Champions League Fantasy Football: Goalkeepers
Monday, April 18, 2022
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Thibaut Courtois, Alisson Becker, Ederson and Gerónimo Rulli have their Fantasy credentials examined ahead of the semi-finals.
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Just four teams remain in the hunt for UEFA Champions League glory, which means it is slim pickings when it comes to choosing goalkeepers for your team on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation. However, the right goalkeeper could still prove crucial and UEFA.com is here to sift through the remaining options.
Thibaut Courtois (€6.7m) is now the highest-owned goalkeeper in #UCLfantasy and has also earned the most points among players in his position, with ten more than his nearest competitor. The Real Madrid stopper has also made more saves than the other three goalkeepers, earning an extra 11 points of over the course of the campaign. With Manchester City having scored just once in their last three UEFA Champions League games, a fifth clean sheet this season is not out of the question on Matchday 11.
It has been a somewhat frustrating knockout stage for Alisson Becker (€6.4m) owners, as Liverpool's last three UEFA Champions League games have failed to bring a clean sheet. Keeping faith could pay dividends though, as Jürgen Klopp's men take on a Villarreal side who have scored the fewest goals in the tournament amongst the semi-finalists. Liverpool are also at home on Matchday 11, which makes the Brazilian a tempting pick regardless of his recent returns.
Although his #UCLfantasy season total is less than that of the other three goalkeepers, Ederson (€6.2m) has been the standout points scorer in the knockout rounds. After failing to keep a clean sheet in the group stage, Manchester City have since tightened up significantly at the back with no goals conceded in their four knockout ties to date. This has helped Ederson to 24 points in that time and the Brazilian could well play a pivotal role against Real Madrid if Manchester City are to reach their second consecutive final.
Villarreal's Gerónimo Rulli (€5.2m) has been the best value-for-money choice throughout the knockout stage as only Courtois has accumulated more Fantasy points in his position. The Argentinian's ownership does not reflect this though as he features in significantly fewer #UCLfantasy teams than his three rival goalkeepers, but that could well change as we approach the Matchday 11 deadline. Semi-final opponents Liverpool have hit 25 goals in this season's UEFA Champions League, but Rulli has proved adept at picking up save points so he should still be seriously considered as an option.