Champions League Fantasy Football: What the numbers say

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 1 are given below.

GOALKEEPERS

Comfortably the best-performing #UCLfantasy goalkeeper last season, Thibaut Courtois again tops the bill in terms of projected points ahead of Matchday 1, while Marc-André ter Stegen – who has conceded just once in Barcelona's first three league games – is given a good chance of a clean sheet against Plzeň.

Odysseas Vlachodimos provided excellent value for money for #UCLfantasy managers in 2021/22, and the algorithm likes his chances of a points return against Maccabi Haifa on Matchday 1, while Premier League pair Edouard Mendy and Ederson are viable options in the premium bracket.

DEFENDERS

The three top-performing defenders in #UCLfantasy last season – João Cancelo, Éder Militão and Reinildo – all feature in the projected players for Matchday 1. Cancelo already has a goal and assist this season for Manchester City, while Militão and Reinildo were the top two players on Fantasy in 2021/22 in terms of ball recoveries.

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Paris's Achraf Hakimi are both attack-minded full-back have courted plenty of early attention among #UCLfantasy managers, while budget gem Nuno Tavares has already scored three times this season for a Marseille side making their first UEFA Champions League appearance since 2020/21.

The generously-priced Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Silva are backed to perform on Matchday 1, while Ronald Araújo looks a steal at €5.0m should he keep his place. The versatile defender has started all three of Barcelona's domestic games this season.

MIDFIELDERS

A positional shift in #UCLfantasy will only enhance the appeal of Vinícius Júnior due to the extra points available to him, and the Brazilian has been installed as the top projected midfielder for Matchday 1. Last season's top performer Leroy Sané is a little lower down the list having not been a permanent fixture in the Bayern line-up to date, with team-mate Sadio Mané preferred after making an excellent start at his new club.

Mohamed Salah was directly involved in ten goals in Liverpool's run to last season's final, while Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne has a goal and three assists to his name this season and is available at €0.5m cheaper.

Christopher Nkunku hit a hat-trick on Matchday 1 last season and has started this campaign in fine goalscoring form for Leipzig, while Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski has also impressed recently and has the potential to be an excellent differential option at a budget-friendly price.

FORWARDS

Fantasy managers have an almost impossible job trying to select three forwards from this bunch, with all capable of scoring big on Matchday 1. Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema – the top two scorers in the UEFA Champions League last season – sit level at the top of the projections, while Erling Haaland is also begging for inclusion given his goal-laden start to life at Manchester City.

From the much-heralded Paris trio, Neymar is projected highest having found the net in his last ten games for club and country, with 14 goals in that time. Kylian Mbappé, though, has scored five goals in his last four UEFA Champions League appearances, and Lionel Messi still poses a significant goal and assist threat.

Harry Kane scored six goals in his five group stage appearances the last time Tottenham featured while Darwin Núñez – now at Liverpool – recorded the same number last season for Benfica across the entire competition.