The Tipster: Mike Hammond's team

My climb up the UEFA Europa League Fantasy League table finally came to a halt on matchday five, with a mere 35 points added to my total – just four more than the average. It would have been worse but for two goals from PAOK FC's Stefanos Athanasiadis and a clean sheet for Torino FC's Matteo Darmian.

Despite that fall from grace, I'm still in 43rd place (out of 36,875 participants), so my off-day wasn't too damaging in the grand scheme of things.

The group stage comes to an end this week, and with 14 of the 24 qualifying spots for the next round now filled, and five group winners already known, it might be a good idea to look at the teams who still have something to play for as the best source for any new additions to your fantasy XI.

There are 18 clubs still vying for the remaining ten qualifying places, and it is hard to imagine that the coaches of those clubs will not be sending out full-strength teams in a bid to extend their teams' European involvement into 2015.

Fortunately, eight of my chosen players belong to clubs in that category, so unless there are any injury concerns reported on the morning of the game, I shall be keeping faith with those. I'll need to look closely at the likelihood of FC Salzburg duo Jonatan Soriano and Kevin Kampl taking the field in their dead rubber at home to FC Astra Giurgiu, and the same goes for full-backs Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines of Group H winners Everton FC as they host eliminated FC Krasnodar.

Teams in form who are playing at home and need a win this week include FC Steaua Bucureşti and BSC Young Boys, while PAOK, despite a weekend slip-up, still lead the Greek Super League. Transferring in a couple of players from these clubs could pay dividends this week.

Remember that you can overhaul your entire squad for the first leg of the round of 32 without losing any points, so there is no risk this week in omitting players who have served you well so far but are unlikely to play this week, as you will be able to re-introduce them free of charge in the new year. Also, if – like me – you have yet to play your wildcard, this may be a good time to do so.

With two matches kicking off early in Ukraine and Azerbaijan, this week's transfer deadline is at 17.00 CET – an hour earlier than normal – so don't leave it too late before finalising your team. Enjoy matchday six.