Fantasy Sports
Kieran Darcy, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Champions League fantasy transfer market: La Liga leads the way

Fantasy Soccer, Fantasy

Welcome to the very first edition of the Champions League fantasy transfer market! Each week I'll be providing you with my picks at all eight positions if you're filling out a Champions League fantasy team, and some players to be concerned about, too.

If you make it all the way to the end, you'll see my captain selection as well -- remember, your captain's points total is doubled, making this a critical decision!

Tier 1 Forward

Add: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

There are plenty of tempting options in this tier, which basically includes the biggest stars in the world. But Messi is the best choice, particularly with Barcelona playing at home against a team from outside the big five European domestic leagues (PSV). Despite a quiet game this past weekend, Messi is still averaging 27.93 fantasy points per game -- over seven points more than any other player in La Liga. Scanning the other four big leagues (England, Italy, Germany and France), the only three Champions League players averaging more than 20 fantasy points per game are Kylian Mbappe (22.97), Neymar (22.1), and Cristiano Ronaldo (20.13). But PSG are playing at Liverpool on Tuesday, and Juventus are away at Valencia.

Avoid: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Aguero was leading the Premier League in fantasy points coming into this weekend and picked up an assist in Man City's 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday. But he also picked up a knock and was replaced by Gabriel Jesus in the 54th minute. City hosts Lyon on Wednesday, a pretty good matchup, but I'm worried about Aguero's fitness right now.

Tier 2 Forward

Add: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

He wasn't great in the Champions League last season, only scoring five goals in 11 games, but I think Lewandowski is too good to pass up in this tier. He scored 29 goals in his 30 Bundesliga appearances last season -- 14 more than any other player in the league -- and has two goals and an assist in three games this season (although he produced neither in a 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday). Bayern is away this week, but not up against a big-five side (Benfica).

Avoid: Edin Dzeko (Roma)

He, unlike Lewandowski, thrived in the Champions League last season -- Dzeko scored eight goals in 12 games, leading Roma past Barcelona to the semifinals, where they fell to Liverpool. But I don't love his chances of scoring away at defending champions Real Madrid.

Tier 1 Midfielder

Add: Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona)

Gareth Bale was very tempting here -- he's off to a better start (three goals, two assists) than Coutinho (one goal, one assist) in La Liga this season. But Barcelona has a weaker opponent than Real Madrid, and Coutinho is a safer option -- he should pick up more points than Bale in categories like chances created and passes completed. Keep an eye on that Barcelona lineup, though, because Coutinho didn't start in Saturday's 2-1 win over Real Sociedad -- although he did come on at halftime.

 

Avoid: James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich)

He only had one goal and two assists in 12 Champions League games last season and hasn't started in any of Bayern's first three Bundesliga games this year (although he did come on for the injured Corentin Tolisso late in the first half on Saturday and scored a goal). I'm also concerned about Paulo Dybala, who has only started in two of Juventus' first four Serie A games.

Tier 2 Midfielder

Add: Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan)

He was one of Croatia's stars on their way to the World Cup final this summer, and he's off to a very good start in Serie A as well. Perisic has two goals and an assist in four games and is averaging 16.6 fantasy points per game -- only Ronaldo is averaging more among players on the league's four Champions League teams. Inter suffered a very disappointing 1-0 home loss to Parma on Saturday, but Perisic took a team-high eight shots and had three chances created.

Avoid: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)

Alli missed Tottenham's 2-1 loss to Liverpool on Saturday because of a hamstring injury and may also miss Tuesday's game at Inter. And Christian Pulisic missed Borussia Dortmund's 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday, also because of an injury.

Tier 3 Midfielder

Add: Daniel Caligiuri (Schalke)

I feel a little more comfortable going with a player from the big five leagues in this spot, at least for the first round of Champions League games. Caligiuri doesn't have a goal or an assist in three Bundesliga games, but he did take a penalty kick -- he missed it, so he may not get to take the next one, but maybe he will? He also had six goals and 10 assists last season and will be playing at home against Porto. And he had a team-high four chances created on Saturday, although Schalke went down 2-1 at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Avoid: Hirving Lozano (PSV)

This is a familiar name -- Lozano scored the winning goal in Mexico's 1-0 upset of Germany in the World Cup this summer. He also had 17 goals and eight assists in 29 league games for PSV last season and has four goals and an assist in five games this season -- including a brace this past weekend. But playing well at Barcelona? That's a big ask.

Tier 1 Defender

Add: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

There are other good options here, but Ramos is poised to be a fantasy superstar this season. With Ronaldo gone, Ramos -- the team captain -- has taken over as the team's primary penalty-taker. He'd already be a good fantasy performer, and now with two goals already this season, he is currently sixth overall in La Liga fantasy points.

Avoid: Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)

Atletico are off to a very disappointing start in La Liga, only winning one of their first four games -- including a 1-1 draw with Eibar at home on Saturday. Luis and teammate Diego Godin, who's also available in this tier, are currently 139th and tied for 99th among outfield players in La Liga fantasy points, respectively. And Atletico are playing at Monaco this week.

Tier 2 Defender

Add: Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund)

Piszczek is a fullback, so he has more attacking potential than the many centre-backs in this tier. He's averaging 9.9 fantasy points per game through the first three rounds in the Bundesliga -- 21st among defenders in the league. He also would have been 19th among defenders in the Champions League last season. Dortmund are playing away from home this week, but at Club Brugge of Belgium.

Avoid: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)

Instinctively, you might think Bailly would be a great pick, playing against Young Boys of Switzerland. But he has only started in two of Man United's first five Premier League games and was on the bench this past weekend. And in three Champions League games last season, Bailly would have averaged only 6.7 fantasy points per game, ranking him 176th among defenders.

Goalkeeper

Add: David de Gea (Manchester United)

He would have been tops among all goalkeepers who played in more than one Champions League game last season, averaging 20.15 fantasy points per game, including four clean sheets in six games. The same goes for the Premier League, where he would have averaged 14.18 points per game, including 18 clean sheets in 37 games. It hasn't been a great start to the season for Man United, and de Gea only has one clean sheet so far. But I like his chances against Young Boys, even away from home.

Avoid: Alisson (Liverpool)

He's been great for Liverpool so far this season, with three straight clean sheets to start the season before giving up one goal in each of the past two games. But up against Paris Saint-Germain, even at home, I don't think a clean sheet is very likely. PSG have scored at least three goals in each of their first five Ligue 1 games -- including four goals apiece for Neymar and Mbappe and three for Edinson Cavani.

Captain

 

It's Messi, for the reasons mentioned above. He's been the best fantasy performer in the top five European domestic leagues so far this season. Going up against a team from outside the top five, at home, makes this a pretty easy decision.

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