Champions League Fantasy Football: Defenders

With one eye on Matchday 5, UEFA.com assesses the top-performing defenders in #UCLfantasy so far this season on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

Club Brugge have been one of the standout sides across the UEFA Champions League so far, having already booked their place in the knockout stage with ten points from four games in Group B. Key to the Belgian champions' success has been their solid defensive foundation, which has brought them four clean sheets in the group stage. Abakar Sylla (€4.8m) and Brandon Mechele (€4.3m) have each been huge successes from a #UCLfantasy perspective, banking 36 and 30 points respectively. Sylla is currently the highest-scoring defender in #UCLfantasy, having also scored a goal and recorded 21 ball recoveries, and both he and Mechele are likely to be in high demand come Matchday 5 as Club Brugge welcome Porto.

Whilst he did not feature on Matchday 3, centre-back Antonio Rüdiger (€5.5m) was back in action for Real Madrid on Matchday 4 against Shakhtar Donetsk, his last-gasp equaliser salvaging a draw for Carlo Ancelotti's side and helping him to 11 Fantasy points. Rüdiger has now racked up 19 points across his last two appearances and represents a tempting option with Madrid next going to Leipzig, who they defeated 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Matchday 2.

Whether in defence or going forward, João Cancelo (€6.7m) has been a consistent source of #UCLfantasy returns. Manchester City's flying full-back may have failed to record an attacking return for the first time this season on Matchday 4, but still picked up a healthy score of eight Fantasy points from a 0-0 draw at Copenhagen, City holing out despite being reduced to ten men in the first half following Sergio Gómez's red card. His resulting suspension, and injury to Kyle Walker, mean that Cancelo is City's only available senior full-back ahead of Matchday 5, so his chances of featuring from the start against Dortmund are high despite the Premier League champions already having secured a place in the knockout stage.

Cancelo is not the only Manchester City player who could prove profitable for #UCLfantasy managers come Matchday 5. Having returned to the fold on Matchday 3 following injury, centre-back Aymeric Laporte (€5.5m) started both games against Copenhagen, keeping a clean side in each match and even winning a penalty. This brought him 14 Fantasy points across the two matchdays, but Laporte faces a stern test on Matchday 5 away at Dortmund, which brings him up against Raphaël Guerreiro (€4.8m). The 28-year-old defender has been one the biggest #UCLfantasy bargains across the group stage, having scored two goals and accumulated 24 points.