The Tipster: Mike Hammond's team

It seems an age since the round of 16, but the UEFA Europa League and its Fantasy game are back in full swing this week with the first legs of the quarter-finals.

The four ties all look evenly balanced on paper, with no clear favourite in any of them, which calls for some careful consideration before you reconfigure your team or squad.

Although I was disappointed to score just 38 points last time out – my second-lowest total of the season – it actually proved to be quite a handy figure. It enabled me to move up the overall league table – from 242nd to 209th – for the first time since matchday four, when I was loftily perched in 30th.

I had Kamil Glik's goal for Torino FC to thank for my rise last time out, although that proved to be a mere consolation for his team, who bowed out against FC Zenit. Glik was one of eight members of my 15-man squad to be eliminated in the round of 16, which means that, with only six free transfers allowed in advance of this week's matches, I'm going to have to forfeit four points in order to replenish my first XI and subs' bench. Because of that I'm pretty much obliged to keep faith will all seven of the remaining players.

So, which new faces do I bring in? With the transfer deadline not falling until 15 minutes before kick-off (all four games start at 21.05CET), there is ample time to check out the lineups before finalising my team, so it makes sense to wait until then. However, it can safely be assumed that all eight sides will be as close to full strength as possible, so already there are a number of players who I've earmarked for inclusion based on what they've produced in the competition or in the four weeks since the last round.

These include the two Ukrainian international wingers Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Yarmolenko, both of whom scored fabulous goals to help their respective teams, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and FC Dynamo Kyiv, through the last round. Also on my target list are Club Brugge KV striker Tom De Sutter, new Spain midfielder Vitolo of Sevilla FC and his in-form team-mate Kevin Gameiro, plus perennial Zenit power-shooter Hulk.

With five players now permitted from each club, I am also tempted to boost my VfL Wolfsburg contingent, which already contains goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, left-back/set-piece specialist Ricardo Rodriguez and the ever-productive Kevin De Bruyne, by adding in centre-back Naldo and/or right-winger Vierinha.

As usual, I shall be tweeting my selection updates on Thursday, so there will be further advice for you to follow then. Enjoy this week's matches.