UCL Fantasy Tips & Players to Target- Matchday 7

UCL Fantasy is back! After months of waiting, with a World Cup in between, one of the best fantasy games out there is back. With everyone on unlimited transfers, what should we be looking at for our Knockout Stage teams? In this article, Alex (@4lex_mcfc) takes a look at strategies, tips and top picks for the UCL Knockout Stage.

Link to all our UCL Fantasy Blogs in one place ~ All our team reveals, differentials, tips, and other UCL Fantasy blogs in one place and for free.

UCL Fantasy – Round of 16 Fixtures

Before anything else, we should understand who plays who.

The Round of 16 matchups are as follows:

• Tottenham vs AC Milan
• PSG vs Bayern Munich
• Club Brugge vs Benfica
• Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea
• Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli
• Real Madrid vs Liverpool
• RB Leipzig vs Manchester City
• Inter Milan vs FC Porto

FiveThirtyEight Projections

To aid us in analyzing these matchups, we can refer to FiveThirtyEight’s projection – which uses statistical models to predict possible outcomes.

In making our Knockout Stage Wildcard teams, we want to target the teams with the best odds to make it far. It’s important to select a good balance of teams, in case an upset occurs. Selecting more than three players from one matchup is a risky move.

When we look at the projections, four teams jump off the page: Benfica, Napoli, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. Keep these four teams in mind.

The entirety of the projections is as follows:

General UCL Fantasy Tips/Advice for Knockout Stages

Before I get into anything team-specific, let me note three important tips going into the Knockout Stage:

• As I already said, don’t load up on too many players from one fixture. If you have your Wildcard left, that’s a different case (I’ll talk about that more later). Especially in the Round of 16, we want to maintain a balance of teams so we’re guaranteed a solid amount of players for future rounds. It is a fine strategy to break this advice when you have a strong hunch one way or the other, but you certainly don’t want to pick three to four players from each of: PSG, Bayern, Real, and Liverpool, as you’d be left with a maximum of eight players for the Quarterfinals.
• As always, play the kickoffs. In UCL Fantasy, we have until the first kickoff to make changes. This means the lineups of the early games are accessible information, so you can select some players guaranteed to start. This is especially important as the number of fixtures decrease. Use this to your advantage, but don’t pick bad fantasy players just because you know they’re starting.
• If you have any, plan your remaining chips. I’ll discuss my favored path in the following “Chips” section, but whether you follow my advice or not, make a plan for how you’re going to use those.

Further Read: UCL Fantasy Round Of 16- Stats, Players To Target And Captaincy

Chips

The chips, or power-ups as some call them in this game, are “Wildcard” and “Limitless.” Wildcard allows unlimited transfers (as we have right now) and Limitless allows for an unlimited budget free-hit for one Matchday.

If you have your Wildcard remaining, my strategy would be to load up on four to five teams you expect to win big in the Round of 16. Take a risk and bet on your favorites; if they win, you should have a high score and a great team for the next round; if they lose, you can activate your Wildcard and reset things. The Wildcard essentially allows you to play riskier than those around you. I wouldn’t hold it too long though, as the effectiveness of it decreases as the number of teams decreases.

If you have the Limitless chip remaining, I would use it in either the Round of 16 second leg or the Quarterfinals. Like the Wildcard, the effectiveness of the chip decreases as the number of teams decreases. You want to use Limitless when there are as many premium players still available, so you can stack up on them when others can’t.

If you have both chips, I would bet big on several teams for the Round of 16 first leg, use Limitless in the Round of 16 second leg, then Wildcard ahead of the Quarterfinals.

Further Read: Best UCL Fantasy MD7 Differentials to Consider | Round of 16

General Draft Advice

Lastly, before I get into specific players to target and then finally, my current draft, let me offer some general draft advice: For the majority of people – those without any chips – I would look to draft a team with a maximum of three players per fixture (one outlier is okay), seven to ten players who play on February 14/15, and five to eight players who play on February 21/22.

This is, in my opinion, the perfect balance of safety and risk. I already discussed the first point, you don’t want to risk owning four players from one team in the case they get knocked out. On the second point, eight teams play in the first week and eight teams play in the second week – the groups are the same in both Round of 16 legs. By selecting eight to ten players from the teams in the first week, you can maximize the efficacy of your substitutes. You have more options subbing in a player if ten players have already played, compared to four or five.

Goalkeepers to Target for UCL Fantasy Matchday 7

With that being said, let’s get into my favorite Goalkeeper picks for the Round of 16. We need to make sure that the two Goalkeepers we select play on different days, so we can substitute them in and out if needed. Generally, we want to pick Goalkeepers who aren’t too expensive, but have a good chance of a clean sheet and a high ceiling for saves. Here are my three favorite picks, in no particular order:

• Diogo Costa (5.2 m) – Undeniably the best Goalkeeper in the Group Stage, Costa has been exceptional for Porto. Amazing at penalties, fairly cheap in price, and with a reasonable fixture, Costa seems a very solid pick once again.
• Odisseas Vlachodimos (5.0 m) – Next is the Goalkeeper with the highest odds to advance. Benfica’s Goalkeeper was average in the Group Stage, however it’s the favorable fixture that tilts things in his favor. I don’t love Vlachodimos beyond the Round of 16, but Benfica are generally solid defensively and given the fixture, he’s a great pick for the time being.
• Alex Meret (5.0 m) – Lastly, we have Napoli’s Goalkeeper. Napoli have been steamrolling through Serie A and are favorites to take down Frankfurt. Meret was the seventh-highest-scoring Goalkeeper in the Group Stage and should be an great pick once again.

Defenders to Target for UCL Fantasy Matchday 7

Instead of specific players to target, I’ll discuss my three favorite teams to target and give my favorite pick or two from each team. Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

• Benfica – I’ve already talked about their fixture in the Round of 16. In my opinion, it’s too good of an opportunity not to jump on – especially with them playing in week one. However, I wouldn’t own more than two defenders. My favorite picks are Grimaldo (5.3 m) and Silva (4.2 m). Grimaldo has immense attacking threat and Silva is a great budget pick.

• Napoli – Surprise, surprise, Napoli are next. As I said before, they’re just on a crazy run of form – the team is incredible at the moment. I would look to own at least one Napoli defender, but likely only one – given their choices in attack. My favorite picks are Di Lorenzo (5.1 m) and Meret (5.0 m).
• Inter Milan – Lastly, Inter have the highest clean sheet odds of any team for MD7 (home to Porto). They play on the final day, so you likely won’t want to own any more than one. However, given his attacking potential, Dumfries (5.4 m) seems a great pick per usual. (EDIT: Darmian is often selected over Dumfries at RWB, so his minutes are a risk. For a safe Inter Milan Defender, Skriniar (5.5 m) is a great option.)

Further Read: Best UCL Fantasy MD7 Differentials to Consider | Round of 16

Midfielders to Target for UCL Fantasy Matchday 7

I’ll keep my recommendations on attackers short and sweet, as the best picks are often the most popular. If you target the world-class players with good fixtures, you’ll likely come out with a good amount of points. Regardless, here are my favorite picks:

• Jude Bellingham (7.5 m) – A somewhat tough fixture against Chelsea, Bellingham is just a fantasy machine. No matter the opposition, he just seems to pick up points. Given he plays in week one, he’s a no-brainer selection, in my opinion.
• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (5.9 m) – Speaking of no-brainer picks, we have Napoli’s man on fire (one of two). Kvaradona is just too good at that price, especially given the fixture.

• Joao Mario (6.1 m) – I’ve talked a lot about Benfica’s fixture, so how about their pen taker who was the fourth-highest Midfield scorer in the Group Stage? Given he plays in week one, he’s also almost a no-brainer pick.
• Vinicius Junior (10.0 m) – We all know how good Vini is at this point. Facing an unsure Liverpool defense, Vini will look to put all the pressure in the world on Trent Alexander-Arnold. Coming at a premium, Vini justifies the price given his ceiling.
• Jamal Musiala (7.0 m) and Leroy Sane (9.3 m) – Grouping these two together, PSG-Bayern is the blockbuster game of this round. I wouldn’t own more than one player from either team, but on Bayern’s side, these two look to be the picks. PSG’s defense has struggled of late and we know the fire-power Bayern can bring. Playing on the first day, I like picking a Bayern midfielder and subbing them off is PSG hold strong.

Further Read: UCL Fantasy Round Of 16- Stats, Players To Target And Captaincy

Forwards to Target for UCL Fantasy Matchday 7

Much like the midfielders, little needs to be said about these players. Regardless, here are my favorite picks:

• Erling Haaland (11.1 m) – It’s Erling Haaland, enough said.
• Kylian Mbappe (11.3 m) – Coming off an injury, make sure to tune into the PSG lineup ahead of finalizing your team. If Mbappe starts, there should be no questioning his spot in your team.

• Harry Kane (10.5 m) – Another world class striker, with a reasonably favorable fixture a AC Milan, Kane is a great pick. It’s not as much of a no-brainer as the other two, but he should be in consideration for everyone’s team.
• Victor Osimhen (7.9 m) – To pair along your choice of two premium Forwards, I like Napoli’s other man on fire. Osimhen has been shining recently and I expect that to continue in the Knockout Stage.

Further Read: Best UCL Fantasy MD7 Differentials to Consider | Round of 16

My Current Draft

Currently sitting just inside top 25k overall, here’s my current draft:

My current draft pretty much follows all the advice I just gave. Here are some notes:

• I have seven outfield players in week one – I’ll sub the lowest-scoring outfielder for Di Lorenzo ahead of February 21, then sub the two lowest remaining players out for Haaland and Dumfries* ahead of February 22 (* = likely to not own Dumfries anymore)
• Only one game with more than three players selected – I’m backing Napoli to win and therefore going with four of their players
• Meret and Costa work nicely together for only 10.2 m overall
• Three of my favored defensive picks, along with Otamendi over Silva (I’m a City fan, so there’s some sentimentality there) – (EDIT: After looking closer at Dumfries recent minutes, I will likely be going with Skriniar or a different Defender in that spot)
• Cancelo is a high EO coverage pick – I don’t love many Defenders overall
• My midfield consists of all the players I argued for earlier on
• Same with the front line, Mbappe will become Kane or Messi if he doesn’t start tomorrow

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Good luck to everyone in the Knockout Stage!

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Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of UCL Fantasy MD7

UCL Fantasy Matchday 7 Tips and Strategy
UCL Fantasy Round of 16- Player to Target and Best Captaincy Options
What is the Limitless Chip in UCL Fantasy | Limitless Chip Guide
Best UCL Fantasy MD7 Differentials to Consider | Round of 16
Beginner’s Guide to 22/23 UCL Fantasy Season | UCL Fantasy Tips

Link to all our UCL Fantasy Blogs in one place ~ All our team reveals, differentials, tips, and other UCL Fantasy blogs in one place and for free

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