Champions League Fantasy is back for the Round of 16!

UCL Fantasy managers will be gearing up for another exciting Matchday and in this newsletter is everything you need to get yourself ready for it!

As well as taking you through some of our most recent UCL Fantasy articles for the new round, we also bring in @FPLReaction (Louis Roberts) to reveal his thoughts on picks and captaincy for the EXCLUSIVE part of the newsletter.

Hey! FPL Reactions (Louis) here! UCL Fantasy is back and I am super excited for it to start!

In this exclusive part of the newsletter I’m going to talk about some of the players I think you should own going into the new round. I will also give my thoughts in how I think managers can gain rank!

Firstly, everyone loves budget players and my favourite is probably Ian Maatsen (€4.5m). Personally, I will 100% have him going into Matchday 7. Maatsen has been starting regularly for a Dortmund side that are improving both in terms of results and defensively. Maatsen also has attacking threat and we can see that in the two assists he managed during the last five games.

Other great enablers I think you should consider are PSG midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery (€5.3m) and Real Sociedad midfielder Ander Barrenetxea (€4.6m).

Now I think in terms of essential going into the new round we have to start with Erling Haaland (€11.7m). Whether you are trying to go different or not I think you just have to have him. He is the standout captain on the first day and his ownership is 50% so going without him if he goes big against Copenhagen could be an issue.

Another essential is probably Bukayo Saka (€9.8m). He is in great form and plays for a Arsenal side whom bagged 16 goals in the Group Stage. His biggest appeal is the fact he is the standout captaincy pick on the final day which could be crucial if all of the previous armband selections fail.

Believe it or not there aren’t many players that are essential for Matchday 7 but it also feels like there is little room from the template to gain rank. However, I think there several assets or combinations we could select.

I think one player not many will go for is Manchester midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (€10.5m). He is very expensive and many will have their attention towards the premium strikers. Another great differential could be Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug (€7.5m). Fullkrug is in form which is great but he could also be a great captaincy pick on an awkward third day of Matchday 7.

If are looking to gain major rank then I think doubling up on defences like Real Madrid, Dortmund or PSG could be a good move. Some could even triple up on the Manchester City defence.

The biggest piece of advice I would have this week is to make sure you have a good captain every day. In my experience of all games, the more captaincy options you have the better, trust me.

Good luck for the round ahead, be sure to check out our articles below

Making sure we have the best captain for each day will be key.

Gaining rank could be tough so differentials will be crucial for Matchday 7.

For more great articles check out our UCL Fantasy section over at FFC here!