Champions League Fantasy Football: Goalkeepers for every budget

Goalkeepers covering a range of budgets come under the microscope as UEFA.com lends managers a helping hand to pick their first squad of 2024/25 on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

PREMIUM OPTIONS

Seven goalkeepers come in at €6.0m – the highest price points. Those include two-time Champions League winner Thibaut Courtois (€6.0m), who helped Real Madrid defeat Dortmund in his only appearance last season, keeping his second clean sheet in as many final appearances. Gianluigi Donnarumma (€6.0m) scored the most Fantasy points last season among €6.0m-rated goalkeepers, keeping three clean sheets and make 37 saves during Paris Saint-Germain's run to the semi-finals.

Brazilian pair Ederson (€6.0m) and Alisson Becker (€6.0m) are given premium Fantasy status. Both have a Champions League winner's medal and will look to repeat that success for Manchester City and Liverpool respectively.

Another Premier League goalkeeper – David Raya (€5.5m) – will not cost Fantasy managers quite as much. Arsenal have conceded just once in their first three Premier League games this season, a positive sign for those looking to invest in Raya ahead of Matchday 1.

MID-PRICED OPTIONS

Given that he was the highest points scorer among goalkeepers on Fantasy last year, Gregor Kobel (€5.0m) has again been popular in the lead-up to Matchday 1, with his ownership currently over 20%. The Borussia Dortmund keeper recorded six clean sheets and 46 saves in 2023/24, and anything close to that would make him a hugely lucrative Fantasy option once again.

It has been almost ten years since Emiliano Martínez (€5.0m) last appeared in the Champions League with Arsenal, and the Argentinian now gets another opportunity with Aston Villa, who have returned for the first time since 1982/83. World Cup winner Martínez has been responsible for 45 league clean sheets across his last four completed domestic seasons.

Paulo Gazzaniga (€5.0m) has helped Girona keep clean sheets in their last two Liga games at the time of writing, which may interest those Fantasy managers looking to invest in assets from the Champions League debutants. Successive domestic clean sheets have also been recorded by Sporting CP's Vladan Kovačević (€5.0m), who joined the Portuguese champions in the summer. Rúben Amorim's side open their Champions League campaign at home to Lille on Matchday 1.

BUDGET OPTIONS

One of the standout options is Michele Di Gregorio (€4.5m). At the time of writing, the Italian has three clean sheets from three appearances since his summer loan move to Juventus. The Serie A side, who face PSV on Matchday 1, are at home in two of their first three Champions League fixtures.

Benfica have conceded just once in their last three league games, so Fantasy managers may have their eye on Anatoliy Trubin (€4.5m) as a cost-friendly option in goal. The Portuguese outfit are also at home in two of their first three league phase fixtures and take on Crvena Zvezda on Matchday 1.

Speaking of strong domestic starts, Kasper Schmeichel (€4.5m) is yet to concede a goal in four Scottish Premiership games this season, and will be hoping to carry that form into Matchday 1 when Celtic entertain Slovan Bratislava.

Those looking for the cheapest possible goalkeeper may turn to Ivan Nevistić (€4.0m), who has played in all seven of GNK Dinamo’s fixtures this season, keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Qarabag in the Champions League play-offs.