With key players injured and rotation on the horizon, UCL Fantasy MD5 could be awkward.
All of Karim Benzema, Leroy Sane, Federico Valverde, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Reece James – just to name some – will miss out on MD5.
Furthermore, managers now also have to factor in rotation risks for players of teams that are already qualified or eliminated.
This article is set up to help managers find players that they can rely on for the remaining matchdays of the group stage.
Diogo Costa
- Price: €5.0m
- Picked by: 4%
- Fixture: Club Brugge (a)
After an unlucky start to their champions league campaign, Porto, impressively, beat Bayer Leverkusen in both games.
With Group D proving to be tight, it is unlikely they’ll rotate many players. A victory against Club Brugge is imperative if they’re to have a chance of topping the group.
Diogo Costa is Portos first choice keeper and he will go into the next game with confidence after saving a penalty in each of the last two games.
Porto only have a 32% chance of keeping a clean sheet against Brugge but Diogo Costa averages 3.75 saves a game. So, even without a clean sheet his minimum points will be reasonable.
Although Diogo Costa is the highest scoring-keeper in the game so far, he has not seen a price rise and is available for only €5.0m.
Denzel Dumfries
- Price: €5.5m
- Picked by: 3%
- Fixture: Viktoria Plzen (H)
Inter have to win their next game to send Barcelona to Europa League and secure their qualification to the knock-out stage.
Champions League group stage rankings are determined by points then points in matches between tied teams. Therefore, Inter will be going all out to beat Plzen.
They will likely field their best 11 and have the highest chance of keeping a clean sheet this round (65%).
Like on MD2, Dumfries is an excellent pick and even a candidate for captaincy on the Wednesday fixtures. Additionally, he averages 0.4 xGI per 90 in all competitions so far.
Theo Hernandez
- Price: €6.0m
- Picked by: 6%
- Fixture: Dinamo Zagreb (a)
After two consecutive losses against Chelsea, AC Milan must win their remaining games to have a chance at top spot in Group E.
Milan have a lot of injuries to contend with but Theo is back and ready to play against Zagreb.
The current Serie A champions have a 37% chance of keeping a clean sheet and according to underlining data, Hernandez is expected to have a goal involvement in every 4 games.
As a bonus, he’s also an easy hold for MD6 where they face Salzburg.
Rodrygo
- Price: €8.0m
- Picked by: 3%
- Fixture: Leipzig (a)
Real Madrid only need a draw against Leipzig to secure the top spot in the group so rotation can be expected in the future.
However, with Benzema and Valverde being in doubt for the next match, Rodrygo will most likely start against Leipzig.
If he does start, chances are good that he’ll be collecting fantasy points as his numbers across all competitions are excellent (0.82 xGI/90).
As mentioned, a start in MD6 is not certain but chances are high but if he doesn’t he can substituted as Real Madrid play on the Tuesday.
Heung-Min Son
- Price: €10.5m
- Picked by: 2%
- Fixture: Sporting (a)
Tottenham still have a lot to play for in Group D and while Conte loves rotating his wing-backs, Son starts almost every game.
Son looks like he’s getting back into form after he scored two goals against Frankfurt in MD4.
Across all competitions, he’s currently on 0.51 expected goal involvement per 90.
Sporting won the first tie but they fell apart in their last two Champions League games against Marseille.
Neither team can afford to lose, so expect the best starting 11s from each team.
Harry Kane
- Price: €10.5m
- Picked by: 3%
- Fixture: Sporting (a)
Like Son, Kane is nailed in Tottenham’s attack and even outperforms Son’s numbers with 0.61 xGI per 90.
The Tottenham captain also has the second-best xG in the Premier League so far this season, with only Erling Haaland surpassing him.
He is a genuine option for those that already own the in-form Man City striker and do not want to double up on PSG attackers, especially with Benzema being unlikely to play against Leipzig.
Kylian Mbappe
- Price: €11.2m
- Picked by: 44%
- Fixture: Maccabi Haifa (H)
Fantasy managers who shipped out their PSG attackers for their tough games against Benfica might need to think about bringing at least one of them back into their teams.
PSG at home to Maccabi Haifa presents a big opportunity for massive point hauls. The French champions have a 90% chance of winning the match!
Mbappe appears the best choice of the three as he has a 60% chance of scoring.
Read More: Every Season’s FPL Dream Team
He also took PSG’s last penalty when both Messi and Neymar were on the pitch. Given the longer-term penalty form though, Neymar is the likely favourite to take the next one.
Paris Saint-Germain are such strong favourites that a double up on their famous front three, alongside a defender, would be a wise move.