Top 10 of our League - update

Our Fantasy League Standings after the first leg of the Last 16:

UEFA CL Fantasy Tips - league standings

Well done guys!

Predicted Lineups II

We have an early match tonight, as BVB is playing in Russia, followed by Olympiakos against Man United. Dortmund and Manchester are favorites, but anything is possible. Tomorrowthe final 2 matches of this round take place and it will be Schalke 04 vs. Real Madrid and Galatasaray against Chelsea.
Our predicted lineups for this week are:

Zenit:
Lodygin - Smolnikov, Lombaerts, Hubocan, Criscito - Fayzulin, Witsel - Hulk, Shatov, Arshavin - Rondon

BVB:
Weidenfeller - Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels/Friedrich, Schmelzer - Sahin, Kehl - Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Reus - Lewandowski

Olymipiakos:
Roberto - Salino, Manolas, Marcvano, Holebas - Maniatis, Ndinga - Campbell, Dominguez, Perez - Olaitan

Man Utd:
De Gea - Rafael/Smalling, Evans/Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra - Carrick, Fletcher - Valencia, Rooney, Januzaj - Van Persie

Galatasaray:
Muslera - Sabri, Semih, Balta, Telles - Gulselam - Inan, Sneijder, Melo - Drogba, B.Yilmaz

Chelsea:
Cech - Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta - D.Luiz, Lampard - Ramires, Willian, Hazard - Etoo/Torres

Schalke:
Fahrmann - Howedes, Matip, Santana, Kolasinac - Boateng, Neustadter,  Farfan, Meyer, Goretzka - Huntelaar

Real Madrid:
Casillas - Carvajal/Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo - Alonso, Modric, Di Maria - Bale, Benzema, C.Ronaldo

Predicted Lineups

The UEFA Champions League is back and so is your favorite Fantasy game! There are 4 exciting matches this week, starting with Manchester City - FC Barcelona. You can see our preview here: http://championsleaguefantasytips.blogspot.com/2014/01/manchester-city-barcelona-preview.html.
Please note our preview was done last week, the big news is that Sergio Aguero will probably not be able to help his team - Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo will step in for the injured argentinian star, with Stevan Jovetic as back up.

In the other match between Bayer Leverkusen and PSG the only major absentee is Edinson Cavani, who will be ready for the return match in Paris. Preview here: http://championsleaguefantasytips.blogspot.com/2014/01/bayer-04-leverkusen-psg-preview.html.

Following on Wednesday is the clash between Arsenal and Bayern. Theo Walcott is missing for Arsenal and Ribery for Bayern. The other match will be AC Milan - Atletico Madrid.

Here are our lineup predictions for this weeks matches:

Man City:
Hart - Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott/Demichelis, Clichy - Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Silva - Dzeko, Negredo

Barcelona:
Valdes - Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba - Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta - Pedro, Sanchez, Messi

Bayer Leverkusen:
Leno - Hilbert, Spahic, Toprak, Boenisch - L. Bender, Reinartz, Rolfes - Sam, Kiessling, Castro

PSG:
Sirigu - van der Wiel, T.Silva, Alex, Maxwell - Verratti, Motta, Matuidi - Lucas Moura, Ibrahimovic, Pastore/Lavezzi

Arsenal:
Szczesny - Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs - Wilshere, Flamini - Santi Cazorla, Ozil, Rosicky/Oxlade-Chamberlain - Giroud 

Bayern:
Neuer - Rafinha, Dante, Boateng, Alaba - Lahm - Robben, Thiago, Kroos, Gotze - Muller/Mandzukic

AC Milan:
Abbiati - Abate, Bonera, Rami, de Sciglio - Essien, de Jong - Emanuelson, Kaka, Taarabt - Balotelli

Atletico Madrid:
Courtois - Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Insua - Suarez, Gabi - Koke, Raul Garcia, Turan - Diego Costa

Forwards (Analysis)

The Last 16 of the Champions League starts tomorrow, so it is high time we take a look at the best forwards available for this round.

Our top choice is Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be rested after his suspension in Spain and eager to score goals. Schalke will have a difficult time to keep him from scoring, so he is almost a must have for your fantasy team.

The other strong "captain option" is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the go to guy of PSG, who will be trying to prove they are real contenders to win the trophy.

To conclude the Top 3, we will not turn to Lionel Messi, as he has a difficult fixture against Manchester City, but to Robert Lewandowski of BVB, who will play versus Zenit.

Here is the complete list of the best strikers for this round:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (13.0)
2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (12.5)
3. Robert Lewandowski (12.0)
4. Lionel Messi (13.0)
5. Karim Benzema (11.5)
6. Robin Van Persie (12.5)
7. Mario Mandzukic (11.5)
8. Diego Costa (9.0)
9. Edin Dzeko (9.5)
10. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (8.5)

Midfielders (Analysis)

In our next Player Analysis we will have a look at the Midfielders which can bring you the most fantasy points in the Champions league Last 16 round. In contrast to the goalkeepers and defenders analysis, we will not be looking at the teams but at specific players.

The highest scoring midfielder after the group stage is Angel Di Maria (9.5), who was playing in the place of Gareth Bale (12.0) while he was out injured. Now Bale is back and Di Maria switched to a more central position in midfield. This is why Gareth Bale is on top of our list of midfielders, assuming he will stay injury-free.

Next on the list is Eden Hazard, who has been in fantastic form this season, recently scoring his first hat trick in the Premier League. Since the Chelsea forwards are not scoring many goals, Hazard has been the one to carry the team and score most of their goals.

Arjen Robben is always extremely dangerous for the opposing defence, he has scored 3 goals and provided 3 assists in the group stage. He is currently returning to full fitness and will be ready to carry Bayern Munchen in the absence of Franck Ribery, who will miss the first match due to an injury. The other danger man in Bayern’s midfield is Mario Gotze.

We put Marco Reus on number 4, although he is injured at the moment. He should be ready for the match versus Zenit though and is always a threat whether providing assists for Robert Lewandowski or scoring by himself.

Javier Pastore was not getting much game time this season but has recently played very well in place of Lavezzi. He seems to have gained Blanc’s trust and is a nice differential to have as many fantasy managers will forget about him. The other danger man at PSG’s midfield is Lucas Moura, who will be playing in a very attacking position in the absence of Edinson Cavani.

This is our Top 10 midfield selection, you can see other, budget-friendly options in the list below.

1. Gareth Bale (12.0)
2. Eden Hazard (8.5)
3. Arjen Robben (11.0)
4. Marco Reus (10.5)
5. Javier Pastore (10.0)
6. Mario Gotze (10.0)
7. David Silva (9.5)
8. Henrik Mkhitaryan (9.0)
9. Arda Turan (7.5)
10. Antonio Valencia (7.5)

Best budget-friendly options:

1. Blaise Matuidi / Thiago Motta (5.5)
2. Adnan Januzaj (6.0)
3. David Fuster (4.5)
4. Julian Draxler (6.5)
5. Lucas Moura (6.0)
6. Adnan Januzaj (6.0)
7. Simon Rolfes (5.5)
8. Nuri Sahin (6.0)
9. Thiago Alcantara (6.5)

10. Gabi / Koke (5.5)

Defenders (Analysis)

Which defenders to choose for your fantasy team? In the previous post we had a look at the best Goalkeepers, now it is time to analyze the defenders. Most fantasy managers tend to spend more on forwards, so it is very helpful to choose a couple of the cheaper defenders - for example 3 expensive and 2 cheaper options. Let us look at the teams which are the most likely to keep a clean sheet in the Last 16 round of matches.

1. Real Madrid (vs. Schalke 04)

As already mentioned in the Goalkeepers analysis in the previous post, Real Madrid have shown a big improvement in defence and since they play Schalke, they look strong to keep at least one clean sheet in their matchup. Their highest scorer in this Champions league season is Pepe (6.0) who looks to be a standard choice in Ancelotti's starting lineup. The other option at CB is the more expensive Sergio Ramos (6.5) who is also a threat to score from set pieces. However, the stand out option for your fantasy team has to be Marcelo (5.0) for his price and huge attacking threat - he has the freedom to go forward from his left-back position and combine with Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing. The right-back position is a bit of a risk, as one cannot be sure who will play - the experienced Alvaro Arbeloa (5.5) or the young, price-friendly Daniel Carvajal (4.0) as they share game time almost equally.

2. Borussia Dortmund (vs. Zenit St. Petersburg)

Their defence seemed a little shaky for most of the season, but that was mostly because of many injury problems. Neven Subotic is still out for the season, but Mats Hummels (6.5) and Sokratis Papastathopoulos (5.5) form a strong centre-back partnership. Lukas Piszczek (6.0) and Marcel Schmelzer (6.5) have also returned from injuries and are getting into good form. Playing against Zenit, you cannot go wrong by selecting a BVB defender to your fantasy team.

3. Chelsea (vs. Galatasaray)

Jose Mourinho has found his preferred defence, lead by captain John Terry (6.0). His centre-back partner is Gary Cahill (5.5), who is also very dangerous from set-pieces. The defender that offers the most attacking potential is Branislav Ivanovic (6.0) as he keeps getting into attacking positions and is putting crosses into the box. The last member of the standard Chelsea defence is Cesar Azpilicueta (4.5) who is the cheapest of the bunch, since he became a regular starter before Ashley Cole at left-back. there is, however, another option - David Luiz (6.0) - who has moved from centre-back to a position in defensive midfield and is also very dangerous as he takes some free-kicks.

4. Bayern (vs. Arsenal)

As they have shown last season against Barcelona, they are always capable of keeping a clean sheet no matter who their opponents are. David Alaba (6.0) was the star performer in the group stage, scoring twice and providing one assist. The standard centre-backs are Dante (6.5) and Jerome Boateng (5.5). Captain Phillip Lahm (7.0) is also a great choice, although he does not get as many assists as last season, he is now playing in midfield, but could move back to his right-back position at the expense of Rafinha (5.0) after the return of Bastian Schweinsteiger.

5. PSG (vs. Bayer Leverkusen)

If everybody stays injury-free, their standard formation at the back is Thiago Silva (7.0) and Alex (6.0) at centre-back, with Gregory van der Wiel (5.5) and Maxwell (5.5) either side at wing-back.

Other options:

- Miranda (5.5)
- Gerard Pique (7.0)
- Kostas Manolas (4.0)
- Per Mertesacker (5.5)
- Diego Godin (5.5)
- Patrice Evra (6.5)
- Vincent Kompany (6.5)
- Rafael (5.5)
- Jordi Alba (6.5)
- Adil Rami (4.5)

Who will you choose?

Goalkeepers (Analysis)

We will take a look at the best Goalkeepers left in the Champions League knockout round. For the Fantasy game it is advisable to choose two keepers that you can rotate, meaning they do not play on the same day and even better if one plays at home when the other plays away.

Which Goalkeeper is a must have for the Last 16?

1. Iker Casillas (away to @Schalke 04) - 6.5

Real Madrid really improved defensively in 2014 and are playing Schalke 04, who have some trouble with injured players and will surely find it difficult to score against a much stronger opposition.

2. Roman Weidenfeller (away @Zenit St. Petersburg) - 6.5

Although BVB have been letting in some goals in the recent matches, their form is improving, Marcel Schmelzer and Lukas Piszczek have already returned to the starting lineup. Once Mats Hummels returns as well, don't bet against them keeping a clean sheet, especially against Zenit.

3. Petr Cech (away @Galatasaray) - 6.5

Chelsea are in fantastic defensive form as well, they have not conceded a goal in the last 4 matches, including the derby versus Manchester City.

4. Manuel Neuer (away @Arsenal) - 7

Bayern are facing a big test against Arsenal, but they have been very strong and are always a strong bet to keep a clean sheet.

5. Salvatore Sirigu (away @Leverkusen) - 6

PSG are having a strong season, although they only kept 2 clean sheets in the Group Stage, they know how to get the result they want and are much stronger since captain Thiago Silva returned to the team.

6. Romain Courtois (away @AC Milan) - 4.5

If we were doing the list a month ago, he could as well be on top of the chart, especially for the price of only 4.5. However, Atletico Madrid are showing a slight drop in form which is probably down to some injury troubles they are experiencing. AC Milan are an experienced team with Kaka and Mario Balotelli who can punish any defence.

These are the strongest Goalkeepers for the Last 16, we left out David De Gea (5.5) because Manchester United have been terrible at defending recently. Victor Valdes (7) & Joe Hart (6) would also deserve to be included, but have a difficult fixture, where a lot of goals are expected.

Other options:

- Roberto Jimenez (Man Utd @home) - 5.5
- Christian Abbiati (Atletico @home) - 5

Which Goalkeeper combination will you choose?