Champions League Fantasy Football: The Scout squad for Matchday 15

With both UEFA Champions League semi-finals looking to be close contests, the Scout has opted for an even spread of players from the four clubs remaining on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

Among obvious selections such as Raphinha, Lautaro Martínez and David Raya, injuries to the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Benjamin Pavard may force Fantasy managers into gambles elsewhere for Matchday 15.

Goalkeepers

Clean sheets were in short supply in the quarter-finals, with only two in the first legs and none in the second, and that could prove to be the case again in the last four. On that basis, the Scout selects the two top-scoring keepers on the game, David Raya (€5.6m) shutting out Real Madrid in the home leg of Arsenal's quarter-final success to make it five clean sheets in six Champions League appearances in north London this season.

Raya has 53 Fantasy points overall, four behind Yann Sommer (€5.5m). The Inter keeper has managed seven clean sheets in this season's Champions League, although he is without one in his last seven matches in all competitions. Sommer has let in four goals in his three knockout appearances but has still picked up nine points across those games and may be in line for a healthy return from save points in the first leg at Barcelona.

Defenders

Given the likelihood of clean sheets being hard to come by, all four semi-finalists are represented among the five selected defenders, with Paris Saint-Germain the only team to provide two representatives. Those are the two top Fantasy scorers in their position, Achraf Hakimi (€5.7m) and Nuno Mendes (€5.9m) on 96 and 91 points respectively – scoring 41 and 55 in the knockout phase alone. Arsenal's home defensive Champions League record means a place for William Saliba (€5.5m), who has 55 points overall and 17 in three knockout games.

Jules Koundé (€5.6m) was the match winner in Barcelona's victory in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday and has 21 Fantasy points in his four knockout appearances; the France international has scored 56 over the course of the season, 15 of them via ball recoveries. Benjamin Pavard's weekend injury means Denzel Dumfries (€5.5m), who returned from his own spell on the sidelines on Sunday, is the Inter selection thanks to his seven Fantasy clean sheets.

Midfielders

Three of the top five scorers in midfield are again involved – most obviously Raphinha (€7.9m), whose 122 Fantasy points are 26 points more than any other player on the game. The Brazilian has 38 points in this season's knockout phase alone, and has been directly involved in 19 of Barcelona's 37 Champions League goals, scoring 12 with seven assists. His club-mate Lamine Yamal (€7.4m) is on 64 Fantasy points, 21 of them in his two home knockout games, and much will depend on the pair against Inter given the absence of Robert Lewandowski.

Ousmane Dembélé (€8.6m) is the second-highest scorer among midfielders behind Raphinha, picking up 75 points; assists in both legs of the quarter-final made it three goals and two assists in the knockout phase overall. Mikel Merino (€7.0m) continues to provide out-of-position appeal and has three double-figure scores in his four matches from the round of 16 onwards, while Bukayo Saka (€9.0m) returned nine points in Arsenal's home game against Paris on Matchday 2.

Forwards

Lewandowski's injury makes selection both more straightforward and more complicated for Fantasy managers. Lautaro Martínez (€9.4m) is still in just 13% of Fantasy teams despite his 62 points for the season – 23 of them in his three knockout games. Désiré Doué (€4.9m) is third for Fantasy points among forwards behind Lewandowski and Martínez and will look to add to his total of 46 at Arsenal; the 19-year-old has scored five or more points five times this season, most recently in the quarter-final first leg.

Martínez's fellow Inter forward Marcus Thuram would normally be the obvious selection but another injury leaves the Scout looking for an alternative. Gonçalo Ramos is one such possibility but Marko Arnautović (€4.9m) is chosen instead; the Austrian could start given Thuram's injury and has five goals in 12 appearances in all competitions.