Champions League Fantasy Football: The Scout squad for the final

The UEFA Champions League final offers a different challenge for managers on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation. While a 15-player squad is still required, only 11 can make the team, the Scout squad including eight Paris Saint-Germain players including Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia while Lautaro Martínez, Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Denzel Dumfries are among the seven-strong Inter contingent.

Goalkeepers

The selection process for the goalkeeping slots could scarcely be simpler, with both Yann Sommer (€5.5m) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (€5.8m) set to start at the Munich Football Arena. Given the fact only one can play for Fantasy purposes, however, selecting the team needs more consideration – Sommer has 64 points for the season overall compared to 53 for Donnarumma, but the Paris No1 has picked up 25 from the round of 16 onwards – nine more than his Inter counterpart.

Defenders

Two of the defenders are automatic selections; Achraf Hakimi (€5.8m) and Nuno Mendes (€6.1m) are the two top Fantasy scorers remaining this season, not only in their position but overall, on 113 and 100 points respectively. Hakimi has 58 points in the knockout phase alone, recording two goals and two assists in addition to four clean sheets, while Mendes has managed a remarkable 64 points since the knockout phase play-offs kicked off and has four goals and two assists to go with six clean sheets, and 21 balls recovered – worth another 21 Fantasy points. Also excelling in that area is Paris captain Marquinhos (€5.6m), who has scored 30 points from his 106 ball recoveries, taking his total overall to 77 points.

Inter's two selections among defenders are Denzel Dumfries (€5.6m) and Alessandro Bastoni (€5.4m). Dumfries is the fifth-highest scorer on Fantasy overall with 80 points, 27 of them from the epic semi-final against Barcelona in which he managed two goals and three assists to make it 37 points in his four knockout outings. Bastoni, meanwhile, has 58 overall with five clean sheets and 57 ball recoveries, adding 15 points to his total.

Midfielders

Again, the balance of midfield is three Paris selections to two from Inter. Ousmane Dembélé (€8.7m) is the top-scorer in his position with 87 points and, despite only one goal in his last nine appearances, is selected after 51 points from his last eight Champions League matches with Vitinha (€7.3m) also making the cut thanks to 73 Fantasy points. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (€7.6m) is the third Paris player involved having picked up 42 points on Fantasy since joining in the winter, recording two goals, two assists and five further points via 19 balls recovered.

On the Inter side, Hakan Çalhanoğlu (€7.0m) is the top-scoring midfielder in his club with 64 points, scoring four goals and providing two assists while, on the defensive side of the game, keeping five clean sheets and picking up a further 12 points from 48 balls recovered. Nicolò Barella (€7.0m) completes the midfield, two assists and two Player of the Match awards helping him to 43 points.

Forwards

Three strikers are likely to start the final and naturally, all three are included in the Scout squad. Lautaro Martínez (€9.4m) has 71 points this season with nine goals and four Player of the Match awards; the Argentinian needs one more goal to set a new Inter club record for a European Cup campaign. Marcus Thuram (€7.6m) has scored 32 of his 49 Fantasy points in the knockout rounds and is set to partner Martinez up front.

Désiré Doué (€4.9m) has 50 Fantasy points, one more than Thuram, with three goals and four assists; the 19-year-old finished Ligue 1 with a career-high six goals and also managed six assists.