#UCLFantasy: Reporters' matchday six tips
Monday, December 5, 2016
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You can afford to focus on matchday six rather than looking further ahead; use our reporters' guide to maximise your chances.
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Make your matchday six transfers now
Make the most of your squad on matchday six by looking for maximum returns from unlikely sources. Who is nailed-on to score? Which teams are hot favourites to keep a clean sheet? Are any new faces worth a flutter? Our team of reporters have the answers for all 32 clubs.
Arsenal (Andy Brassell, @UEFAcomAndyB)
Mohamed Elneny (MF, €5.8m)
The Egyptian midfielder looks likely to start on his return to his former club, as one of a number of changes ahead of the big domestic match against Manchester United, with qualification already assured. In his final months in Switzerland he was even more of a goalscoring threat, so perhaps familiar surrounds might inspire him to contribute to attack and add to his season haul of seven Fantasy points.
Atlético Madrid (Joe Walker, @UEFAcomJoeW)
Jan Oblak (GK, €6.1m)
While the Rojiblancos might already have qualified as group winners, they are chasing a historic achievement and looking to make it six wins from six. The Slovenian stopper will be key if they are to achieve this, and with the club having racked up four clean sheets on the bounce you would not put it past them to keep another on matchday six.
Barcelona (Graham Hunter, @BumperGraham)
Andrés Iniesta (MF, €8.0m)
Out injured for five weeks, Iniesta has been much missed by Barcelona. His smarts, his passing, his positional sense: everything. Luis Enrique might have been conservative with him at the weekend against Real Madrid but how often does a player come on with only 30 minutes left and play well enough to be the main candidate for man of the match? If he plays like that again, he'll bring in the points.
Basel (Ben Gladwell, @UEFAcomBenG)
Taulant Xhaka (MF, €5.0m)
Basel's UEFA Champions League campaign may end this week, but they still have plenty to play for, in particular Taulant Xhaka. Up against his brother Granit, he will want to come top while inspiring his team to a win that could snatch a UEFA Europa League berth. Basel have little choice but to hunt for goals and a result against qualified Arsenal.
Bayern München (Jordan Maciel, @UEFAcomJordanM)
Juan Bernat (DF, €5.5m)
With nothing left to play for in Group C, the Spanish full-back will likely start in a much-changed Bayern side. He is a cheap but sturdy defensive option who has also proved he can score points in attack, with two goals and an assist in his two appearances in the competition so far this season.
Benfica (Paul Bryan, @UEFAcomPaulB)
Eduardo Salvio (FW, €5.3m)
In what could turn out to be a tense and tight affair against Napoli, Benfica may require a player with the skills and in-game intelligence to break down their Italian visitors in the battle for Group B supremacy. Should Rui Vitória's side score, statistics suggest attacker Eduardo Salvio will be involved. 'Toto' has struck three times and provided four assists in his team's five matches to date, earning a handsome 32 points.
Beşiktaş (Çetin Cem Yılmaz, @UEFAcomCetinCY)
Fabri (GK, €4.0m)
Beşiktaş are without a clean sheet in this season's campaign, but the last game against Dynamo Kyiv, who are the only team certain of their finishing position in Group B, is surely a good place to start. Apart from the Spanish goalkeeper, Marcelo (DF, €4.2m) is a good budget option: a sure starter and an occasional goalscorer with headers.
Celtic (Alex O'Henley, @UEFAcomAlexOH)
Patrick Roberts (MF, €5.7m)
With a goal and an assist in Saturday's 4-3 win over Motherwell, the 19-year-old will be hoping to get the opportunity to catch Pep Guardiola's eye and show his parent club he still has a future at Manchester City once his loan at Celtic ends next summer.
Club Brugge (Berend Scholten, @UEFAcomBerendS)
José Izquierdo (MF, €5.3m)
The fast winger has shown improved form lately, not only scoring Club Brugge's second Group G goal last time out but also opening the scoring in the 2-0 derby victory over Oostende last Saturday. Eager to leave the European stage with a bang.
CSKA Moskva (Richard van Poortvliet, @UEFAcomRichVP)
Fedor Chalov, (FW, €4.9m)
The emergence of the 18-year-old has been one of the bright spots of what has been a disappointing UEFA Champions League campaign for the Army Men. Chalov scored his first domestic goal for CSKA last week and is likely to be key if his side want to claim an unlikely UEFA Europa League spot by overcoming Tottenham.
Dinamo Zagreb (Elvir Islamović, @UEFAcomElvirI)
Ante Ćorić (MF, €5.2m)
Dinamo have five losses, 13 goals conceded and none scored. It's difficult to pick anyone in situation like that, especially ahead of the most difficult match in the group against Juventus. Young star Ante Ćorić will get his chance and his skills and motivation will make him dangerous. On his day, he could both assist and score.
Borussia Dortmund (Steffen Potter, @UEFAcomSteffenP)
Marco Reus (FW, €9.5m)
Reus has returned from his six-month injury absence with a bang: two goals and six assists in three games since. With Dortmund needing a result in the Bernabéu and Reus having scored twice when the two sides last met in the 2013/14 quarter-finals, he is certain to feature.
Dynamo Kyiv (Bogdan Buga, @UEFAcomBogdanB)
Júnior Moraes (FW, €5.8m)
Dynamo Kyiv's qualifying hopes have gone but they're still aiming for their first win in Group B, which means they will certainly attack. I think it's time to say a word for Júnior Moraes, Ukrainian league top-scorer with nine goals. He hasn't opened his account in the current campaign and will not have another chance so he should be hugely motivated.
Juventus (Paolo Menicucci, @UEFAcomPaoloM)
Gonzalo Higuaín (FW, €9.5m)
The Argentinian striker has not scored since the penalty against Lyon on 2 November, but will have a great opportunity to end his drought against Dinamo Zagreb, a team Juve defeated 4-0 in Croatia. "He's the guy who goes crazy if he doesn't score – it's in his nature," Patrice Evra said about his team-mate. Will Dinamo cope with his hunger?
København (Nicklas Vinde, @UEFAcomNicklasV)
Andreas Cornelius (FW, €5.9m)
FCK need to win in the last match at Club Brugge to have a chance to advance to the knockout stage. While both strikers, Cornelius and Federico Santander, made a comeback in Saturday's win against Randers after injury, the former looked especially sharp, and will be the main aerial danger.
Legia Warszawa (Piotr Koźmiński, @UEFAComPiotrK)
Aleksandar Prijović (FW, €5.3m)
On the bench for much of the season, Prijović has stepped out of Nemanja Nikolić's shadow in recent weeks, scoring twice against Dortmund last time out. A few days later there were two more goals against Śląsk Wrocław, while he should be in top shape having been rested for the last league game against Wisła Płock.
Leicester City (Simon Hart, @UEFAcomSimonH)
Shinji Okazaki (FW, €6.3m)
The Japanese forward scored on his first start in the competition last time out and was on target again on Saturday, coming off the bench to get the Foxes' goal in their defeat at Sunderland. That makes it two goals in three games, and he is the only Leicester player to have scored in open play in their last four matches in all competitions.
Bayer Leverkusen (Matthew Howarth, @UEFAcomMattH)
Hakan Çalhanoğlu (MF, €8.3m)
Çalhanoğlu has been the most consistent performer in a Leverkusen side struggling for form on the domestic front. The Turkish international has registered three goals and one assist in his last four league appearances, but has not netted in the Champions League since September's 2-2 draw with CSKA Moskva. He will be eager to put that right against Monaco on Wednesday.
Ludogorets Razgrad (Stoyan Georgiev, @UEFAcomStoyanG)
Vladislav Stoyanov (GK, €4.9m)
The goalkeeper is gradually getting back to his best form, turning in a man-of-the-match performance against Basel a fortnight ago. No doubt he will be the busiest man at Parc des Princes and, if Ludogorets are to take a point against the odds, Stoyanov will be one of the main reasons.
Lyon (David Crossan, @UEFAcomDavidC)
Alexandre Lacazette (FW, €7.8m)
If Lyon are to get the two-goal victory they require to advance then Alexandre Lacazette simply has to be on the scoresheet. More than half the forward's 11 Ligue 1 goals this season have been penalties, so expect him to make up for his spot-kick failure against Juventus earlier this season if Lyon are awarded another on Wednesday.
Manchester City (Simon Hart, @UEFAcomSimonH)
Sergio Agüero (FW, €10.1m)
Celtic have yet to keep a clean sheet in Europe this season so we can expect goals, and Agüero will be desperate to make amends after a forgettable outing on Saturday when he missed chances and was sent off against Chelsea. With a four-game domestic suspension looming, Tuesday night against the Scottish champions is the only chance he'll have for a while to redeem himself so, if selected, expect him to be up for it.
Monaco (David Crossan, @UEFAcomDavidC)
Guido Carrillo (FW, €6.5m)
With both Monaco and Leverkusen already through, there should be plenty of goals for fringe players to share around. Argentinian forward Carrillo will fancy his chances of a first UEFA Champions League goal as his seven Ligue 1 strikes, including one off the bench against Bastia at the weekend, have come at an impressive rate of one every 77 minutes.
Borussia Mönchengladbach (Matthew Howarth, @UEFAcomMattH)
Raffael (FW, €7.3m)
Having missed a large chunk of the season through injury, Raffael scored his third league goal of the campaign in Gladbach's 4-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The loss was hardly ideal preparation for Tuesday's trip to Camp Nou, but the Brazilian has proved he is capable of producing moments of magic against the strongest opponents.
Napoli (Paolo Menicucci, @UEFAcomPaoloM)
Dries Mertens (FW, €7.5m)
With Arkadiusz Milik out, Napoli forwards have shared goalscoring duties. Lorenzo Insigne is the hottest Partenopei forward, having scored four goals in his last three Serie A games, but I expect Belgian winger Mertens to start and make a good use of his pace in Lisbon, where Benfica need to attack. I wouldn't pick Napoli defenders as I expect a game with goals from both sides.
Paris Saint-Germain (Chris Burke, @UEFAcomChrisB)
Edinson Cavani (FW, €9.3m)
It's all about goals for Paris as they look to tie up top spot in Group A – and nobody is more likely to get them than their prolific No9, who has grabbed 46.3% of the club's strikes in all competitions this term. Second highest scorer in the group stage, Cavani will be confident of capitalising against Ludogorets again after registering twice in Bulgaria.
Porto (Paul Bryan, @UEFAcomPaulB)
Iker Casillas (GK, €5.6m)
With Leicester already guaranteed top spot in Group G, Casillas may appear a sound bet to add to his 20 Fantasy points this week. Porto might not be scoring bundles of goals of late, but they aren't shipping many either. The former Real Madrid No1 hasn't conceded in his last three games in all competitions and has been beaten just three times in his previous ten outings, a run in which he has kept seven clean sheets.
PSV Eindhoven (Derek Brookman, @UEFAcomDerekB)
Luuk de Jong (FW, €7.4m)
PSV must beat Rostov on Tuesday to prolong their European participation and Luuk de Jong is the man to get the necessary goals. He struck a double last weekend to end his recent drought and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet again on Saturday.
Real Madrid (Joe Walker, @UEFAcomJoeW)
Lucas Vázquez (FW, €7.0m)
He may not be the biggest name at the Bernabéu, but Vázquez is having a quietly impressive season. Gareth Bale's injury has afforded the Spaniard a place in the starting line-up and he was impressive in Saturday's 1-1 Clásico draw – plus he comes at a bargain price.
Rostov (Richard van Poortvliet, @UEFAcomRichVP)
Sardar Azmoun, (FW, €5.5m)
The Iranian forward is hitting form when it really matters for Rostov. He was instrumental in his side's stunning win over Bayern on matchday five and expect him to cause PSV's defence plenty of problems as the Russian club seek a UEFA Europa League spot.
Sevilla (Graham Hunter, @BumperGraham)
Steven N'Zonzi (MF, €6.0m)
Probably Sevilla's player of the season so far, N'Zonzi needs to rise to the occasion again at Lyon. He defends well, nipping the ball away from opposition with those telescopically long legs, but it's in his dictating of the play – when to push forward, when to slow things down, who to give the ball to – that the Frenchman stands out. Time for him to push his club through the final test of 2016.
Sporting (Paul Bryan, @UEFAcomPaulB)
Bas Dost (FW, 6.9m)
Sporting are facing Group F goal machines Legia Warszawa (scorers of seven in their last two Group F encounters), so a wise choice might be to look to the Leões' attack for this encounter. In the hunt for a UEFA Europa League spot, both sides are capable of producing a high scoring spectacular in the Polish capital and with Dost leading the Sporting scoring stats – eight in 14 games in all competitions – the Dutch striker is his team's top pick.
Tottenham (Daniel Thacker, @UEFAcomDanielT)
Kieran Trippier (DF, €5.0m)
With Mauricio Pochettino expected to rotate for Tottenham's meeting with CSKA, Trippier should return to the right-back role he has occupied for three of the Lilywhites' five UEFA Champions League games this term. Likely to be given plenty of licence to get forward, Trippier will also accrue points as part of a Tottenham defence that is the best in the Premier League this season.