Matchday one: The Scout squad
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Article summary
Barcelona have three players in The Scout's first squad of the season, with two apiece from Manchester United and Dortmund.
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Every matchday, The Scout will select a 15-man squad for the fixtures aiming for maximum returns. Here's the matchday one selection.
Goalkeepers
Barcelona have been imperious at home in the UEFA Champions League in recent seasons, and the visit of PSV Eindhoven could bring ample reward. The Catalan club have kept seven clean sheets in their last ten matches in the competition at the Camp Nou, so Marc-André ter Stegen (€6.0m) is a strong option in goal. Should the German come up short, David De Gea (Manchester United, €6.0m) is a more than capable replacement with a tempting trip to Swiss newcomers Young Boys to kick off.
Defenders
Barcelona's strength at the back means Sergi Roberto (€5.5m) is the choice for their defensive representation in The Scout squad. Appetising home games against AEK Athens and Lokomotiv Moskva respectively mean a place for Ajax's Matthijs de Ligt (€5.0m) and Serdar Aziz of Galatasaray (€4.5m), while Porto's Alex Telles (€5.5m) offers both the possibility of a clean sheet at struggling Schalke and also bonus attacking points. Dortmund, meanwhile, will be looking to pick up maximum points at Club Brugge, with Abdou Diallo (€4.5m) an excellent budget pick.
Midfielders
Dortmund's positive start to the season encourages investment in another cheap option, in the shape of Marius Wolf (€5.0m); the midfielder scored five goals in last season's Bundesliga for Eintracht and has already opened his account for his new club this time round. The UEFA Champions League pedigree of both Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético, €7.5m) and James Milner (Liverpool, €5.5m) is well known – the latter establishing a new competition record with nine assists in 2017/18, and Marlos (Shakhtar, €6.0m) could make an impact at home to debutants Hoffenheim. Napoli visit Crvena zvezda as they look to atone for an early exit last season – Piotr Zieliński (€6.5m) has started the season in fantastic form.
Forwards
The Scout has loaded up on big guns up front, joining a huge 44% of users to have snapped up Lionel Messi (Barcelona, €11.5m) – although Ousmane Dembélé was also a tempting (and cheaper) option. Cristiano Ronaldo would normally be a shoo-in, but Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, €10.5m) is being backed to fill the Portuguese star's sizeable boots up front while the scoring form of Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United, €10.0m) makes the Belgian impossible to ignore.