Champions League Fantasy Football: The Scout squad for Matchday 7

With unlimited transfers currently available to all managers on #UCLfantasy, presented by PlayStation, the Scout's squad for the round of 16 first legs features a selection of new names combined with a number of players who produced significant returns in the group stage.

Goalkeepers

The top three points scorers among keepers in the group stage were Odisseas Vlachodimos of Benfica, Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois and Bayern München No1 Manuel Neuer. However, with free-scoring Ajax and Paris the opponents for Benfica and Madrid – and Neuer currently injured – the spotlight falls instead on Edouard Mendy (€6.4m). The Chelsea custodian amassed 26 points from his five group appearances, keeping four clean sheets, and is well placed for another at home to a LOSC Lille side who managed only seven goals in their first six matches, the joint lowest total among the teams who made it through.

Ajax's Remko Pasveer (€5.1m) is an appealing alternative in goal, having kept two clean sheets in his five group outings. Not only is the 38-year-old a budget-friendly option, but his side have shown great defensive fortitude in recent months; Pasveer has managed six clean sheets in eight appearances in all competitions since Matchday 6, conceding only two goals in that time.

Defenders

The defensive strength of Ajax and Chelsea means that both are also represented in the five-strong back line. Noussair Mazraoui (€5.1m) is the chosen pick for the Dutch champions, having collected 30 points in the group stage, although only eight of those came in the last three games. Also on 30 points is Thiago Silva (€5.6m), who racked up his tally in just five games and scored 25 in his three most recent appearances. The Brazilian's Chelsea club-mate Marcos Alonso (€5.3m) was another whose group stage score was relatively low, 15 points in his case, but he made only three starts – collecting a clean sheet in two of them – and is likely to feature at home to LOSC with left-back rival Ben Chilwell a long-term injury absentee.

Another player who has forced his way into contention is Aymeric Laporte (€5.1m), who sat out half of Manchester City's group games before winning a regular role in their Premier League line-up since Matchday 6. The defenders are completed by Rasmus Kristensen (€5.0m), whose Salzburg side could struggle to keep a clean sheet against Bayern, but who boasts plenty of attacking potential of his own, having scored six goals in this season's Austrian Bundesliga – including two in his last four appearances.

Midfielders

Ajax are the only side to have a player in all four positions for the round of 16 first legs. Their midfield representative is Davy Klaassen (€6.7m), who may have picked up just 15 points to date but who travels to Benfica having found the net in his last two Eredivisie outings. The remaining four midfielders all scored highly during the group stage, Salzburg's Noah Okafor (€5.4m) amassing 29 of his 31 points in the Austrian club's three home fixtures.

With Bayern the visitors to Salzburg on Matchday 7, Leroy Sané (€9.4m) will be looking to cement his status as the top #UCLfantasy scorer overall; the German international has 65 points to his name already, including four double-digit hauls, and has scored seven or more in all but one of his appearances. Third place on the midfield points chart goes to Villarreal's Arnaut Danjuma (€6.8m), who delivered similarly consistent returns across the group stage, including a bumper 15-point haul on Matchday 6. Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez (€9.4m) has 40 points, his five goals responsible for 25 of those – and with eight goals in his last eight club appearances, he looks well placed for more attacking returns at Sporting CP.

Forwards

As they have been for much of the season, two of the three forwards are straightforward selections. Not only did Ajax's Sébastien Haller (€9.3m) find the net in every group game, he is the top scorer overall in this season's UEFA Champions League with ten goals, and has hit nine in six club appearances since Matchday 6, including six in his last three.

Close behind in both the overall and #UCLfantasy scoring stakes is Robert Lewandowski (€12.0m), the Polish international having managed nine goals and 58 points. Lewandowski has not slacked off since, notching ten goals in his last seven Bayern games ahead of the trip to Salzburg. The forwards are completed by Diogo Jota (€8.4m), who has five strikes in his last five Liverpool appearances and represents a lower-priced route into the attack of a team who won all six group games and now travel to Inter.