UCL Fantasy Football: The Scout squad

With only eight teams left in the competition, Fantasy managers have the option of selecting up to five players from a single club, and Manchester City provide the maximum number of representatives in the Scout's squad for the quarter-final first legs while four Chelsea players make the cut.

Goalkeepers

Clean sheets are generally harder to come by as we reach the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League, but there are two stand-out contenders in this season's quarter-finals – and thankfully for Fantasy managers, they are in action on separate nights. Manchester City have kept seven successive UEFA Champions League clean sheets, making Ederson (€6.0m) the leading contender for Tuesday's games. Should the Brazilian's run without conceding in the competition – which currently stands at 616 minutes – be ended by Borussia Dortmund, Edouard Mendy (€5.2m) is the obvious replacement from Wednesday's options; before unexpectedly conceding five on Saturday, Chelsea had been breached only twice in Thomas Tuchel's first 14 games in charge, keeping seven successive clean sheets.

Defenders

The defensive excellence of Manchester City and Chelsea means both also provide two representatives among the five defenders, with three of those four players having been rested at the weekend – hopefully a sign they're in line for UEFA Champions League selection. João Cancelo (€5.9m) was an unused substitute in City's 2-0 Premier League win at Leicester on Saturday while John Stones (€5.1m) was left out altogether, but it would be a surprise if both do not start at home to Dortmund on Tuesday.

Similarly, Antonio Rüdiger (€4.6m) remained on the bench for Chelsea's unexpected defensive aberration in the Premier League at the weekend, with César Azpilicueta (€5.0m) the only one of the quartet to have featured at the weekend – the Spaniard played all 90 minutes but is again likely to be in the starting line-up against Porto. The Portuguese champions round out the defensive selection for Matchday 9 thanks to Zaidu (€5.3m); his side might have conceded four times against Juventus in the round of 16, but they had previously managed five clean sheets in the group stage, meaning the Nigerian is the joint highest scorer among the defenders left in the competition with 50 points.

Midfielders

City's contingent is swelled to five by the presence of Kevin De Bruyne (€11.3m) and İlkay Gündoğan (€6.6m); the former is at the heart of many of the Premier League leaders' attacking moves and may even start up front against Dortmund, while former BVB midfielder Gündoğan has been in rich scoring form so far in 2021 and has five goals in his last six games for club and country. Chelsea are also represented in the midfielders, Mason Mount (€6.9m) – also rested at the weekend, although he made a scoring appearance as a second-half substitute – selected despite a relatively low return of 17 Fantasy points in this season's UEFA Champions League.

Also finding the net after coming off the bench on Saturday was Diogo Jota (€7.9m), whose two goals helped Liverpool to a 3-0 win at Arsenal; the Portuguese international, now fully fit after almost four months sidelined by injury, has scored in his last four appearances for club and country, six goals in total. Casemiro (€6.3m) is included mainly for his ball-recovery potential, although the Brazilian also carries an attacking threat with a goal and an assist in this season's competition.

Forwards

Two of the three forwards are virtually automatic selections; Erling Haaland (€11.1m) is the top scorer in this season's UEFA Champions League with his ten goals including four in the round of 16. Having found the net in all eight appearances in the competition in 2020/21, the Norwegian remains an essential inclusion despite a daunting trip to Manchester City. Kylian Mbappé (€11.0m) is one of six players in joint second place in the scoring charts behind Haaland with six goals – and also hit four in the last 16, in his case against Barcelona – and with 12 goals in his last nine Paris Saint-Germain outings, he could be the key at Bayern München in a repeat of last year's final.

The absence of Bayern's Robert Lewandowski provides both a headache and an opportunity for Fantasy managers. The Pole is a reliable source of UEFA Champions League goals and therefore Fantasy points, but his injury does free up considerable funds for use elsewhere – particularly if his potential replacement, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (€6.6m), who played for Paris against Bayern in last season's final, is selected given his bargain price. The Cameroonian international has two goals in his last three UEFA Champions League games for Bayern.