Europe’s elite club competition – The UEFA Champions League is finally back. The return of the UCL is synonymous with the return of the much-awaited UCL Fantasy. With limited options available, it’s important to make the right decisions if we are to have any chance of getting a notable rank gain. Before looking at my plans for MD-9, here is how MD 8 went.
MD-8 Review
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MD-8 was a mixed bag. Although my 100 points is my highest score this season, the rank gain felt underwhelming as it was a high-scoring week in general. The combination of Leroy Sane and captain Robert Lewandowski, whose ownership is close to 100% among active managers carried my team this MD. Elsewhere, Danjuma scored a lucky late penalty to add 8 points to my total while Laporte and Ederson kept handy clean sheets. The rest of my team returned a string of 2’s barring Trent who managed to earn +5 points as a result of his 9 ball-recoveries
MD-9 Transfer plan and chip strategy
With two outfield players eliminated and one dud keeper on the bench, this is how my team looks ahead of MD-9
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I do have a wildcard in hand and this would be my ideal wildcard team.
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As my team is fairly well set for MD-9 and can get to the above team using the five free transfers, saving the wildcard for MD-10 or MD-11 looks like the right move at the moment. If funds comply, I would maybe upgrade Phil Foden (€8.2m, Man City) to Kingsley Coman (€8.8m, Bayern Munich) and Gilberto (€4.9m, Benfica) to either Marcos Alonso (€5.4m, Chelsea FC) or Niklas Sule (€5.7m, Bayern). Since my team doesn’t have the budget for the aforementioned upgrades, I have to settle with the above team. My only differential picks at the moment are triple Manchester City defenders, €4.9m striker Goncalo Ramos, and Gilberto from Benfica. In summary, these are the moves I plan to make ahead of MD-9:
- Sebastian Haller (€9.5m, Ajax, FWD) -> Karim Benzema (€10.4, Real Madrid, FWD)
- Arnaut Danjuma (€7.2m, Villareal, MID) -> Phil Foden (€8.2m, Man City, MID)
- Marquinhos (€5.8m, PSG, DEF) -> Gilberto (€4.9m, Benfica, DEF)
- Andy Robertson (€6.4m, Liverpool, DEF) -> João Cancelo (€6.6m, Man City, DEF)
- Sven Ulerich (€4.5m, Bayern, GK) -> Mile Svilar (€4.0m, Benfica, GK)
Here is where I need your help. From the above transfers, I’m uncertain about 2 moves in particular, Danjuma -> Foden and Marquinhos -> Gilberto.
If I stick with Danjuma, not only do I save the extra million, I can also save a valuable free transfer which could be useful in the later stages. So, if I do stick with Danjuma, I have the luxury of bringing in another Chelsea defender like Antonio Rudiger (€6m, Chelsea) or Thiago Silva (€5.8m, Chelsea) who are much more likely to make it to the next round than Gilberto, who is not expected to get too many points against a strong Liverpool side. This is what my team would look like with Danjuma and Rudiger instead of Foden and Gilberto.
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What would you do? Please help me out by answering the poll. What would be your moves if you were in my situation? Does my team warrant a wildcard? What would be your wildcraft draft? Have questions of your own? Please share them in the comments section.
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chicken
Which pair do you prefer?
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100%
Danjuma and Rudiger
(2 votes)
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0%
Foden and Gilbero
(0 votes)
2 votes total
Vote Now
MATCHDAY 9 BUILD UP
MiQ has already posted a fantasy preview of MD-9, and he’ll post an update and Live chat article on Tuesday. Injuries and suspensions lists will be covered there, so be sure to check-in.
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NMA UCL Fantasy Mini-League
If you played our UCL mini-league last season, or if you played our Euros mini-league over the summer, you should automatically be entered into NMA’s 2021-22 mini-league as soon as you create a team. Head to gaming.uefa.com and get to work!
If you are new to us, then once you create a team you can join our mini-league manually with the following info. Come join us, we’d love to have you!
League: Never Manage Alone
Code: 71MQALVG07
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