UCL FANTASY: MD1 Preview Pod

I find it very difficult to find two goalkeepers that rotate really well this season.

The Roma goalkeeper Svilar and the Lens goalkeeper Rissa at 4.5 million each is a pairing that rotates well from matchday one to eight.

Aston Villa's Suzuki at four million is a good option with three really good fixtures, but finding a cheap pairing to go with him is problematic.

I am personally going for the wildcard in Matchday Two because I don't want United and PSG players and want to jump on Real Madrid and Inter players.

Nearly forty percent of the game have got David Raya, which is strange given Napoli away feels like a pain for Arsenal.

There is no point in paying for Raya when Calafiori and Zinchenko are priced at 4.5 million.

I absolutely agree there is no point in paying for Raya.

I wouldn't actually go near Arsenal because their fixtures are fairly tricky and there is rotation risk.

French sides are rubbish away and can be quite tricky, so Lille away won't be easy.

If you are looking at Stuttgart players, you have to have Mittelstadt, who is on penalties as a defender at 4.5 million. Joshua Wagnerman has managed an attacking return in all three of his last matches, making him a good differential.

PSG at home are going to absolutely kill Slovan Bratislava off by a few goals.

Hakimi managed seven attacking returns last season from 13 matches and is a good option at six million. Maguire against Sabah has attacking threat, and United are projected to do well in terms of goals scored and clean sheets.

Anton appears to be a safer long-term option at Dortmund compared to Guedes.

Lyon have conceded in every single one of their last three league games, totaling five goals.

Lyon have lost key players like Sangare and Malang Sarr, and manager Pierre Sage has left for Crystal Palace.

I don't love Lyon at all defensively because they are missing key players and management.

I would pretty much ignore the premium defenders outside of Hakimi.

There are loads of four million defenders you could go with, including Guedes, Como defenders, and PSV's Abispo and Mario Junior.

Atletico Madrid were absolutely battered three nil at the weekend by Bilbao.

I prefer other midfielders and want a better idea of who the good Liverpool picks are before investing.

PSG are projected to score 3.6 goals against Slovan Bratislava, who conceded three goals per match last time in the Champions League. Kvaratskhelia was the highest scoring player last season and would be good at 10 million.

Don't look too much into domestic form because these players come alive in the Champions League.

Bruno Fernandes is projected to score the highest amount of points against Sabah and is definitely in the conversation. Eze, Kvaratskhelia, Raphinha, and Yamal are players people are going to pick regardless of fixture. Florian Thauvin at 6.5 million is on penalties and corners and is basically a mini Bruno.

Elisee is the most highly owned player at 42% in midfield.

The gap between Elisee and Diaz is quite massive because Diaz misses a lot of big chances while Elisee scores from half chances.

Midfield is a bit of a dead area in the mid budget compared to forwards.

You have to think very carefully about premiums and when you're going to have them, rotating them based on fixtures. Harry Kane is probably essential from the get-go for the first couple of matches, but should be swapped for Haaland when City have a favorable fixture.

Undav feels like one of the most effective first-day punts and could match or batter Mbappe. Girassy has the potential to haul against Villarreal and could secure captaincy with a monster performance.

Getting Girassy is key because his long-term fixtures are good and he suits all chip strategies.

Zalazar at 4.5 million is arguably the best budget enabler in the game with 21 attacking returns and set-piece duties.

Mbappe is owned by 62% of players, which is quite frightening. Girassy is only 6% owned, presenting a good differential opportunity.

You have to be aggressive in these games to do well, and Girassy could outscore Mbappe. Bellingham would probably be a better captaincy pick for this one game, but it takes guts given Mbappe's high ownership.

Real Madrid and Dortmund play the same day, which takes a captaincy choice away from you.

Ball recoveries are down a little bit at the start of this season because there are too many good cheap attacking options.

If everyone was priced higher, we would be having a different conversation regarding ball recoveries.