In this article, we will look at the best defenders to pick for your Fantasy Champions League team in Semifinals
This article is part of the series: UCL Fantasy Semifinals: Tips, Best Pick, Captain and Team Selection
We look at each price bracket: budget defenders, mid-priced picks, and premium options.
Budget defenders for UCL Fantasy Semifinals (4m – 4.5m)
Gerard Martín (3.8m, Barcelona) – 2/10
- predicted to start again
- short term pick
- only option if you really really need a budget enabler
Lewis Skelly (4m, Arsenal) – 3/10
- Another cheap starting defender currently
- regularly starting for Arsenal recently
Kiwior (4.1m, Arsenal) – 3/10
- cheap route into Arsenal defence
- so many injuries to Arsenal defenders, the quality of their backline will suffer, it will be harder for them to keep a clean sheet
Timber (4.4m, Arsenal) – 4/10
- another budget pick among Arsenal defenders
- offer attacking threat
Cubarsi (4.5m, Barcelona) – 7.5/10
- cheap route into Barcelona defence
- MOTM candidate when Barca do well defensively
Acerbi (4.5m, Inter) – 3/10
- budget pick among Inter defenders, but Inter have options, so he is a rotation risk
Mid-priced defenders for UCL Fantasy (5m)
Pacho (5m, PSG) – 6.5/10
- a cheap route into PSG’s defence
- top for balls recovered among all players
- but a lot of good picks among PSG defenders
Bastoni (5.4m, Inter) – 7/10
- our go to Inter defender, likely the most nailed
- Inter so solid defensively this season in UCL, but tough fixture
Premium defenders for UCL Fantasy (5.5m – 6m)
Kounde (5.6m, Barcelona) – 8.5/10
- offers an attacking threat on the top of clean sheet potential
- so if you can afford him, go for Kounde instead of Cubarsi
Marquinhos (5.6m, PSG) – 7.5/10
- very reliable in balls recovered, 2nd best after Pacho, and currently recovering more balls
- each PSG defender is a great source of points
Hakimi (5.7m, PSG) – 9.5/10
- high attacking threat
Nuno Mendes (5.8m, PSG) – 7/10
- not as nailed as Hakimi
- but he can produce points for attacking returns too
Saliba (5.5m, Arsenal) – 8/10
- most reliable Arsenal defender to pick
Picking the best defenders in UCL Fantasy 2024/25
When selecting a defender for your UCL Fantasy team you consider:
- Whether a defender that you pick has a good chance of a clean sheet. Our Champions League Clean Sheet Odds will help you with that. This is the most important criterion you should consider, as clean sheets are the most important source of fantasy points for defenders.
- Whether a defender has attacking potential: Can he score goals after free kicks and corners? Does he play in an advanced position so he could register a few assists?
- Balls recovered potential. Centre-backs usually recover more balls than full-backs which makes them more appealing from this point of view. You can check, which players are best at bells recovered in our article: Best players at balls recovered.
If you find a defender that offers all three above, you find gold and should pick him into your team. However, that is rare. So make sure that the defenders you pick satisfy at least 2 of those 3 criteria.
