In this article, we will look at the best defenders to pick for your Fantasy Champions League team in MD2
This article is part of the series: UCL Fantasy Matchday 2: Tips, Best Picks & Captain
We look at each price bracket: budget defenders, mid-priced picks, and premium options.
Budget defenders for UCL Fantasy (4m – 4.5m)
Piatkowski (4.0m, Salzburg) – 2/10
- All good Salzburg fixtures happened in MD1 – MD5 so good run
- budget enabler, started majority of Salzburg matches this season
Mohamed Salisu (4.0m, Monaco) – 2.5/10
- another budget enabler with a good fixture in MD2
- recovered 7 balls in MD1
- Monaco with 32% clean sheet odds in Matchday 2
Amavi (4.0m, Brest) – 1.5/10
- started all 3 games for Brest this season
- interesting fixtures for Brest in MD1 – MD4
Cubarsi (4.5m, Barcelona) – 7/10
- cheap route into Barcelona defence
- started all 4 games in La Liga this season, although was subbed out early (60 min) on 2 occasions
- He should be nailed, but do not be surprised if you see him rested in some fixtures
- Barcelona is 2nd for clean sheet odds in Matchday 2
Acerbi (4.5m, Inter) – 3/10
- a cheap route into Inter defense, started all 3/4 games in Serie A this season
- but could be a rotation risk due to his age (36 years old), we think it is unlikely he can start all games
- If you can afford an upgrade, Dimarco is more secure pick with attacking potential
Carter Vickers (4.5m, Celtic) – 3.5/10
- Celtic with playable fixtures during whole League phase
- Solid at balls recovered, last season with 6.75 balls recovered per game in last season
- Alistair Johnston (4.5m) could also be a good pick among Celtic defenders if fit, he already has 1G + 1A this season
Hancko (4.5m, Feyenoord) – 5.5/10
- attacking defender for Feyenoord with solid fixture run MD1 – MD4
- 5G + 2A last season in Eredivisie
Pacho (4.5m, PSG) – 4.5/10
- a cheap route into PSG defence, but will he start all matches?
Rico Lewis (4.5m, PSG) – 5/10
- a cheap route into Man. City defence, started 4 games in the Premier League this season
Boscagli (4.5m, PSV) – 4/10
- good at ball recovered, 13 balls recovered in MD1
- PSV with a nice fixtures (apart MD3 and MD8) up to MD8 – could be a good pick for managers who plan to wildcard in MD8
Mid-priced defenders for UCL Fantasy (5m)
Jose Maria Gimenez (5m, Atletico) – 4/10
- Atletico with nice fixture run in MD1 – MD3 there could be few clean sheets
- recovered 15 balls in MD1!
Gatti (5m, Juventus) – 6/10
- Juventus kept 4 clean sheets in 4 matches in Seria A this season
- fixtures are pretty good for Juventus during whole league phase (apart Man. City fixture)
- attacking threat, scored 4 goals last season in Serie A
Kim Min Jae (5m, Bayern) – 6.5/10
- very good at balls recovered, in the last season he was averaging almost 8 balls recovered per game
- however, he might be a slight rotation risk, in the last season he lost his starting spot
Schlotterbeck (5.0m, Dortmund) – 6.5/10
- Dortmund with good fixtures during whole league phase
- good at balls recovered (but as good as last season hero Hummels)
- in the last UCL season, he was averaging 6.83 balls recovered per game
Otamendi (5.0m, Benfica) – 5/10
- amazing source of points for balls recovered
- last season 8.33 balls recovered per game
- unfortunately, he is getting too many yellow cards which decreases his potential
Premium defenders for UCL Fantasy (5.5m – 6m)
Gabriel (5.5m, Arsenal) – 9/10
- Arsenal very good defensively, most clean sheets in Premier League last season
- Gabriel offer higher goal threat than Saliba, he is averaging 4G/season in Premier League in last 3 seasons
Bremer (5.5m, Juventus) – 6.5/10
- Juventus kept 4 clean sheets in 4 matches in Seria A this season
- recovered 14 balls in MD1 (second most after Jose Maria Gimenez)
Frimpong / Grimaldo (5.5m, Leverkusen) – 9.5/10
- Leverkusen’s wingbacks coulb be amazing source of points thanks ot their attacking threat
- Grimaldo with 1G + 3A in 5 games this season for Leverkusen (cup games + Bundesliga) and 10G + 13A in Bundesliga last season
- Frimpong with 1G + 1A this season and 9G + 7A last season
- but mix of fixtures
Theo Hernandez (5.5m, AC Milan) – 5.5/10
- 5G + 4A in last season in Seria A
- he can produce points for attacking returns, but mix of fixtures for AC Milan where we do not see many clean sheets
Hakimi (5.5m, PSG) – 5.5/10
- 4G + 5A in the last season in Ligue 1
- short term pick only for MD1
- he can produce points for attacking returns, but tough fixtures for PSG after MD1 where we do not see many clean sheets
Gvardiol (5.5m, Man. City) – 7.5/10
- offers an attacking threat, but hard to predict which Man. City defender is going to start most of the matches in the Champions League
Rudiger (6m, Real Madrid) – 7/10
- our pick among Real Madrid defenders
- was very good at balls recovered during the World Cup for Germany
Alexander Arnold (6m, Liverpool) – 8.5/10
- Liverpool with 3 clean sheets in 4 games this season in Premier League
- on set pieces
- offers attacking threat
Van Dijk (6m, Liverpool) – 9/10
- attacking threat after set pieces
- we expect more stable points output from VVD than from TAA, due to VVD’s ability to collect points for balls recovered
Picking the best defenders in UCL Fantasy 2024/25
When selecting a defender for your UCL Fantasy team you consider:
- Whether a defender that you pick has a good chance of a clean sheet. Our Champions League Clean Sheet Odds will help you with that. This is the most important criterion you should consider, as clean sheets are the most important source of fantasy points for defenders.
- Whether a defender has attacking potential: Can he score goals after free kicks and corners? Does he play in an advanced position so he could register a few assists?
- Balls recovered potential. Centre-backs usually recover more balls than full-backs which makes them more appealing from this point of view. You can check, which players are best at bells recovered in our article: Best players at balls recovered.
If you find a defender that offers all three above, you find gold and should pick him into your team. However, that is rare. So make sure that the defenders you pick satisfy at least 2 of those 3 criteria.
