Welcome back to another of 4 part UCL Fantasy preview series where I look at the individual groups in the Uefa Champions League this season and pick out the best assets to own from each group for MD 1 and beyond. If you missed out on the first article which focuses on Groups A and B you can find it here: https://allaboutfpl.com/2021/09/ucl-fantasy-group-a-b-preview-top-fantasy-assets-to-own/
Link to all our 2021/22 Champions League Fantasy blogs.
Now it’s time to look at Group C and Group D, Let’s dive right in!
Quick note: Since I am previewing the group stages now, I have taken all the stats and data from last year’s Champions League season and for the new teams playing this year, I will be taking data from their respective leagues.
All stats used are taken from: https://fbref.com/en/
UCL Fantasy Group C Preview
Group C : Ajax Amsterdam, Besiktas, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting CP
Group C looks like a group that can have a lot of goals with none of the teams having a shrewd backline that can keep clean sheets on the get-go, so there might be a possibility to see high-scoring games in this particular group. Ajax and Dortmund look like the teams to target for good value #UCLFantasy options.
Ajax Amsterdam
First up, we look at Ajax, they have been quite inconsistent in terms of performances in European competitions, when I think about Ajax in recent times their amazing semi-final run in 2018/2019 comes to mind where they were unlucky to be beaten by Spurs on away goals in the end. They have bowed out in the group stages itself in the last 2 years.
In last year’s group stages, they had an xG of 8.7 in 6 games but only scored 7 goals out of which 5 were against Midtjylland, further they also had an xGA of 7.3 and didn’t keep a single clean sheet conceding at least 1 goal in every game which isn’t encouraging if you plan to bring in a defender.
In the Eredivisie this season, Ajax has had a good start to their campaign winning 3 games, and a 1-1 draw. In these 4 games, Sebastien Haller 8.5M has been a revelation for Erik Ten Hag’s team, the ex-West Ham striker has notched up 4 goals & 1 assist so far and can become a fantasy asset to look out for in MD 2 when they play Besiktas at home.
In defense Noussair Mazraoui 4.5M can be a cheap enabler with attacking potential, he already has 1xG & 2xA in 4 league games, apart from that Edson Alvarez 4.5M is already owned by 49% of UCL Fantasy managers mainly for ball recovery points.
Probable Ajax Line-up
Top UCL Fantasy assets to own from Ajax Amsterdam
- Sebastien Haller (Forward 8.5M)
- Noussair Mazraoui (Defender 4.5M)
- Edson Alvarez (Midfielder 4.5M)
Further Read: allaboutfpl.com/2021/09/ucl-fantasy-budget-enablers/
Besiktas
Let’s move our attention to the next team in Group C: Besiktas and arguably the weakest team in the group, In my opinion, they are the team to target in this group for hauls, Erling Haaland 11M could have a field day when he plays Besiktas in MD1 if we look at their league form, its a completely different story as they have won 3 out of 4 games without conceding a single goal so far, but let’s be real, it is the Turkish League after all.
From an individual perspective, Michy Batshuayi 5.5M has had a good start with his new team scoring 2 goals in 3 games so far, Miralem Pjanic 7M can be an interesting pick given that he will be on all the set-pieces including penalties too, lastly, the Besiktas GK Ersin Destanoglu 4M has had 4 clean sheets in 4 in the league and he is one of the few 4M starting keepers in #UCLFantasy this season so he should definitely be in our thoughts as the 2nd cheap GK in the squad.
Top UCL Fantasy assets to own from Besiktas
- Ersin Destanoglu (Goalkeeper 4M)
- Michy Batshuayi (Forward 5.5M)
- Miralem Pjanic (Midfielder 7M)
Borussia Dortmund
The 1996/97 Champions League winners will be eyeing up their chances to progress through to the R16 from Group C, the likes of Erling Haaland 11M and Marco Reus 8M will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing the likes of Besiktas, speaking of Haaland, last season he amassed 10 goals & 2 assists in 8 games with an xG of 0.83 per 90 minutes and frankly, I will be surprised if he doesn’t match that or for that matter get more goals this season.
Speaking about Dortmund, last season in the group stages they scored 12 goals at an xG of 10,7 in the group stages, also keeping 3 clean sheets. In the Bundesliga, though this season things have looked shabby at the back with Hummels missing and Witsel playing makeshift centre back, they haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their games conceding 9 goals in 4 games. I still do expect Dortmund’s attacking prowess to shine through the group stages and do think they enough to top Group C
Probable Dortmund Line-up
Top UCL Fantasy Assets to own from Borussia Dortmund
- Erling Haaland (Forward 11M)
- Marco Reus ( Midfielder 8M)
- Mats Hummels (Defender 5M) / Thomas Meunier (Defender 5M)
Sporting CP
We move to the last team in this group, Sporting CP, they will have their work cut out with the likes of Ajax & Dortmund but if there is a team that can spring a surprise in this group, it’s Sporting, They have started the league season in Portugal in a decent fashion recording 3 wins & 2 draws in their first 5 games, Talisman Pedro Goncalves 8M has started brightly contributing 3 goals, its a pity he’s injured at the moment and will miss MD1 vs Ajax.
The summer transfer of Pablo Sarabia 7.5M will only make Sporting a better unit overall and in my opinion, the likes of Pedro Goncalves and Sarabia will come into our thinking sooner rather than later especially in MD3 & MD4 where they have back to back fixtures vs Besiktas
Top UCL Fantasy assets to own from Sporting CP
- Pedro Goncalves (Midfielder 8.5M)
- Pablo Sarabia (Midfielder 7.5M)
- Adan (Goalkeeper 4.5M)
UCL Fantasy Group C Predictions :
- Borussia Dortmund
- Ajax Amsterdam
- Sporting CP
- Besiktas
Now that Group C preview is over, let’s focus on the next group which is GROUP D
GROUP D : Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sheriff Tiraspol
UCL Fantasy Group D Preview
This group also looks quite straight forward at least on paper with the two bigger teams Real Madrid & Inter Milan being favorites to progress through to the next stage, Shakhtar Donetsk can be an unpredictable team ( beat Real Madrid both home and away in last season’s UCL) so nothing’s a given there, and lets all welcome Sheriff Tiraspol to the big league now, it was a commendable performance to just get to the group stages of the Champions League.
Real Madrid
The only club with double-digit (13) Champions League trophies to boast about will be looking to get their hands back on the UCL trophy this time around, They will also be playing back at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu again in front of fans which wasn’t possible due to the stadium renovations and pandemic respectively last season. the Los Blancos scored 11 goals at an xG of 9.8, with the summer transfers of Sergio Ramos & Raphael Varane away from Real Madrid it will be interesting to see how the line-up at the back.
In La Liga, this season Real Madrid have started off well winning 3 out of 4 games and scoring 13 games, Karim Benzema 10M has carried on his form from last season, and The Euros and has 9 goal contributions already in just 4 games, Vinicius Junior is tipped to have a good season and has started off well with 4 goals in 4 games. New signing from Bayern Munich David Alaba 5.5M has also looked good after the first few games. Also, let’s not forget Casemiro 6.5 M who had 86 ball recoveries in last season’s UCL which gave him 25 extra fantasy points.
Probable Real Madrid Line-up
Top UCL Fantasy assets to own from Real Madrid
- Karim Benzema (Forward 10M)
- Casemiro (Midfielder 6.5M)
- Vinicius Junior (Forward 8M)
Inter Milan
The Nerazzurri have had a terrible postseason after winning the Serie A title last season, They have lost their main striker Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea, their main attacking wing-back Achraf Hakimi to PSG, and even Antonio Conte has parted ways with Inter. It will be hard to replicate last season’s success but it will be interesting to see how new manager Simone Inzaghi sets them up.
Inter Milan lost both games against Real Madrid in last season’s UCL and they will be itching to get one over Real Madrid when they face off in MD1, In Serie A this season so far, they have scored 9 goals already with an xG of 3,9 which suggests some fortune in the goals they have got, Lautaro Martinez 10M has looked sharp and has 2 goals to his name, Nicolo Barella has continued from his good Euros showing to notch up 2 assists from midfield. They have bought in ex-Milan playmaker, Hakan Calhanoglu 8.5M and it will be interesting to see how he performs.
Top UCL Fantasy Assets to own from Inter Milan
- Lautaro Martinez (Forward 10M)
- Hakan Calhanoglu (Midfielder 8.5M)
- Denzel Dumfries (Defender 5M)
Shakhtar Donetsk
The Ukrainian side did spring a couple of surprises in last year’s UCL group stages in which they beat Real Madrid home and away and drew both games against a strong Inter side but still ended up 3rd in the group.
In the Ukrainian League, Shakthar have won 5 of their 7 games so far scoring 14 goals, Lassina Traore 6.5M has scored 5 goals in 6 starts so far and looks like the prime candidate to get if you plan to get a Shakthar player for their first MD1 game against minnows Sheriff. Dodo 5M also looks like a decent UCL Fantasy asset, he had 38 ball recoveries in last season’s group stages.
Top UCL Fantasy Assets to own from Shakthar Donetsk
- Lassina Traore (Forward 6.5M)
- Dodo (Defender 5M)
- Taras Stepanenko (Midfielder 5M)
Sheriff Tiraspol
First of all, let’s just take a moment to appreciate what this small Moldovian club has already achieved just by getting to the group stages, they pipped out their more established opponents Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on aggregate to reach their first-ever UCL appearance.
To be frank, it was quite difficult to get any data of Sheriff and its players, from what I could find Frank Castaneda 6M looks like their main playmaker will get goals and assists, there is also a certain Adama Traore 6M (no not the bulky Spaniard from Wolves) who looks promising in terms getting goals.
Top UCL Fantasy Assets to own from Sheriff Tiraspol
- Frank Castaneda (Midfielder 6M)
- Adama Traore (Midfielder 6M)
Now that we have looked into all the teams from Group D individually, let’s look at my predictions on how this group might look like at the end of MD6
Group D Predictions
- Real Madrid
- Inter Milan
- Shakthar Donetsk
- Sheriff Tiraspol
That’s it for UCL Fantasy Preview for groups C & D, if you want to follow me and my work, do drop me a follow on Twitter @FplRossoneri
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2021/22 UCL Fantasy Mini League
Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of UCL Fantasy MD1:
Budget Enablers for UCL Fantasy Season 2021/22
Link to all our Champions League Fantasy blogs
What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of UCL Fantasy MD1?
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FPL Rossoneri (Nick)
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