Champions League Fantasy Football: The Scout squad for Matchday 9

Although budget constraints are an increasing consideration, the Scout's squad for the first leg of the quarter-finals manages to find the funds for several big hitters, including the ubiquitous Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah. Bernardo Silva, Darwin Núñez and Arnaut Danjuma are also included for Matchday 9 on #UCLFantasy, presented by Playstation.

Goalkeepers

With six of the eight likely starting goalkeepers for the quarter-final first legs priced at €6.0m or more, those budget restrictions mean the Scout turns to the two cheapest options left on the game. Odisseas Vlachodimos (€5.4m) may be lower priced but has been out-scored only by Thibaut Courtois among players in his position, and with home advantage against Liverpool, is Tuesday's pick.

Wednesday's option is Gerónimo Rulli (€5.0m) of Villarreal, whose side face a formidable challenge at home to Bayern, but who delivered ten points at Juventus in the round of 16 second leg and has five clean sheets in his last nine home games in all competitions. Both Vlachodimos and Rulli also have the possibility of boosting their Fantasy totals with save points as both may face a busy evening.

Defenders

As with the goalkeepers, a number of the premium defensive options are out of price range, meaning the Scout has been forced to look for cheaper alternatives. Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk are two of the more obvious options in the Liverpool back line for the trip to Benfica, but instead Joël Matip (€5.6m) is the selection; similarly, Manchester City's João Cancelo is out of reach as the Premier League leaders prepare to welcome Atlético, so Aymeric Laporte (€5.3m) gets the nod instead.

Stefan Savić (€4.5m) is one of the few low-priced names who is likely to start this week and, having helped Atlético keep a clean sheet at Manchester United in the round of 16 second leg, will be aiming for a repeat back in Manchester at his former club City. The five-man defence is completed by two Benfica options: Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.3m), who has picked up 27 of his 42 Fantasy points in his last two appearances, and Gilberto (€4.9m), who has delivered 31 in that time, seven of them via ball recoveries – offering another route to points even if Benfica fail to keep a clean sheet.

• Who should be your Matchday 9 captain?
• Popular picks and potential differentials
• Projected points for Matchday 9

Midfielders

Given the sums saved in goal and defence, there's more scope for investment in the attacking positions and price tags come no bigger among midfielders than Mohamed Salah (€11.1m) although, with 62 points to his name, he has more than justified it. Leroy Sané would break the bank, unfortunately, so Kingsley Coman (€8.8m) is the Bayern representative while Bernardo Silva (€7.6m) gets the nod as Manchester City aim to unlock the Atlético defence, two goals and two assists to date demonstrating his creativity.

Arnaut Danjuma (€7.2m) has scored five of Villarreal's 16 goals in this season's UEFA Champions League, including three in his last three matches in the competition; having found the net in his first two home matches in the group stage, a repeat could be on the cards when Bayern visit. Fabinho (€5.6m) is the other midfielder, the Liverpool man having collected ten of his 21 Fantasy points via ball recoveries, which should once again be key at Benfica.

Forwards

So much of those savings elsewhere have been necessary to free up funds for Robert Lewandowski (€12.2m), the most expensive player left on the game and also the Fantasy top scorer, his second-leg hat-trick against Salzburg in the round of 16 helping him to 84 points overall. His four away games so far have yielded 27 points, and six goals in his last four Bayern appearances suggest more could be on the cards at Villarreal.

Elsewhere up front, there are several lower-priced alternatives with Diogo Jota (€8.4m) favoured for Liverpool's game in his native Portugal against Benfica. The 25-year-old has scored in his last three club matches and is overdue a Fantasy return having managed only three points combined across the last four matchdays. No such concerns for Darwin Núñez (€7.7m), who got the decisive goal against Ajax in the last round and, with 26 in all competitions this season, is Benfica's most obvious threat against Liverpool.