Champions League Fantasy Football: Defenders
Friday, April 1, 2022
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Manchester City pair João Cancelo and Aymeric Laporte are stand-out defensive options for the quarter-finals, while ball recoveries boost the appeal of Chelsea's Thiago Silva and Reinildo Mandava of Atlético.
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With eight teams left standing, UEFA.com highlights a number of defenders who hold significant #UCLfantasy appeal heading into the quarter-final first-leg ties which make up Matchday 9.
Despite not featuring in two of the past three matchdays, Manchester City full-back João Cancelo (€6.6m) remains the highest point-scoring #UCLfantasy defender going into Matchday 9. The versatile Portuguese defender has racked up 49 points across his six starts in the competition, including two goals and three assists. With last season's UEFA Champions League runners-up 5-0 up on aggregate against Sporting CP following the first-leg in Portugal, Cancelo was rested on Matchday 8, but is expected to slot straight back into the starting line-up ahead of the quarter-final first leg at home to Atlético.
Cancelo isn't the only Manchester City defensive asset worth considering however, with Aymeric Laporte (€5.3m) another enticing option. Laporte has gained 25 Fantasy points over the course of his last three UEFA Champions League appearances, including two clean sheets and 22 ball recoveries.
With five clean sheets already in this season's competition, Chelsea defenders should attract plenty of interest among #UCLfantasy managers, and none more so than Thiago Silva (€5.8m). The experienced Brazilian acquired 14 points across the round of 16, with six of those coming via the ball recovery points system. Only four players remaining in the competition have made more ball recoveries than the 37-year-old and he is likely to play a key role once again for the reigning European champions against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
It would also be remiss not to highlight team-mate Antonio Rüdiger (€6.0m), who has started all but one of Chelsea's eight UEFA Champions League fixtures this season. Like Silva, Rüdiger boasts a total score of 44 #UCLfantasy points leading into Matchday 9.
Currently topping the ball recovery charts after eight matchdays is Atlético defender Reinildo Mandava (€5.7m), who has piled up an incredible 59 recoveries, contributing 18 points to his overall #UCLfantasy score of 47 points. Mandava has slotted seamlessly into Diego Simeone's side since joining from LOSC Lille in January and was part of an Atlético defence who shut out Manchester United on Matchday 8. Simeone's men next return to north-west England to take on Manchester City and whilst keeping a clean sheet will be a tough ask, Mandava's ball-winning prowess offers his ownership an alternate avenue towards Fantasy points.
Benfica's back line have been magnificent across the year’s UEFA Champions League campaign and achieved arguably their most impressive feat on Matchday 8, shutting out free-scoring Ajax and laying the foundations for progression to the quarter-finals. A standout performer from a Fantasy perspective has been Nicolás Otamendi (€5.6m), with only Cancelo having gained more points than Otamendi's 48 across the eight matchdays so far. Five clean sheets, 48 ball recoveries and two Player of the Match bonuses underline the Argentinian's Fantasy credentials ahead of a home game against Liverpool in the quarter-final first leg.
