In this article, we will look at the best defenders to pick for your Fantasy Champions League team in Matchday 1.
This article is part of the series: UCL Fantasy MD1: 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 (4m – 4.5m)
- Bellanova (4m, Atalanta) – 3.5/10 – offers attacking threat and clean sheet potential as well, good pick from MD2
- Anton/Couto – (4m, Dortmund) – 6/10 – both played 3/3 for Dortmund this season, Dortmund defenders were good for ball recovered in previous seasons
- Calafiori (4.5m, Arsenal) – 8/10 – Well, this is an absolutely underpriced player. Started 4/4 for Arsenal, 1G + 2A this season in PL, the only issue is, he could be rotated with Lewis Skelly, but you will know Arsenal’s MD1 lineup before the deadline
- Huijsen (4.5m, Real Madrid) – 2/10 – another budget pick from top team, started 4/4 for Real this season, but could be rotated anytime with Rudiger/Alaba on the bench for Real, so we are avoiding him as a fantasy pick
- Stanišič (4.5m, Bayern) – 6/10 – cheap route into Bayern’s defence, started 3/3 in Bundesliga
- Gatti (4.5m, Juventus) – 3/10 – cheap route into Juventus defence, but could be subbed out early
- Inacio (4.5m, Sporting) – 3/10 – solely MD1 pick for Sporting’s good clean sheet odds
- Sergino Dest (4.5m, PSV) – 3.5/10 – attacking DEF, solely for MD1 pick, 1G + 2A in 5 Eredivies games this season
Mid-priced defenders for UCL Fantasy (5m)
- Pacho/Marquinhos (5m, PSG) – 6/10 – both excellent for balls recovered
- Otamendi (5m, Benfica) – 3/10 – we write about him each year, solid at balls recovered, good MD1 Clean sheet odds
- Carreras (5m, Real Madrid) 6/10 – seems to be preferred for Real, played 90 min in 4/4 in La Liga
- Kerkez (5m, Liverpool) – 4/10 – could offer a cheap route into Liverpool defence, but could be rotated with Robertson
- Pedro Porro (5m, Tottenham) – 7.5/10 – good fixtures, attacking threat, set pieces
Premium defenders for UCL Fantasy (5.5m – 6m)
- Di Lorenzo (5.5m, Napoli) – 6/10 – one of the main men for Napoli, 3G + 2A last season in Serie A for Napoli
- Cucurella (5.5m, Chelsea) – 6/10 – attacking threat, could be an option from MD2 onwards
- Gabriel (5.5m, Arsenal) – 7/10 – Arsenal with good opening fixtures
- Hakimi/Mendes (6m, PSG) – 8/10 – top scoring defenders from previous season, high attacking threat
- Dumfries (6m, Inter) – 8.5/10 – back to his best, attacking threat, good opening fixtures
- Van Dijk (6m, Liverpool) – 7/10 – good at balls recovered, threat from set pieces
- Grimaldo (6m, Leverkusen) – 7.5/10 – should not be overlooked, likely the highest attacking threat from all defenders in the game
Picking the best defenders in UCL Fantasy 2025/26
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.
