Champions League - Choose 'em or lose 'em?

Eurosport - Tue, 21 Oct 19:16:00 2008

After the drudgery and dreariness of the international break, thank goodness for the glitz and the glamour of the Champions League - and our thrilling Fantasy Europe Cup game!

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Champions League Atletico-Olympique de Marsella Marseille Sergio Aguero foto: EFE - 0

Let us guide you through the potential champs and chumps for matchday three.

GOALKEEPERS

Choose 'em: CFR Cluj have surprised many with their four-point start to Group A, and they will fancy their chances of getting a result away at Bordeaux. The French side are hardly free-scoring this season (12 in nine Ligue 1 games) and might have trouble breaking the Romanians down - which makes Cluj keeper Eduard Stancioiu (0.8) a stand-out pick.

Lose 'em: Old Trafford promises to be overflowing with goals when Celtic take on Manchester United - and with Wayne Rooney in the 'form of his life', they are only going to be flying in at one end. Dumping Artur Boruc (9.0) might seem sensible.

Neither do the signs look good for Panathinaikos keeper Mario Galinovic (2.0); his side travel to Bremen, who have scored 22 goals in just eight Bundesliga games - and the Greek team have already conceded five in their opening two Group B fixtures.

DEFENDERS

Choose 'em: Juliano Belletti (6.0) is less of a full-back and more of a blockbusting goal-scoring midfielder; he can again profit from Chelsea's injury problems against a struggling Roma side.

At the other end of the price-scale, Barcelona's Dani Alves (24.0) can take advantage of one of the easiest away trips in the Champions League when his side travel to St Jakob-Park, Basel.

Meanwhile, Zdenek Grygera (5.0) can be part of a Juventus defence that frustrates visiting Real Madrid - and might earn extra points for all the tackles he makes on returning show-pony winger Arjen Robben.

Lose 'em: Stout defensive displays in Europe are what have kept Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez in a job for the last four years, but we reckon his side might struggle when they travel to Atletico Madrid; dropping Jamie Carragher (15.0) would free up some dough.

MIDFIELDERS

Choose 'em: If our hunch is correct about Atletico turning over Liverpool, Raul Garcia (12.0) is the man to get on, while Luis Garcia (6.5) will also be keen to show the Reds what they're missing (bad hair and thumb-sucking, if we remember rightly).

Meanwhile, Zenit St Petersburg have hardly made a swashbuckling start to their Group H campaign, but there is no way they are not going to stick a hatful past BATE Borisov; Andrei Arshavin (22.0) might cost the earth, but you'll be kicking yourself if you don't have the little genius in your team when he scores four in a six-goal rout.

Lose 'em: Save yourself a princely sum by taking a gamble and ditching Rafael van der Vaart (24.0) - and then hope that Juventus-Real Madrid turns out to be a stinker.

And we reckon that the Sukru Saracoglu stadium in Istanbul is no place for a frightened teenage boy, which is why replacing Theo Walcott (5.0) will be the masterstroke you can build your Fantasy reputation upon.

FORWARDS

Choose 'em: Sergio Aguero (43.0) will be worth his astronomical fee by the end of Atletico's match against Liverpool; even if the greedy little Argentine doesn't score, he'll be peppering Jose Reina's goal with shots all night.

Lisandro Lopez (6.5) will be in the thick of the action for Porto in their home clash against Dynamo Kiev, which makes his price look very tempting, while Dimitar Berbatov (15.0) might be non-celebrating a couple of goals and assists if Manchester United take apart Celtic.

Lose 'em: It's difficult to imagine a Roma side languishing halfway down the Serie A table causing Chelsea any trouble at Stamford Bridge, so Mirko Vucinic (11.0) and Julio Baptista (10.0) might struggle to make much of an impact.

Similarly, Fiorentina - who have scored just nine goals in seven Serie A games this season - will find Bayern Munich tough work, which should mean a poor night for Adrian Mutu (20.0).

Alex Sharratt / Eurosport

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  1. "And we reckon that the Sukru Saracoglu stadium in Istanbul is no place for a frightened teenage boy, which is why replacing Theo Walcott (5.0) will be the masterstroke you can build your Fantasy reputation upon." Really? I dont think so.

    From Affi, on Tue 21 Oct 10:03PM
  2. second

    From tokushusentailovely, on Tue 21 Oct 2:55PM
  3. first!

    From iamgooner23, on Tue 21 Oct 2:40PM
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