Champions League Fantasy Football: Scout notes 18 September
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Article summary
Manchester City face Inter in a repeat of the 2023 UEFA Champions League final while last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund are also in action in the second set of Matchday 1 fixtures.
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A rematch of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League final headlines Wednesday's action, while 2023/24 runners-up Borussia Dortmund get their latest European campaign under way in Belgium as the new league phase continues.
From expected line-ups to advice on substitutions and captain changes, the scout notes offer a helping hand to managers on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.
Fantasy decisions
• The deadline for manual substitutions and captain changes is 18:45 CET on Wednesday – the kick-off times of both Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk and Sparta Praha vs Salzburg.
• This will be the first opportunity to make manual changes, but you don't need to substitute on any of your Thursday players just yet. That can be done following Wednesday's fixtures.
• For those looking for a new captain, it's best to switch to a player in action on Wednesday at this point, even if you think one of your Thursday options is a stronger choice.
BOLOGNA VS SHAKHTAR DONETSK (18:45 CET)
Key Fantasy players
Michel Aebischer (€5.5m) – Bologna
Impressed for Switzerland at EURO 2024, scoring once and providing two assists.
Mykola Matviyenko (€4.5m) – Shakhtar
Scored twice in a league game from central defence last month, both goals coming via shots from outside the box.
Predicted starting line-ups
Bologna: Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Lucumí, Miranda; Aebischer, Freuler, Fabbian; Orsolini, Castro, Ndoye
Shakhtar: Riznyk; Konoplya, Bondar, Matviyenko, Azarovi; Bondarenko, Kryskiv, Sudakov; Pedrinho, Sikan, Kevin
SPARTA PRAHA VS SALZBURG (18:45)
Key Fantasy players
Oscar Gloukh (€6.0m) – Salzburg
Has already hit a hat-trick from midfield in this season's Austrian Bundesliga.
Lukáš Haraslín (€5.5m) – Sparta Praha
Four goals in six club appearances underlines his attacking potential.
Predicted starting line-ups
Sparta Praha: Vindahl; Vitík, Panák, Sørensen; Preciado, Kairinen, Laçi, Zelený; Birmančević, Albion Rrahmani, Haraslín
Salzburg: Blaswich; Dedić, Piątkowski, Baidoo, Terzić; Diambou, Gourna-Douath, Gloukh; Nene, Ratkov, Yeo
CLUB BRUGGE VS BORUSSIA DORTMUND (21:00)
Key Fantasy players
Nico Schlotterbeck (€5.0m) – Dortmund
Scored 60 Fantasy points last season, the most of any defender set to feature on Matchday 1.
Gregor Kobel (€5.0m) – Dortmund
The highest-scoring Fantasy goalkeeper in 2023/24 comes into Matchday 1 after two clean sheets in three appearances.
Predicted starting line-ups
Club Brugge: Mignolet; Seys, Ordóñez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Vetlesen, Vanaken; Skov Olsen, Nilsson, Tzolis
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Anton, Süle, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Gross, Brandt; Malen, Guirassy, Adeyemi
MAN CITY VS INTER (21:00)
Key Fantasy players
Erling Haaland (€11.0m) – Man City
The Norwegian's Fantasy ownership has now passed 50% after a record nine goals from his first four Premier League appearances this season.
Phil Foden (€9.0m) – Man City
Accumulated five goals, three assists and three Player of the Match awards in the 2023/24 Champions League.
Predicted starting line-ups
Man City: Ederson; Walker, Rúben Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Inter: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Carlos Augusto; Thuram, Martínez
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN VS GIRONA (21:00)
Key Fantasy players
Ousmane Dembélé (€8.5m) – Paris Saint-Germain
Repositioned as a midfielder on Fantasy this season, the 27-year-old scored twice against Brest at the weekend.
Achraf Hakimi (€5.5m) – Paris Saint-Germain
Coveted for his attacking tendencies from full-back, the Moroccan is owned by a quarter of Fantasy managers.
Predicted starting line-ups
Paris Saint-German: Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Zaïre-Emery, Fabián Ruiz, João Neves; Dembélé, Asensio, Barcola
Girona: Gazzaniga; Francés, López, Blind, Gutiérrez; Martín, Romeu, Herrera; Gil, Tsygankov; Ruiz
CELTIC VS SLOVAN BRATISLAVA (21:00)
Key Fantasy players
Kasper Schmeichel (€4.5m) – Celtic
Has conceded just one goal in eight games in all competitions for club and country.
Nicolas Kühn (€4.5m) – Celtic
Three goals and three assists in six games this season and could be a Fantasy bargain in midfield.
Predicted starting line-ups
Celtic: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kühn, Furuhashi, Maeda
Slovan Bratislava: Takáč; Blackman, Kashia, Wimmer, Sharani; Bajrić, Kucka; Barseghyan, Tolić, Weiss; Strelec