Champions League Fantasy Football: What the numbers say
Friday, March 4, 2022
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Mohamed Salah, Leroy Sané, Virgil van Dijk and Sébastien Haller are among the players predicted for big Fantasy points hauls on Matchday 8.
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Predicting which Fantasy players are going to perform on any given matchday is a difficult task. Through crunching the numbers, a projected points total for each player has been calculated based on the player's historical performance in the UEFA Champions League. Goals, assists, clean sheets and the likelihood of playing are the major parameters used in our projections.
The top projected players for each position for Matchday 8 are given below. As ever, check latest team news and possible line-ups before making your final selection on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.
GOALKEEPERS
| Player | Price | Club | Opponents | Home/Away | Gameday | Projected points |
| Edouard Mendy | €6.4m | Chelsea | LOSC Lille | Away | 16 March | 6.0 |
| Ederson | €6.0m | Man City | Sporting CP | Home | 9 March | 5.9 |
| Alisson Becker | €6.3m | Liverpool | Inter | Home | 8 March | 5.9 |
| Thibaut Courtois | €6.5m | Real Madrid | Paris | Home | 9 March | 5.7 |
| Manuel Neuer | €6.4m | Bayern | Salzburg | Home | 8 March | 5.5 |
Edouard Mendy is comfortably the highest-owned goalkeeper in #UCLfantasy circles having conceded just one goal in the UEFA Champions League so far this season. A second successive shut-out against LOSC is on the cards according to the algorithm, while fellow Premier League goalkeeper Ederson is also fancied to do the same when Manchester City play host to Sporting CP.
A saved penalty against Paris in the first leg contributed towards a ten-point return for Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois, who has accumulated more Fantasy points than other goalkeeper at this stage. Just below the Belgian in the projections is Manuel Neuer, with all the signs pointing towards the Bayern No1 returning for the visit of Salzburg. The German international kept four clean sheets in his six group stage appearances.
DEFENDERS
| Player | Price | Club | Opponents | Home/Away | Gameday | Projected points |
| Virgil van Dijk | €6.1m | Liverpool | Inter | Home | 8 March | 8.2 |
| Thiago Silva | €5.7m | Chelsea | LOSC Lille | Away | 16 March | 7.7 |
| João Cancelo | €6.5m | Man City | Sporting CP | Home | 9 March | 7.5 |
| David Alaba | €6.0m | Real Madrid | Paris | Home | 9 March | 7.2 |
| Andy Robertson | €6.3m | Liverpool | Inter | Home | 8 March | 7.2 |
| Noussair Mazraoui | €5.2m | Ajax | Benfica | Home | 15 March | 7.2 |
| Antonio Rüdiger | €5.9m | Chelsea | LOSC Lille | Away | 16 March | 7.0 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | €6.6m | Liverpool | Inter | Home | 8 March | 7.0 |
| Matthijs de Ligt | €5.5m | Juventus | Villarreal | Home | 16 March | 6.8 |
| Benjamin Pavard | €5.7m | Bayern | Salzburg | Home | 8 March | 6.8 |
A commanding performance from Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool's first-leg win at Inter yielded 14 Fantasy points for the Dutchman's owners, who will be pleased to see him top the list for projected defenders on Matchday 8. Chelsea's Thiago Silva is another experienced centre-back heavily favoured, the Brazilian producing an impressive 14 ball recoveries during the 2-0 home win against LOSC Lille.
Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rüdiger are alternative options in the Liverpool and Chelsea defences, but owners of Manchester City's João Cancelo – who leads the way when it comes to total #UCLfantasy points among defenders – may have some concern over his playing time on Matchday 8 given that Pep Guardiola's side boast a 5-0 lead ahead of the return in England.
Noussair Mazraoui was a popular budget option for #UCLfantasy managers ahead of Matchday 7 and the Ajax full-back rewarded his owners with eight points thanks to a Player of the Match performance against Benfica. The Moroccan has recorded two assists and 37 ball recoveries in the UEFA Champions League to date, and is a useful asset should he overcome an injury in time for the Amsterdam second leg.
MIDFIELDERS
| Player | Price | Club | Opponents | Home/Away | Gameday | Projected points |
| Mohamed Salah | €11.0m | Liverpool | Inter | Home | 8 March | 9.0 |
| Leroy Sané | €9.5m | Bayern | Salzburg | Home | 8 March | 8.6 |
| Riyad Mahrez | €9.5m | Man City | Sporting CP | Home | 9 March | 8.5 |
| Kingsley Coman | €8.7m | Bayern | Salzburg | Home | 8 March | 8.3 |
| Bruno Fernandes | €10.9m | Man Utd | Atlético | Home | 15 March | 8.0 |
| Bernardo Silva | €7.4m | Man City | Sporting CP | Home | 9 March | 8.0 |
| Sadio Mané | €10.4m | Liverpool | Inter | Home | 8 March | 7.9 |
| Kai Havertz | €9.1m | Chelsea | LOSC Lille | Away | 16 March | 7.7 |
| Arnaut Danjuma | €7.0m | Villarreal | Juventus | Away | 16 March | 7.7 |
| Étienne Capoue | €6.2m | Villarreal | Juventus | Away | 16 March | 7.6 |
A rare blank from Leroy Sané on Matchday 7 means Mohamed Salah replaces him at the top of the projections, with the Liverpool man scoring his eighth goal of the campaign last time out. Salah has featured in all seven UEFA Champions League matches so far, only once failing to find the net.
Although Bruno Fernandes has failed to score in Europe this season, he has made up for that in other areas as he leads the competition when it comes to assists. After providing his seventh of the campaign against Atlético in the first leg, the Manchester United playmaker could take a key role again at Old Trafford on Matchday 8.
No player earned more points on Matchday 7 than Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, and those willing to gamble on the Portuguese midfielder featuring in the return leg will be hoping for a similar output, while Riyad Mahrez – City's top #UCLfantasy points scorer this season – falls into the same bracket.
FORWARDS
| Player | Price | Club | Opponents | Home/Away | Gameday | Projected points |
| Robert Lewandowski | €12.1m | Bayern | Salzburg | Home | 8 March | 8.7 |
| Sébastien Haller | €9.4m | Ajax | Benfica | Home | 15 March | 8.7 |
| Kylian Mbappé | €11.0m | Paris | Real Madrid | Away | 9 March | 8.5 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | €11.5m | Man Utd | Atlético | Home | 15 March | 8.2 |
| Dušan Tadić | €9.2m | Ajax | Benfica | Home | 15 March | 8.1 |
| Karim Benzema | €10.4m | Real Madrid | Paris | Home | 9 March | 7.9 |
| Lionel Messi | €11.4m | Paris | Real Madrid | Away | 9 March | 7.7 |
| Dušan Vlahović | €9.5m | Juventus | Villarreal | Home | 16 March | 7.4 |
| Karim Adeyemi | €7.8m | Salzburg | Bayern | Away | 8 March | 7.4 |
| Gabriel Jesus | €8.8m | Man City | Sporting CP | Home | 9 March | 7.3 |
A forward line of Robert Lewandowski, Sébastien Haller and Kylian Mbappé was a popular choice for #UCLfantasy managers on Matchday 7 and the algorithm thinks there is little reason to change that, although the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema should not be discounted despite failing to deliver points in the first leg.
With ownership of just 1%, Dušan Tadić was the top points scorer among Ajax's array of forwards on Matchday 7 and has now produced four attacking returns in the competition, while Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus represents another differential option with a high upside. The Brazilian has three goals and an assist to his name in just 79 minutes of action in the UEFA Champions League this season.
