Champions League Fantasy Football: Defenders

As we head towards the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League season, UEFA.com picks out some defensive options who #UCLfantasy managers might want to consider for their squads.

Chelsea were resilient at the back last season and they began their defence of the UEFA Champions League title in exactly the same fashion with a win and clean sheet against Zenit on Matchday 1. The Blues have several appealing back line options for #UCLfantasy managers to choose from, including Antonio Rüdiger (€5.5m), Reece James (€5.5m), César Azpilicueta (€5.0m) and Marcos Alonso (€5.0m), but it was Andreas Christensen (€5.0m) who shone brightest with his 13 ball recoveries – the joint most of any player on Matchday 1 – taking his tally to ten points.

Atalanta play host to Young Boys on Matchday 2 and attacking wing-back Robin Gosens (€5.5m) looks an enticing option off the back of his goal against Villarreal last time out. Gosens has the potential to record both clean sheets and attacking contributions, and a lowly 6% ownership also makes him an appealing differential.

There were no clean sheet points for Trent Alexander-Arnold (€6.5m) on Matchday 1, but the Liverpool full-back came away with an assist and five #UCLfantasy points against Milan and remains one of the most popular defensive assets. His team-mate Virgil van Dijk (€6.0m) could be set for his first UEFA Champions League appearance since 2019/20 when Jürgen Klopp's side travel to Porto on Matchday 2. The Dutch centre-back is renowned for his ball recovery rate in #UCLfantasy circles while his set-piece threat adds an extra layer of potential to his points ceiling.

Bayern's Joshua Kimmich (€6.5m) recorded a modest five points on Matchday 1 but his army of owners – a quarter of the #UCLfantasy player base at present – will be expecting more significant returns when the German champions welcome Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 2. Bayern have been piling in the goals lately and Kimmich got two in a recent 7-0 Bundesliga victory against Bochum.

There were plenty of budget defenders who outperformed their price in the opening set of fixtures, with UEFA Champions League debutants Sheriff boasting a number of such options. Left-back Cristiano (€4.5m) outshone all other defenders on Matchday 1 by amassing 16 points thanks to a clean sheet, two assists, five ball recoveries and an extra three points for being named Player of the Match. His team-mate on the opposite flank Fernando Costanza (€4.0m) comes in at an even cheaper price and looks a solid budget-enabler despite some tough fixtures to come for the Moldovan outfit.

Another bargain who performed well was Jérôme Roussillon (€4.0m), who helped his Wolfsburg side keep LOSC Lille at bay. A clean sheet, coupled with his six ball recoveries, amounted to eight #UCLfantasy points for the Frenchman and his owners will be hoping for a repeat performance when Sevilla visit the VfL Wolfsburg Arena.