Rate My Team Champions League Match Day 6: Limitless Chip Played

Matchday 5 was my worst yet. My squad was riddled with subpar performers due to injury and rotation. Many of these were known in advance, but I chose to keep my wildcard chip in my pocket and use only my two free transfers. My team ended up like this:

I knew Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski — my two most expensive studs — wouldn’t play, so they stayed on my bench. But Sehrou Guirassy didn’t play either, and although Jules Koundé put in 31 minutes, the two goals his team conceded wiped out his one point for time played. So that’s four zeros if you’re keeping score at home.

On top of that, Aleksandr Erokhin played only a single half, while Diogo Jota was subbed off in the 68th minute, neither having done anything productive. Worst of all, captain Jadon Sancho played only 14 minutes and blanked.

Needless to say, I cannot afford to suffer another disaster like I did last week. But with much already decided regarding the round of 16, matchday 6 will be meaningless (or nearly so) for many teams. Consequently, their managers will be planning to rest over-worked stars while gifting precious minutes to squad players and youngsters. Those are treacherous circumstances for fantasy managers, who up until now have tried to curate a squad of 15 players from among the UCL’s best. But for many clubs, those are now the exact type of players who could be rested for MD 6.

As a result, I am strongly considering playing my “limitless” chip this week. This will allow me unlimited free transfers without any budget restrictions: Basically, I can get whichever 15 players I want this week. Substitutions during the matchday work the same way as usual, and then at the end of the week my squad will revert to my matchday 5 players.

Using the limitless chip I could end up with something like this:

My strategy is to choose productive fantasy assets who are likely to make the starting lineups of clubs with something to play for on MD 6.

Bayern Munich has already won Group A, leaving Atletico Madrid and Salzburg to battle it out for second. From this match I have brought in André Ramalho and one of my keepers, Jan Oblak.

In Group B, all four teams still have everything to play for. From Inter Milan I have brought in Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi.

Atalanta will square off with Ajax to determine second place in Group D. From this match I have selected Cristian Romero, who over four games has accumulated two clean sheets, a goal, an assist, and 60 (60!!) balls recovered.

Dortmund is in first place in Group F but must win this week to ensure they stay there. Therefore I’ve selected Jadon Sancho and Raphael Guerreiro. Assuming Dortmund wins over fourth-place Zenit, Lazio and Club Brugge will be contesting the second qualification spot. From this match I have chosen Ciro Immobile, Charles De Ketalaere, and Hans Vanakan.

In Group H, Manchester United, PSG, and RB Leipzig are all tied on nine points, Istanbul Basaksehir already doomed to last place. From this group I have Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Neymar, and Marquinhos. I’ve also selected one of my goalkeepers from this group: Keylor Navas hosts Istanbul Basaksehir, the weakest team in the group, in a match that means everything for PSG and essentially nothing for Basaksehir.

My team isn’t final yet; there are other clubs who need to get a result this week, and players from them whom I am eyeing. Joao Felix is one, for instance. And I would rather find a Wednesday goalkeeper who is not facing an offensive asset that I own; right now I have Ramalho attacking my own keeper.

But the Limitless chip will allow me to make as many transfers as I want prior to the deadline, so for now what I have described here is my jumping-off point. I’ll surely make changes based on further contemplation, updated team news (including confirmed starting lineups for Lazio, Club Brugge, and Dortmund), and the feedback I receive from the wise and generous readers of this article! I hope your sage advice will help others as well.

And of course, be sure to check out Prakhar’s Player Picks as well as MiQ’s Match Day 6 Preview. As usual I leaned heavily on both of those experts when making my selections this week.

Good luck and may your arrows be green!

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Are you playing a chip this week? What superstars do you think will be rested? Which players do you think are positioned to explode this week? Any late injury news or lineup leaks you’ve heard about? Please share your MD 6 plans with us in the comments, and be sure to rate my team!

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