Champions League Fantasy Tips

The Premier League teams opened the Champions League much like they finished last season: poorly. This week does not promise greater returns as only Arsenal have a relatively straightforward match hosting Olympiakos. Realistically, the Greek champions are never a particularly straightforward match, though much easier to handle away from Athens. The remaining Premier League teams have tricky matchups with only United in any sort of form. We’ll be steering away from most Prem players this week, but read on for who we will be selecting to make some money in Mondogoal one day fantasy Champions League contests.

Keeper
The clear choice keeper for price, quality and matchup is Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich v. Dinamo Zagreb (£7.5m). The upside is relatively clear, though there are some minor downsides: he will be popular, he won’t face much traffic to pile up saves, and the most compelling concern is that Mondogoal restricts us to 4 players from one team, so Neuer would be one of those four. He is still the top selection and it’s not particularly close.

There are still other options in the same realm of likelihood to keep a clean sheet. Morgan De Sanctis, AS Roma at BATE Borisov (£5.8m) seems to have worked himself into the first choice keeper role in Rome and draws a favourable start against the Belarusian champions. BATE scored on a corner against Leverkusen but were otherwise ineffective. At home they may take a few more shots though Roma should weather that storm…er, drizzle. Juri Lodygin, Zenit St. Petersburg v. KAA Gent (£6.3m) may be the top choice as Russia is always a very difficult destination in Champions League. Gent were feisty at home but figure to be less effective in St. Petersburg.

Defender
Bayern Munich has the clear matchup advantage but we will have to pay a premium to get their defenders. Alaba, for instance, is a great player, but £14.0m is a big hit to the budget. The better value is Jerome Boateng, Bayern Munich v. Dinamo Zagreb (£9.0m), still relatively expensive but it would be a shock to see the Croatians score on Bayern, and Boateng loves to get forward when the opportunity presents.

Values are indeed difficult to come by for Tuesday’s slate, which leaves a fair amount of guesswork. Staying with Zenit, each of their starting defenders are excellent selections. Left back Domenico Criscito, Zenit St. Petersburg v. KAA Gent (£8.4m) is the preferred option, though Smolnikov on the right may be a touch better if you can afford the increased price. The cheapest options from the favoured clubs come from Kiev. Danilo Silva, Dynamo Kyiv at Maccabi Tel Aviv (£6.4m)should give the hosts trouble in Tel Aviv, with Dragovic and Antunes other solid choices.

Midfielder
With Thomas Muller moved properly to Striker by Mondogoal, we are left with some confusion in the midfield for Bayern Munich with Robben and Ribery still missing out. Gotze is a great talent but can’t seem to work his way into Pep’s good graces - though if he starts, we will use him. Otherwise that leaves a number of options, with varying strengths and weaknesses from a fantasy football perspective. Lahm, Thiago, and Vidal are all well worth considering, but the consistency of Xabi Alonso, Bayern Munich v. Dynamo Zagreb (£10.9m) is alluring. He should flirt with 100 passes in a game that they will control from the whistle.

Denis Garmash, Dynamo Kyiv at Maccabi Tel Aviv (£5.2m) is amongst our favourite value plays. He plays the 10 for Kiev and the Ukrainian is priced inexpensively due to his previous role as a substitute. The duo of Alex Witsel, Zenit St. Petersburg v. KAA Gent (£10.4m) and Oleg Shatov, Zenit St. Petersburg v. KAA Gent (£9.4m) both present outstanding selections in the aforementioned home match with the Belgian champions. Shatov is the preferred option of the two, though both are very much in play.
Barcelona and Arsenal also have excellent midfield choices. Whilst the focus is on the big 3 (or 2 that are healthy), Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona v. Bayer Leverkusen (£9.8m) continues to make a name for himself providing service for the stars at Camp Nou. He may be asked to do more in Messi’s absence.

Arsenal seemed to exorcise some demons at Leicester and each of the trio of midfielders Ramsey, Cazorla and Mesut Ozil, Arsenal v. Olympiakos (£10.9m) should have ample opportunity for fantasy points. We lean towards Ozil as Olympiakos will likely pack in their defence and Arsenal will need his creativity to prevail. One look at his lofted pass to Alexis reminds you of his quality.

Forward
Saving enough money to spend at striker is typically the best route to success, though increasingly difficult when Keeper and Defender prices stay high. Securing 3 strikers could prove a challenge unless you decide to punt defenders altogether and take the cheapest you can find. Be prepared to have an uncomfortable amount of Kiev players in your team!

The great Messi suffered an injury in league play which opens the door for Luis Suarez, Barcelona v. Bayer Leverkusen (£14.3m). Neymar is a bit more expensive but also an option. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich v. Dynamo Zagreb (£14.5m) will be top of mind for many fantasy managers after his 5 goal flurry midweek, though Muller is always sensational as well. Fitting both would be a reasonable decision.

If we run into budget problems, Douglas Costa, Bayern Munich v. Dynamo Zagreb (£6.6m) is a distant third in quality behind Lew and Muller, but also less than half the price. He may be the top play at any position for his value, tallying assists in 3 straight Bundesliga matches.

Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal v. Olympiakos (£9.3m) was priced prior to his hattrick at Leicester and will be in more teams than not. Walcott is another great option at striker with Giroud serving a suspension. Hulk, Zenit St. Petersburg v. KAA Gent (£17.8m) has earned a big price but remains as important to his team as any player in football.

Good luck in the Tuesday contests, we’ll be back to tip players for Wednesday’s matches as Mondogoal will have another £3,000 contest. Remember, you can have anyone you want on Mondogoal, but you can’t have everyone you want, so use your budget wisely!

Tom Devine is an accomplished daily fantasy football player and Editor at Fantasy Football Backers, a daily fantasy football community. Follow them @FFBackers on twitter.