Matchday 8, the last round of Fantasy Champions League League phase is here.
It is the last chance to do something about your rank and mini-league position before half of all UCL Fantasy options disappear.
When the playoffs and round of 16 begin, teams of UCL Fantasy managers will look very similar, because there will be very few players to pick from.
So, after Matchday 8 movement in the overall ranking will be more limited.
There is only one thing to do about that. Exploit all opportunities that Matchday 8 offers.
Let’s dive in our UCL Fantasy Tips for Matchday 8.
Do you want to get better at UCL Fantasy? Read our article about Essential Tips for UCL Fantasy Success.
1. Strategy and tips for UCL Fantasy Matchday 8
a) Make sure you know which teams have still something to play for
Some teams have already secured their R16 spot (Liverpool, Barcelona), so we can expect some rotation again. Historically, the last matchday of the group stage (now the league phase) is usually very chaotic, with some crazy scores.
Pick players (especially your captain) from teams with still something to play for.
Otherwise, you may find your captain sitting on the bench or not even in the squad. However, some teams will still play full strength even after they secured the R16 or play off spot – because of the position in the table, honor and prize money.
b) but expect less rotation than in previous seasons
But the table is just so chaotic, that many teams will have to play full strength anyway, because just even 1 goal can make a lot of difference in the overall table. And each team wants to have the best position.
c) Wait for the lineups – you will know all of them
On matchday 8, all games are played on the same day, at the same time. It means you will know all lineups before the deadline, so you can adjust your strategy and transfers accordingly.
d) Chip strategies, hopefully, you already used your limitless
By now, hopefully, you already used your limitless chip. If you aim to activate it in MD8, be aware that it will be less effective than in MD1-MD7, as you cannot use subs in MD8 (as all games are played at the same time), so you will end up with 4 heavy hitters on your bench, without effectively using subs to replace players who did not deliver.
However, classic wildcard could be very powerful in MD8, as you will know all lineups, and could afford to have as cheap bench as possible, as you do not need to use subs in MD8.
e) But if you have both classic and limitless still available, use limitless now
However, if you did not use your limitless before MD8, and still have both chips available, in that case we would use limitless now in MD8, to chase the upside, and leave classic wildcard to the elimination rounds when it can be more handy than limitless.
The effect of limitless is decreased in the elimination rounds, as we all will have a 5m budget increase, and after limitless, your team reverts back which can be an issue in elimination rounds if many of your original (pre-limitless) players will get eliminated.
With classic wildcard in elimination rounds, you can more easily manage your eliminated players. But do not forget, that number of free transfers increases in elimination rounds too (3,5,3,5,3,5).
Check our limitless wildcard draft for your inspiration.
d) Do not be afraid to bring some differentials for MD8
We will get unlimited transfers after MD8 – so use all your free transfers now. So you can take risks and bring in some differential players that you do not want in your team long-term, but have a good fixture with big upside in MD8.
2. Transfer Targets and key players to own in Matchday 8
Key players to own
- Kane – your MD8 captain
- Wirtz – has amazing form, a great fixture
- Frimpong/Grimaldo – Leverkusen wingbacks could be an amazing source of points, you want one of them or even both in MD8 against Sparta Praha
- Salah – but wait for lineups whether he plays
- Gyokeres – it is almost impossible to sell a player in this form
- Raphinha/Yamal/Lewandowski – Barcelona is scoring goals for fun, you should aim to have their attacking coverage
Transfer targets
- Haaland, Foden, Gvardiol – City with very good fixture, their players could be even differentials given their form and lower ownership
- Mbappe/Bellingham – Real still with good fixture
- Kane, Musiala, Olise – you need to exploit Bayern’s fixture but wait for lineups to see who is starting
- Kim – good at balls recovered, you just need Bayern coverage
- Hakimi, Pacho – PSG defensive coverage
- Gabriel, Odegaard, Timber – Arsenal could do well in the MD8
- Leao – good fixture, MOTM awards magnet
3. Fixtures to target in UCL Fantasy MD8
Now let’s use our Odds to probability calculator to find out which fixtures we should target in Matchday 8 according to bookies odds.
Tuesday fixtures
- Bayern vs. Slovan Bratislava: Bayern 97 % to win, 85 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Leverkusen vs. Sparta Praha: Leverkusen 86 % to win, 59 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Man. City vs. Club Brugge: Man. City 82 % to win, 57 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Brest vs. Real Madrid: Real Madrid 71 % to win, 44 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Salzburg vs. Atletico: Atleti 71 % to win, 39 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Dortmund vs. Sachtar Doneck: Dortmund 71 % to win, 42 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Sporting vs. Bologna: Sporting 69 % to win, 37 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Aston Villa vs. Celtic: Aston Villa 64 % to win, 35 % to score 2.5+ goals
Find 2.5+ goals odds for all teams in our article: Champions League Over 2.5 Goals Odds.
4. Best players to pick in Matchday 8
We look at key players to pick in Fantasy Champions League MD8. We examine each position and each price bracket. You can check our separate articles here:
- Best Goalkeeper to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 8
- Best Defenders to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 8
- Best Midfielders to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 8
- Best Forwards to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 8
5. Best captain for Matchday 8 – just one shot for captaincy in MD8
Captain pick: Kane (SLB (H))
The difference for this matchday is, that we have just one shot for captaincy – no captaincy changes in MD8 as all games are played at the same time.
The most appealing fixtures for captaincy are Bayern vs Slovan, Leverkusen vs Sparta, and Man. City vs. Brugge.
If Kane is in the starting lineup for Bayern, he is our captin.
Other captain picks for Tuesday: Wirtz, Haaland, Foden, Musiala
6. Bookies odds
As usual, we looked at what bookies think about the Matchday 8 of Champions League Fantasy.
We checked the clean sheet odds to determine which teams are most likely to keep a clean sheet in the MD8 and goalscoring odds to determine which players are most likely to score a goal in MD8.
It can be very helpful when selecting the defense of your UCL Fantasy team or choosing your captain.
We used our Odds to probability calculator for converting bookies’ odds into probabilities.
Clean sheet odds for MD8
Bookies favor Bayern (69 %), and Leverkusen (55 %) to most likely keep a clean sheet. Man. City (49 %) follows. Bookies expect 8.75 clean sheets in Matchday 8. You can find the full Champions League clean sheet odds table here.
Goalscoring odds for MD8
Kane leads the odds… See the full table here: Champions League Goalscoring Odds.
7. UCL Fantasy Team Selection Matchday 8
Let’s finish our preview for the Matchday 88 of UCL Fantasy with our scout team selection.
8. Fantasy Champions League Tips
Find more tips, strategies, and picks for UCL Fantasy in these articles:
- Beginner? Read our guide: How to play UCL Fantasy?
- Confused about the rules? Read the Official guidelines of the game
- Do you want to get better at UCL Fantasy? Read our article about Essential Tips for UCL Fantasy Success.
Good luck in UCL Fantasy Matchday 8.
How much transfers yo did?
These scout picks are the best team we consider for matchday 8. So they are not based on the team from last round.
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