Champions League Fantasy Football: Defenders

With Matchday 3 over and done with, UEFA.com casts an eye over some defenders who may prove appealing #UCLfantasy selections for Matchday 4.

Ajax put in a phenomenal Matchday 3 performance as they comfortably saw off Borussia Dortmund in Amsterdam. All of Erik ten Hag's defenders shone, but one player who stood out from a #UCLfantasy perspective was Daley Blind (€5.2m). The 31-year-old registered an assist, a goal from outside the box, nine ball recoveries and the Player of the Match award to go with his clean sheet bonus. All this led to Blind accumulating a massive 22 Fantasy points, the most of any player on Matchday 3. If he can get anywhere near that score for the return fixture with Dortmund, he will be a worthwhile #UCLfantasy option once again.

Another defender who made waves on Matchday 3 was Sebastián Coates (€5.0m). The Sporting CP centre-back scored twice in a 4-1 win at Beşiktaş and, despite not managing to keep a clean sheet, four ball recoveries and a Player of the Match award meant he came away with 18 Fantasy points. Sporting are at home to the Turkish team next and Coates represents significant appeal to #UCLfantasy managers after demonstrating his threat from set pieces. His side are still waiting for a first clean sheet of the group stage but Beşiktaş are yet to pick up a point in this season's campaign.

Another side without a clean sheet so far in this season's group stage are Manchester City, but full-back João Cancelo (€6.2m) remains an appealing #UCLfantasy prospect. The 27-year-old opened the scoring in a 4-1 win at Club Brugge last time out, and an impressive individual performance that included seven ball recoveries and the Player of the Match award was enough to give him 13 Fantasy points. Cancelo is often involved in City's attacks and further returns on Matchday 4 would be no surprise.

Chelsea registered their second clean sheet in three Group H fixtures on Matchday 3 with a comprehensive 4-0 triumph at home to Malmö. As they go to Sweden to take on the same opponents, who are yet to score in Group H, numerous Chelsea defenders appeal as viable #UCLfantasy options, with particular focus on Ben Chilwell (€5.5m), who has scored in his last three Premier League games. Other enticing options include centre-backs Antonio Rüdiger (€5.6m) and Thiago Silva (€5.0m), the latter having notched an assist on Matchday 3. As this game is an early kick-off on Matchday 4, #UCLfantasy managers have the benefit of seeing Thomas Tuchel's starting line-up before making their final decision.