UCL Fantasy Matchday 6: Tips, Captain, Picks & Team Selection

Matchday 6, the last round of Fantasy Champions League Group stage 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 Round of 16 begins, teams of UCL Fantasy managers will look very similar, because there will be very few players to pick from.

So, after Matchday 6, movement in the overall ranking will be more limited.

There is only one thing to do about that. Exploit all opportunities that Matchday 6 offers.

Let’s dive in our UCL Fantasy Tips for Matchday 6.

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 6

a) Make sure you know which teams have still something to play for

Many teams have already secured their R16 spot (or the 1^st place in the group), so we can expect a lot of rotation again. Historically, Matcdhay 6 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 spot – because of honor and prize money. 

So, which teams we should (not) focus on?

Teams that secured their spot

Arsenal, Bayern, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid are already group winners, so they are most likely to rotate some of their key players. But, many of their key players were rested in MD5, so we actually might see some strong lineups from at least some of those teams.

PSV and Leipzig have certainty of 2^nd place in the group with no possibility to get to the 1^st spot. Young Boys and Feyenoord have the certainty of 3^rd place in their groups.

And Antwerp, Celtic and Crvena Zvezda will finish 4^th in their groups no matter what.

However, keep in mind that despite having secured a spot in their groups, some teams might still play full strength in order to win prize money for Champions League match victory and due to the respect of the opposition.

Teams that have something to play for

Dortmund, Atletico, Real Sociedad, Inter, and Lazio are in R16, but they have not secured 1^st place in the group yet, so we do not expect a lot of rotation from them, as we expect them to fight for the no 1. spot in their groups.

Copenhagen, Galatasaray, Man. United, Napoli, Braga, PSG, Newcastle, AC Milan, Porto, Sachtar – they all still have a chance to advance into R16.

And of course, there are a few teams from the bottom half of the tables that still have a chance for 3^rd spot in their groups: Benfica, Salzburg, Union Berlin, Sevilla, Lens.

So, there are still a lot of UCL Fantasy assets to choose from…

b) Chip strategies

What is the best approach to UCL Fantasy Matchday 6? We will get unlimited transfers before R16. So you can take risks and bring in some differential players that you do not want in your team a long-term.

If you have a limitless wildcard chip left, use it now. After Matchday 6, our budget will increase by 5 million in R16, so this chip will not have such an effect as now. 

Check our limitless wildcard team for your inspiration.

c) Team news

• Haaland is out for MD6, and Alvarez is likely to play up top for City
• Given predicted lineups, Ortega is likely to start in goal for Man. City (but we can never be sure with Pep). Rodri, Dias could be rested as well.
• Barcelona could rotate heavily, and Cancelo, Lewandowski, and Gundogan could be benched (but nothing is confirmed, just our guess)
• We expect Inter Milan to play a stronger lineup than they did in MD5, but still, we will not be surprised if some of their key players are rested.
• Arsenal will likely rest some of their key players – but we will know the lineup before the deadline. Saka did not train before PSV game, and could be potentially rested in MD6
• Gulacsi could start instead of Blaswich for Leipzig (but that is just speculation)
• Ancelotti confirmed Kepa will start in goal for Real
• Leipzig could rotate heavily, Xavi Simons, David Raum could be benched
• Bayern is expected to play a strong lineup against Man. United, Kim is expected to be back. We expect Kane, Sané, Kimmich, Kim, Davies to start
• There are rumors Calvin Stengs should be back in time for the Celtic game
• Brais Mendez is out with a fractured arm

2. Fixtures to target in UCL Fantasy MD6

Now let’s use our Odds to probability calculator to find out which fixtures we should target in Matchday 6 according to bookies odds.

Tuesday fixtures

• Napoli vs. Braga: Napoli 65 % to win, 38 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Inter Milan vs. Real Sociedad: Inter 60 % to win, 21 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Union Berlin vs. Real Madrid: Los Blancos 54 % to win, 31 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Lens vs. Sevilla: Lens 45 % to win, 15 % to score 2.5+ goals

Wednesday fixtures

• CZ Beograd vs. Manchester City: Citizens 75 % to win, 50 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Leipzig vs. YB Bern: Leipzig 72 % to win, 48 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Antwerp vs. Barcelona: Blaugranas 68 % to win, 40 % to score 2.5+ goals
• FC Porto vs. Sachtar Doneck: Porto 68 % to win, 33 % 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 captain for Matchday 6

Tuesday captain pick: Bellingham (UBE (A))

For Tuesday, the most appealing fixtures for captaincy are Union Berlin vs. Real Madrid, Napoli vs Braga, and Man. United vs. Bayern Munich. Picking a captain from teams that are already in R16 or from teams that have no chance of going to the next round of the Champions League is extremely tricky.

But as it stands, unless there are some pre-deadline rumors that Bellingham could be rested, he will be our number-one captain. If not, Kane is our backup pick for Tuesday, as we expect Bayern to line up full strength against Red Devils.

If you are unsure whether your Tuesday captain start, you could captain an Arsenal midfielder (for example Trossard) – after lineups are live before the deadline.

Other captain picks for Tuesday: Osimhen

Wednesday captain pick: Alvarez (ZVE (A))

The standout fixtures for the captaincy on Wednesday are Crvena Zvezda vs. Manchester City, Leipzig vs. YB Bern, Celtic vs Feyenoord and Antwerp vs. Barcelona.

A lot of players from those games could do very well.

We picked Alvarez as our captain for Wednesday. With Haaland out, he is expected to play up top for City.

Other captain picks for Wednesday: Santiago Gimenez, Openda

5. Balls recovering heroes in UCL Fantasy

Picking defenders (and defensive midfielders) who are excellent at recovering balls had been a great UCL Fantasy strategy in previous seasons.

Most Balls recovered before MD6:

• 47 – Hummels
• 43 – Diogo Leite
• 40 – Kim
• 39 – Otamendi, Bardakci

6. Bookies odds

As usual, we looked at what bookies think about the Matchday 6 of Champions League Fantasy.

We checked the clean sheet odds to determine which teams are most likely to keep a clean sheet in the MD6 and goalscoring odds to determine which players are most likely to score a goal in MD6.

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 MD6

Bookies favor Atletico Madrid, and Manchester City to keep a clean sheet with 43 % probability. Napoli and Porto (42 %) follow. Bookies expect 7.49 clean sheets in Matchday 6. You can find the full Champions League clean sheet odds table here.

Goalscoring odds for MD6

Without Haaland, there is a new leader in any time goalscorer odds in MD6. See full table here: Champions League Goalscoring Odds.

7. UCL Fantasy Team Selection Matchday 6

Let’s finish our preview for the Matchday 6 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.

Feel free to JOIN our UCL fantasy mini-league for the 2023/24 season using our league code 50U1FM5M03.

Good luck in UCL Fantasy Matchday 6.