against Valencia in the UCL last season is always in the back of my head but he is still the best Atalanta midfielder to get in my opinion.
4Lars StindlBorussia M'gladbachVs Inter Milan7.9M
5Jadon SanchoBorussia DortmundVs SS Lazio10MSancho's form has been a bit hot and cold so you never know what you are going to get.
6Ferran TorresManchester City@Porto7.6M
7Angel Di MariaPSG@Manchester United9M
8Joao FelixAtletico MadridVs Bayern Munich9MThe absence of Neuer and Goretzka along with the long list of already injured players gives me some confidence that he could finally get a much awaited return.
9Christian PulisicChelsea@Sevilla9M
10Dominik SzoboszlaiRB Salzburg@Lokomotiv Moscow7.1M

Defenders

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Cristian RomeroAtalantaVs Midtjylland4.9MRomero has the highest ball recoveries for any defender and averages 4.3 points per game just for it. He even got an assist and ended up with 12 points in the reverse fixture and is a good bet for every type of points this week.
2AngeliñoRB Leipzig@İstanbul Başakşehir5.4MWhen RB Leipzig last played against Istanbul, Angeliño scored both goals in a 2-0 victory and was the highest scorer in fantasy for the week.
3Robin GosensAtalantaVs Midtjylland5.5MThe Atalanta wingback does not average as many recoveries as teammate Romero but has more attacking potential.
4João CanceloManchester City@Porto5.5M
5DaniloJuventusVs Dynamo Kyiv5M
6Raphaël VaraneReal Madrid@Shakhtar Donetsk5.5MShakhtar have failed to score since their game in MD1 against Real and have the least shots on goal after Olympiacos and Lokomotiv.
7José HolebasOlympiacos@Marseille4.5MThere is a real chance here that Marseille finish the group stages without scoring a single goal.
8Sergiño DestBarcelona@Ferencvárosi5M
9Mats HummelsBorussia DortmundVs SS Lazio5.1M
10David AlabaBayern Munich@Atletico Madrid5.5MIf he plays OOP in midfield as rumored then it increases his bonus point and attacking potential.

Goalkeepers

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Marco SportielloAtalantaVs Midtjylland4.5MThe away game against Midtjylland is the only time Atalanta have kept a clean sheet and they will hope to do so again at home.
2Thibaut CourtoisReal Madrid@Shakhtar Donetsk5.9M
3EdersonManchester City@Porto6M
4José SáOlympiacos@Marseille4.5MSá has the most shots saved in the tournament after Neuer (24) with 20 and plays goalless Marseille.
5Wojciech SzczęsnyJuventusVs Dynamo Kyiv5.5M

You can find additional UCL Fantasy resources for the 20/21 season here.

Fantasy Football, FEATURED, UCL Fantasy

UCL Fantasy Captain Picks: Matchday 5

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We are nearing the end of the UCL group stages and while many fantasy assets have proven their worth and present a strong argument to be your captain pick, in-form players such as Håland and Fernandes deserve a look for your captain’s armband. These are our captain picks for matchday 5:

UCL Fantasy Captains for Matchday 5

 

Erling Braut Håland Vs SS Lazio (H)

His eight-game goal-scoring streak across all competitions was brought to an abrupt halt in a shocking loss against Koln over the weekend. However, that should be of least concern for a man who has scored in every game in the UCL this season at a rate of 57 minutes per goal including a brace in his last two games. Lazio have failed to stop the opposition from scoring and have conceded in every Champions League game this season. So there is a real chance of Håland getting more than one goal again.

 

Mohammed Salah Vs Ajax (H)

Liverpool will look to secure qualification to the knockouts with a win against Ajax this week and if in-form Diogo Jota is to be benched, Salah is going to be the most key-player in attack for the Reds. Salah will be keen on getting his goal-scoring form back again and is due to a return but his price tag of 11.6M means that he will be a more interesting prospect to those using the limitless wildcard this week.

 

Bruno Fernandes Vs PSG (H)

Over the last few weeks, we have noticed that Bruno is more than capable of scoring goals from open play and the myth that he relies only on penalties for attacking returns has been busted. Someone said that Fernandes coming to Manchester United is like an “Eric Cantona coming to United” moment and it certainly feels so with his recent performances. They have won their last three games in across all competitions and Bruno has scored in each of them. His tally is now 10 goals and seven assists in 14 games this season. Talk about impact. The Red Devils will now try to secure the double over PSG with Fernandes expected to put in a good performance again.

 

Differential Captain

 

Duvan Zapata Vs FC Midtjylland (H)

Atalanta has been streaky in the UCL this season but are still in contention for the knockouts with each remaining game feeling like a must-win. Their opponents Midtjylland however, are already knocked out and are one of the only teams yet to get a single point along with Marseille. The spotlight in this game will be on Striker Duvan Zapata who is also the joint top scorer for Atalanta this season and he also scored a goal and assisted another two in the reverse fixture.

 

You can find additional UCL Fantasy resources for the 20/21 season here.
Fantasy Football, FEATURED, UCL Fantasy

UCL Fantasy Player Rankings: Matchday 4

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UCL Fantasy is back and so is our player rankings for matchday 4, with Ronaldo, Jota and Cancelo all ranking high on the list due to their relatively easy fixtures. The matchday kicks off with Rennes going up against an inform Chelsea and Krasnodar looking to settle the score against Sevilla after losing 3-2 despite having a two-goal lead and being a man up. These are our rankings for the week:

Forwards

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1Cristiano RonaldoJuventusVs Ferencvárosi12MHe has been on a tear since his return from illness with five goals and an assist in four and it is impossible to look away from him against the joint worst-defense in the tournament so far.
2Robert LewandowskiBayern MunichVs RB Salzburg12MI think Bayern's 2-6 victory in the reverse fixture which included 2 goals by Lewandowski has convinced me enough.
3Erling Braut HålandBorussia DortmundVs Club Brugge11M
4Kylian MbappePSGVs RB Leipzig11MPSG might have lost the reverse fixture but in their defense they didn't have Mbappe or Neymar.
5Dušan TadićAjaxVs Midtjylland9M
6Romelu LukakuInter MilanVs Real Madrid11MLukaku heads into this matchup in good form with two goals and two assists in a 4-2 victory against Torino in his last league game. Inter will be desperate for a victory to move out of the bottom against a Real Madrid team that hasn't kept a clean sheet in the last eight games.
7NeymarPSGVs RB Leipzig11.5M
8Alvaro MorataJuventusVs Ferencvárosi9MMorata is joint top scorer in the tournament right now with 4 goals, forms a great partnership with Ronaldo and boasts of an impressive 100% conversion rate so far.
9Timo WernerChelsea@Rennes10.5M
10Ciro ImmobileLazioVs Zenit10.5MThere are few players as consistent as Immobile but we are spoilt for options this week to seriously consider him. Still worth a punt?

Defenders

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1João CanceloManchester City@Olympiacos5.5MThere is a massive difference in the level between Manchester City and the other teams in the group. They have conceded just one goal so far whereas this week's opponents Olympiacos have scored just one. So Cancelo is a good shout for a cleansheet as well as some possible attacking returns.
2Raphaël GuerreiroBorussia DortmundVs Club Brugge6MHe has a goal and two assists in his last two games while playing for one of the best defensive teams in the world. Oh and they also kept a cleansheet in the reverse fixture.
3Ben ChilwellChelsea@Rennes5.5MIn another case of contrasting fortunes, Chelsea is one of the two teams which is yet to concede. Rennes have only scored once and that was a penalty.
4DaniloJuventusVs Ferencvárosi5M
5Nicolas TagliaficoAjaxVs Midtjylland5M
6Andrew RobertsonLiverpoolVs Atalanta6.5MLiverpool is the other team which is yet to concede.
7Zaidu SanuziPorto@Marseille4.5MAfter 3 Champions League games, Marseille are the only team yet to score a goal.
8Alex TellesManchester UnitedVs İstanbul Başakşehir5.5M
9Renan LodiAtletico MadridVs Lokomotiv Moscow5M
10Alessandro FlorenziPSGVs RB Leipzig5M

Goalkeepers

 

RankNameTeamOpponentValueComments
1EdersonManchester City@Olympiacos6MThe easiest bet for a clean sheet this week.
2Edouard MendyChelsea@Rennes5M
3Wojciech SzczęsnyJuventusVs Ferencvárosi5.5M
4Agustín MarchesínPorto@Marseille5MMarseille are yet to score and have just four attempts on goal.
5Roman BürkiBorussia DortmundVs Club Brugge5.5M

You can find additional UCL Fantasy resources for the 20/21 season here.