Welcome back to yet another UCL Fantasy Differentials blog everyone after a thrilling set of R16 2nd leg matches which saw the likes of PSG, Ajax & Juventus etc bow out of this year’s Champions League.
Just to round up from a personal perspective, I had a very good time in fantasy terms where I ended up 3 points shy of 100 points, Robert “Lewan-goal-ski” coming in with a mammoth score of 24 points whom I captained on the first day.
Overall, though I still ended up with a small red arrow, going from 763rd to 802nd in the overall rankings, hopefully I can still push on and finish in the top 500.
As always, A big thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my Differential blogs every MD, I am super grateful for the support, further if you like my content feel free to follow me on Twitter for more updates @FPLRossoneri.
Now, let’s get down to business and talk about why you guys are here for in the first place, UCL Fantasy quarter-finals Differentials going into the business end of the Champions League.
Looking at the draw and QF fixtures, we can already see some of the bigger teams having more favourable fixtures as compared to others, the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City & Liverpool will be fancying their chances to get to the next semi-final stages, while Chelsea are up against Real Madrid which seems like the hardest match to call at least on paper.
Along with this UCL Fantasy QF’s Differentials article, you can find the link to all our Champions League Fantasy blogs here.
All data used in this article has been taken from FBREF
UCL Fantasy Quarter-Finals | MD9 Differentials (<10% TSB)
DIOGO JOTA~LIVERPOOL, 8.4M, TSB: 8%
Diogo Jota has been a man on a mission ever since signing for Liverpool from Wolves back in 2020, In his time at Merseyside, Jota has already scored 33xG in just 50 starts.
His style of play which involves getting in behind defenders adds another dimension to Liverpool’s already world class forward line-up of Salah, Mane, Firmino.
Talking about the current season, Jota has carried on his form from last year, In the Premier League alone he has already amassed 14xG in 21 starts at an xG of 13.8, Per 90 mins his xG+xA is 0.88 which shows that whenever he’s on the pitch, there is a very high chance he is involved in the goals.
In the scoring charts, he is only behind his team-mate Mo Salah in the number of goals scored and has also been involved in the most headed goals in the Premier League this season.
In terms of UCL Fantasy, he is still only 8% owned and is classified as a forward rather than MID like in FPL which makes it easier to get him in especially if you had the likes of Haller or Vlahovic in the R16 matches.
Another option you can look at in this price bracket is Luis Diaz who is around 8.1 M and also a forward in the game. Another point to note is since Liverpool play on Tuesday, we will get to see the line-ups, so you can make a choice between Jota/Diaz.
Further Read: Three Teams to Target in UCL Fantasy MD9
PHIL FODEN~MANCHESTER CITY, 8.2M, TSB: 8%
Foden has come into his own this year, Pep Guardiola has been very particular about the “Stockport Iniesta’s” minutes in the last few years saying he gradually wants Foden to get into thick of it, and this is evident this especially with Foden already playing 22 matches in the Premier League alone.
He has become the potent creative force that we all thought he would become one day, and his numbers don’t disappoint either, Foden has had 10 goal contributions in 22 games at an xG+xA of 12.9, per 90 minutes he has a npxG+xA of 0.69 which shows how creative Foden can be from the left flank.
In the Champions League this season Foden has started in 5 matches with a return of 2xG & 1 assist, his xG+xA increases to 0.92 per 90 minutes in the UCL, it maybe a smaller sample size but it shows whenever he starts he can easily get returns.
The best part here is that we will get the Man City line-ups from the deadline and I highly recommend getting in Phil Foden if he starts, at 8.2 mil he can be a really good UCL Fantasy QF Differential.
AYMERIC LAPORTE~MANCHESTER CITY, 5.3M, TSB: 4%
He is finally showing why Pep Guardiola put so much faith and money in Laporte when he signed for Man City from spanish club Athletic Club Bilbao in 2017.
Laporte has been in very good form this season which has directly contributed to Manchester City keeping so many clean sheets, 18 in 30 Premier League games.
The City defender has started 25 of the 30 games which shows that he’s become the nailed on Man City centre-back, from a defensive standpoint Laporte has 65 blocks/interceptions/tackles and has a pass completion percentage of 95.2 which is great. He also boasts attacking threat from corners having already scored 3xG this season.
In UCL, Laporte has accumulated 31 ball recoveries in just the 4.5 games he’s played, In my opinion Laporte is definitely one of the nailed starting centre-backs in the QF matches vs Atletico Madrid especially given that Ruben Dias is still not back from injury.
As mentioned earlier, we will get the Man City line-ups before the deadline on Tuesday and if you see Laporte starting, he is going to be a good differential at only 4% ownership.
DARWIN NUNEZ~BENFICA, 7.7M, TSB:2%
Darwin Nunez is another form player going into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, he will be looking to at least get a goal when Benfica play Liverpool at home.
In UCL, Nunez already has 4xG and 2 POTM award to his name in 8 MD’s so far with that brace at Nou Camp vs Barcelona being his best performance.
In the Primeira Liga, Darwin Nunez averages more than a goal a game at least according to his numbers, 1.22 xG/90 mins is the mark of an in-form striker. Overall he has 21xG & 3xA in 19 starts.
If Benfica plan to upset the mighty Liverpool juggernaut at home, Darwin Nunez is their best bet to help them achieve that objective.
Nunez is only owned by 2% of UCL Fantasy managers and at 7.7M & if you are looking for a mid-priced differential forward, he can definitely get the job done.
Further Read: Three Teams to Target in UCL Fantasy MD9
REECE JAMES~CHELSEA, 5.6M, TSB: 9%
Reece James is one of those players that does well whenever he starts for Chelsea, This year has been no different, In the Premier League James has started in 15 out of 29 games so far, come on as a substitute 3 times, and has missed a few games via suspension & injury.
But if you look at his stats so far he has 5xG and 6xA in effectively 15 games he’s started, he also has an xG of 0.37 and xA of 0.44 which is the best in the Chelsea squad so far.
He also boasts xG+xA/90 mins of 0.81 which is again the best in the Chelsea squad, in contrast, Lukaku has 0.36 in the same stat, my point being, whenever he starts it’s more than likely that he contributes with a G/A
Taking into account the rest vs Brentford during the weekend, James is poised to start vs Real Madrid.
He’s still only owned by 9% of UCL Fantasy managers and he can be one of your UCL Fantasy QF Differentials.
That’s it folks for UCL Fantasy QF Differentials blog, thank you for returning to read my differential blog, as per usual I’ll be back with differential blogs for the Semi-Finals & beyond, till then good luck with your transfers and team. See you soon 🙂
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2021/22 UCL Fantasy Mini League
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FPL Rossoneri (Nick)
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