#UCLfantasy Matchday 5: The Scout squad
Monday, November 25, 2019
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The Scout picks three players from Ajax and Bayern, while Spurs players are also back in favour.
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The Scout has looked at the projected returns for Matchday 5 and considered recent UEFA Champions League, domestic and international form before picking the squad for the penultimate round of group games.
Goalkeepers
Galatasaray have endured a campaign to forget, but have one last chance to redeem themselves on home soil as Club Brugge come to Istanbul. The Scout is gambling on a clean sheet for the home side, so Fernando Muslera (€4.5m) is the goalkeeping choice for Tuesday's games; should a change be necessary the following day, André Onana (€5.0m) looks a good bet as Ajax visit a LOSC side who have picked up only one point from their first four Group H matches.
Defenders
The faith in Ajax and Galatasaray is replicated in defence as Nicolás Taglifico (€5.2m) of Ajax, who has 33 points from the first four games, makes the cut, with Mariano (€4.5m) the favoured member of the Galatasaray back line. With Bayern München travelling to Crvena zvezda, Benjamin Pavard (€5.5m) is backed to deliver at both ends of the field, the Frenchman having collected six points or more in three of the four games to date. Two budget selections fill out the back line; Fikayo Tomori (€4.5m) of Chelsea and Leipzig's Konrad Laimer (€4.0m), whose teams face Valencia (away) and Benfica (home) respectively. Both have delivered more than 20 points this season, and made useful contributions in terms of ball recovery, a valuable extra source of points.
Midfielders
In midfield, The Scout is gambling on a Manchester City player again, although such are the performances delivered by Raheem Sterling (€11.1m), the top scorer in #UCLfantasy this season with 43 points, his selection is surely worth the risk. Quincy Promes (€7.0m) is the third and final Ajax player in the squad, having scored 12 goals in his last 12 club appearances, while Serge Gnabry (€8.1m) is the second of three Bayern players included ahead of that trip to Belgrade. Mislav Oršić (€6.2m) is hard to ignore given his opening-night hat-trick at home to Matchday 5 opponents Atalanta, while the arrival of José Mourinho as manager could reinvigorate the Tottenham attack; Lucas Moura (€8.0m) is the London club's midfield selection.
Forwards
There's a familiar look to the three forwards selected for Matchday 5, with all having starred so far this season. Erling Braut Haaland (€4.6m) might be an injury doubt for Salzburg's trip to Genk, against whom he hit a Matchday 1 hat-trick, but the teenager is impossible to ignore as the top scorer in this season's competition, having found the net in every game in the competition so far. Similarly, Robert Lewandowski (€10.6m) has also scored in all four matches, and is just one goal behind the Norwegian in the overall rankings; Harry Kane (€11.0m) has four goals for Tottenham in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League, and has scored five times in his last three matches for club and country, with the London club at home to Olympiacos this week.
