UCL MD-1 Rate My Team

MD-1 of fantasy Champions League is always tough.

I’m building my team around the two best forwards in the game. We know what Karim Benzema can do at this level, and with the Man City team around him, I think Erling Haaland can do the same. To those two superstars I’ve added Ajax’s Brian Brobbey as a cheap but popular third forward.

I’m not spending much on my defense to start, instead opting for cheap defenders whom I expect will start week in and week out. Then as the season settles in, I’ll make adjustments as necessary — and in the knockout rounds my strategy may shift.

In my midfield, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Christopher Nkunku are all key parts of their teams’ attacks. I like the potential there.

I believe in not using transfers on keepers. Ederson and Jan Oblak offer security of both starts and strong squads. To be honest though, I’m a little unsure about Ederson after City’s defensive troubles in the EPL so far.

Anyway, here’s my current draft in all its glory.

I can already see I’m a little heavy on teams that play on Tuesday, so I’ll probably look for balance toward Wednesday.

Luka Modric or Jorginho could be the first on the expendables list. I don’t want to be TOO reliant on one team, and Modric gives me three Real Madrid players. But then again, they are one of the favorites, and if they do go deep I won’t have to worry about transferring him in later if I draft him in now.

As for Jorginho, last season he scored two goals, made two assists, kept four clean sheets, and won two Player of the Match awards in 561 minutes of play. But I’m concerned that he can’t replicate that output this season, mostly because I feel like Chelsea FC just isn’t quite as good (nor is Liverpool — Hence I have none, not even Salah). Jorginho’s value may come down to whether he is still on PKs (both of his goals last term were handed to him on that silver platter).

Pedro Gonçalves is highest on my list of potential replacements, but I’m still keeping my options open and will probably keep fiddling right up until the very end!

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Be sure to read DTuron’s guide to fantasy UCL strategy, written by last season’s global winner, as well as MiQ’s MD-1 Fantasy Preview and Player Picks article. Then please join me, and DTuron and thousands of others in NMA’s UCL mini-league, and be sure to follow www.nevermanagealone.com for ongoing comprehensive coverage of fantasy Champions League (and EPL and World Cup too!).

How’s your team? What suggestions do you have for PPQ? Whom should he keep? Whom should he drop? Which players could he captain on each day? Login and share your advice, as well as your own lineups, in the comments!

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