Champions League Fantasy Football: Defenders

UEFA.com casts an eye over the top-performing UEFA Champions League defenders in the round of 16 first legs and wonders who might deliver large scores on Matchday 8 on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

Only one defender racked up a double-figure Fantasy score on Matchday 7, one of the stand-out players in his position across the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League so far. Napoli full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo (€5.1m) once again combined defensive diligence with attacking potency, scoring his side's second goal in a 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt. Di Lorenzo has now recorded three double-figure scores this season and has an overall total of 55 points.

By becoming the top Fantasy defender after seven matchdays, Di Lorenzo overtook Benfica's Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.3m), who is now one behind the Italian on 54 points. The left-back nevertheless picked up seven points in a clean sheet away from home on Matchday 7 thanks to victory at Club Brugge. Grimaldo has now earned 24 points in his last three UEFA Champions League appearances, including two attacking returns, one clean sheet and 18 ball recoveries.

Another Benfica defender Fantasy managers should have their eye on going into Matchday 8 is António Silva (€4.2m), who gained a marginally higher score of eight points on Matchday 7 and is a significantly cheaper option, as is fellow full-back Alexander Bah (€4.5m), who delivered consecutive nine-point scores on Matchdays 6 and 7.

Bah was not the only defender to accumulate nine points on Matchday 7, with Leipzig's Joško Gvardiol (€4.7m) matching that total thanks to his equaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City. Although keeping a clean sheet in Manchester on Matchday 8 will be a challenge, Gvardiol's aerial threat from set pieces will give him a chance of another attacking return.

Manchester City's defensive assets are likely to prove popular, particularly Rúben Dias (€5.6m), who is a key figure in central defence. Dias picked up three points on Matchday 7, but four of his six appearances in this season's UEFA Champions League have yielded clean sheet, giving him an overall Fantasy score of 37 points.

Dortmund have kept clean sheets in two of their last three European fixtures, including their 1-0 Matchday 7 victory at home to Chelsea that gives them a crucial advantage heading into the second leg. Centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck (€5.1m) scored eight Fantasy points in that match, making it 21 since Matchday 5. Given Chelsea have scored just one goal in their last six matches in all competitions, the in-form Schlotterbeck now holds significant appeal for Fantasy managers.