Champions League Fantasy Football: Defenders for every budget

Looking ahead to Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, managers on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation, continue to build their squads. UEFA.com helps by considering a selection defenders available across all price brackets.

PREMIUM OPTIONS

Liverpool's return to the Champions League also means the return of Virgil van Dijk (€6.0m). The English club's defenders should prove popular ahead of Matchday 1 with the Reds still yet to concede under new manager Arne Slot. Van Dijk has an ownership of over 20% and offers not only clean sheet potential, but ball recovery prowess and an offensive threat from set pieces. Forward-thinking full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold (€6.0m) is also expected to be a popular pick from Liverpool.

Defenders with high attacking potential are invaluable and Leverkusen duo Jeremie Frimpong (€5.5m) and Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.5m) both tick that particular box. Frimpong scored 14 goals in all competitions last season for the Bundesliga champions and has already opened his account in 2024/25. On the opposite flank, Grimaldo managed 12 goals and long-time Champions League Fantasy players may remember the Spaniard's exploits for Benfica previously.

The freedom to roam forward from full-back always attracts Fantasy bosses to Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi (€5.5m), whose ownership has already exceeded 20% prior to the Matchday 1 meeting with Girona. Barcelona defender Jules Koundé (€5.5m) was on the scoresheet in their last league match and warrants Fantasy attention having started all six matches at UEFA EURO 2024, and helped France keep four clean sheets in their run to the semi-finals.

MID-PRICED OPTIONS

No defender set to feature on Matchday 1 gained more Fantasy points last season than Nico Schlotterbeck (€5.0m), the 24-year-old racking up 60 points as Borussia Dortmund reached the final. His tally included five clean sheets, two assists and 82 ball recoveries. Dortmund, now coached by Nuri Şahin, travel to Club Brugge on Matchday 1, and those Fantasy managers wanting a lesser-owned defensive asset at the same price should consider Schlotterbeck's team-mate Julian Ryerson (€5.0m), who accumulated 47 Fantasy points in 2023/24.

Italian champions Inter show plenty of defensive fortitude under Simone Inzaghi, keeping clean sheets in 12 of their last 20 Champions League fixtures. On the back of consecutive Serie A shut-outs, defenders Matteo Darmian (€5.0m) and Benjamin Pavard (€5.0) offer mid-priced routes into the Inter back line, the former recently finding the net against Lecce.

Forward and midfield assets from holders Real Madrid may attract the most Fantasy attention ahead of Matchday 1, but left-back Ferland Mendy (€5.0m) could provide a useful option in defence for Fantasy managers. Carlo Ancelotti's side face Stuttgart in their opening league phase fixture.

BUDGET OPTIONS

Although predicting a Manchester City starting line-up against Inter will not be easy given the options at Pep Guardiola's disposal, Fantasy bosses have reason to believe the generously-priced Rico Lewis (€4.5m) will be part of the XI. The 19-year-old has played every minute so far this campaign for the Premier League champions and in 548 minutes of Champions League football last season, recorded two assists, 22 ball recoveries, a clean sheet and 30 Fantasy points.

That total was matched by Shakhtar's Mykola Matviyenko (€4.5m), who scored the winner against Antwerp in last season's group stage. A versatile defender, Matviyenko already has two goals to his name in 2024/25 ahead of Shakhtar's Matchday 1 game against debutants Bologna.

A strong case can be made for César Azpilicueta (€4.5m), the 35-year-old starting three of Atlético de Madrid's four league fixtures this season. Other budget defenders such as Aston Villa's Lucas Digne (€4.5m), Barcelona's Pau Cubarsí (€4.5m) and Willian Pacho (€4.5m) of Paris also warrant consideration.