RADIO
Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League group stage delivered thrilling action, highlighted by FC Bayern's remarkable 9-2 victory over Dinamo Zagreb, setting a new scoring record. AS Monaco also turned heads with an impressive win against Barcelona, adding to the excitement of the round.
Matchday 2 promises more excitement, with headline clashes like Arsenal vs. Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa vs. Bayern Munich. The road to Germany is set to be thrilling, ultimately leading to the final at Munich's Football Arena. RotoBaller remains your go-to source for top-tier UEFA Champions League fantasy content.
The Matchday 2 deadline of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League season is Tuesday, October 1 at 12:45 p.m. EDT, when Salzburg entertains Stade Brestois 29 and VFB Stuttgart hosts AC Sparta Praha. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
Coming up this week 🍿#UCL pic.twitter.com/vUdiww9CEV
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 30, 2024
Matchday 2 UCL Fantasy Tips
Invest in Inter, Barcelona, and Manchester City Attack
It's been strongly recommended that UCL fantasy managers target attacking assets from any of Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, or Manchester City. Projections for Matchday 3 indicate Inter is anticipated to score 3.00 expected goals (xG), followed by France at 3.50 xG and Manchester City at 3.65 xG.
All three teams are aiming to be get their first Champions league this season and are favorites to win the next tie. The selected teams' projected clean sheet odds for Matchday 3 are 52%, 58%, and 67%, respectively.
Projections for this week's round (MD2) of Champions League fixtures, via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/nbMaIGUB1g
— Rob T (@robtFPL) September 30, 2024
The German Machines: High Goal Scoring Potential
🔥 𝟒𝟏 Champions League Preliminary Round Matches 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 🔥#MiaSanMia #FCBayern #UCL pic.twitter.com/89viMxJnWr
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) September 18, 2024
Big At The Back: Juventus Deadly Defense
Juventus is the only Serie A team yet to concede a goal in its first six league games, securing six consecutive clean sheets. Under Thiago Motta's leadership, the Old Lady's defense has remained resilient, even against tough opponents like AS Roma and Napoli in the domestic league.
If you own Michele Di Gregorio and either Federico Gatti, Andrea Cambiaso, or a combination of both, Matchday 2 could present another opportunity to bank on Juventus' defense for clean sheet points.
Juventus are the first side in the three points for a win era to keep a clean sheet in each of their opening six games of a Serie A season.
Three 3-0 wins and three 0-0 draws. 😀 pic.twitter.com/Bmh5sBHUJW
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 28, 2024
Matchday 2 Top Captain Picks
The Champions League midweek fixtures present many fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Florian Wirtz facing Milan and Lautaro Martínez with a favorable home tie against Red Star Belgarde all present strong cases. However, my top three picks across Matchday 2 would be:
Robert Lewandowski (€9.5m) - FC Barcelona
Robert Lewandowski, La Liga's top goal scorer, currently has nine goals (seven scored and two assists) in eight league games. The 36-year-old Polish striker has been in excellent form for FC Barcelona under new manager Hansi Flick, averaging 0.89 non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes thus far.
The experienced veteran has a remarkable 94 Champions League goals in 121 outings. With penalty duties and a favorable home match against Young Boys, Lewandowski is an optimal candidate for captaincy on Tuesday for Matchday 1.
🤜🤛#UCL pic.twitter.com/PTQh30xtbq
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 26, 2024
Erling Haaland (€11.0m) - Manchester City
Erling Haaland scored 10 goals in his last six Premier League appearances for Manchester City, but his streak came to a halt against Newcastle the previous weekend. However, we cannot rule out the 24-year-old Norwegian's excellence in front of goal, as he is due to face UCL newbie Slovan Bratislava next.
Manchester City will be looking forward to their first Champions League win in 2024/25, and Haaland's impressive record of 41 goals in 40 Champions League games makes him a top captain choice for your UCL fantasy team.
🤖#UCL pic.twitter.com/Xv1gSBTIWP
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 18, 2024
Mohamed Salah (€10.0m) - Liverpool
The 32-year-old Egyptian international now boasts eight goal contributions (four goals, four assists) in his first six league outings for the Reds this season. Liverpool's talisman will be eager to get on the scoresheet, having been unlucky in Matchday 1 with two attempts hitting the post.
With an impressive record of 44 goals and 15 assists in 80 Champions League appearances, a home tie against Bologna makes Mo Salah an ideal captaincy pick for the Wednesday fixtures in Matchday 2.
6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/ddDhHotEtw
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 6, 2024
Differential Captain Pick (<10% ownership)
Deniz Undav (€7.0m) - VFB Stuttgart
The 28-year-old German has been outstanding for VFB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, contributing to five goals (four goals and one assist) in his first five matches.
Deniz Undav kicked off his Champions League campaign with a debut goal against Real Madrid in Matchday 1 and has been on the wishlist since then. According to FBRef, he averages 3.36 shots per 90 minutes and boasts 0.89 non-penalty expected goals per 90, indicating a killer instinct to be dangerous in front of goal.
With a favorable home tie against Sparta Prague, Undav has another great chance to increase his goal tally as Stuttgart looks for their first Champions League win of the season.
Under the radar 🔍
Position: FWD
Price: 7m
Stats: (fbref)
4 goals scored in 5 matches for VFB Stuttgart ✅
In 323 minutes played, the German has amass a 0.89 npxg/90, 3.36 SOT/90 🔥TSB: 1% ownership
Next #UCL game: Sparta Praha (H)
Anyone interested in Deniz Undav for MD 2… pic.twitter.com/IRS67mzosZ
— FPL Manual (Wale) (@TheFPLManual) September 30, 2024
Ones To Watch: Ibrahima Konaté (€5.5m) - Liverpool (Defender)
With 1.89 blocks per 90 minutes, 4.72 clearances per 90 minutes amassed for the Reds, and a goal scored from an attacking set-piece against Milan in Matchday 1, the 25-year-old Frenchman has been on impressive form for Liverpool, contributing to their four Premier League clean sheets this season.
If you're seeking a replacement for defenders like Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa or PSG's Achraf Hakimi, who face tougher matchups in Matchday 2, Ibrahim Konaté is an ideal replacement to consider. His ability to rack up ball recoveries and secure clean sheets makes him a solid defensive choice.
Ibrahima Konaté has the best aerial duel success rate for any player to contest 10+ aerial duels in the Premier League this season:
◎ 26 aerial duels contested
◎ 22 aerial duels won
◉ 84.62% success rateFitting that his first PL goal was a header. ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Lm7k2wFpyn
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 28, 2024
Finally, keep a watch out for injury reports on a few key players, such as Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Bayern Munich's top striker Harry Kane, who may be unavailable for the UCL midweek games. Important information about these assets will be revealed during their respective team press conferences later.
Join The RotoBaller League
Once again, join our RotoBaller.com league. Hit any of our writers up over the next two weeks, and we will give you the code (also in the graphic below), and you'll be good to go. Good luck for UEFA Champions League Fantasy, RotoBallers!
Stick around for more UCL Fantasy content coming soon. Is there a question you would like to have answered every week? Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
