Before each matchday I try to put together all the essential information you need to make informed UCL Fantasy decisions. Here’s what i’ve got for MD2.

⚽ HEADLINES:

⭐ My OR: 61,825/1m. Top 6%.

💥 Three players went HUGE (15+ points) in MD1: Kane (21pts), Wirtz (18pts) & Bynoe-Gittens (15pts)

❌ Players missing MD2: Rodri, Mbappe, Goncalves, Ter Stegen. I only include the highly owned players here. Make sure you follow me on X @_Fantasyed where i’ll do my best to RT any late fitness news we get.

✅ Fixtures to target in MD2: Inter Milan vs Crvena Zvezda, Dortmund vs Celtic, Barcelona vs Young Boys, Liverpool vs Bologna.

🧢 Captaincy options: Thuram (1st), Adeyemi (1st), Lewadowski/Yamal (1st), Haaland (1st), Salah/Diaz (2nd), Watkins (2nd), Kane (2nd)

💰 FIVE Potential MD2 Bargains: Inaki Pena (£4.5m), Jacob Ramsey (£5m), Mateo Retegui (£5.5m), Ademola Lookman (£6.5m), Rico Lewis (£4.5m).

⤵️ My UCL Fantasy Five: At the bottom of every email I send I pick out 5 players in each position who should be considered for the upcoming MD (scroll down!)

I’m not 100% sure what i’m going to be doing with my MD2 team yet. 

Initially I thought I already had my MD2 plans sorted and ready to go. For MD1 I left £2.5m in the bank ready to do Kane → Lewa & Goncalves → Salah.

These moves seemed perfect as they’d bring in the ideal Tuesday captain (Lewandowski) and the ideal Wednesday captain (Salah). See here my current MD2 team:

After MD1 though, i’m doubting my transfer plans.

Kane scored FOUR goals, and even though THREE of them were penalties, Bayern scored 5 goals outside of them. They looked frightening. Kane now has 10 goals in his first 6 games (5 in 4 in Bundesliga). It looks like another electric season for the generational striker.

My original prediction was Villa would keep them quiet at Villa park in MD2. And they’ve a rejuvenated Barcelona at the Camp Nou in MD3. Can I really stick with the plan?

Other issues I have could feed in to this debate. The impressive Goncalves (4g3a in 5 games) is set to miss MD2 with an injury.

Does this force my hand?

I HAVE to get Salah for MD2. I set up my whole team (and left £2.5m in the bank) to make sure I had both the Egyptian king and Trent (already got, and a bonus return MD1) for the home game against a poor Bologna who only got their first win of the season last week (against Monza).

My issues are going to be Ramsey and Bogarde. I don’t regret getting them (Ramsey 9 points! And Villa got a CS but Bogarde injured at HT - gutted!) but I won’t be able to see Villa’s starting team before the deadline. Given I want Lewa & Salah, I think i’ll need to keep them for now and try to put out that fire at later date.

Anyway, you don’t all have my team - take a look at some suggestions for MD2 below…

Each matchday I put together five players from each position that I would consider decent picks. These ARE generally short-term picks, but if you’re a bit stuck and need some good suggestions, this is a good place to start.

DOES NOT INCLUDE PLAYERS I ALREADY HAVE!

FIVE Goalkeepers:

• Yann Sommer (£5.5m) - probably the best UCL keeper over the last two seasons. No-one considered him initially as Inter had Man City (a) first game. In the next two Sommer faces Crvena Zvezda (h) & Young Boys (a)

• Alisson Becker (£6m) - Liverpool have Bologna at Anfield in MD2. Under Arne Slot Liverpool have looked a very solid and balanced team. Time to bring in the elite keeper?

• Inaki Pena (£4.5m) - The injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen was a horrific one, and one that will see him out of action for 7-8 months. A cheap Barca starting keeper? Yes please!

• Gregor Kobel (£5m) - With 7 points in MD1, the Dortmund keeper now has a home game against Celtic. Can the German giants keep another clean sheet? Only thing to keep in mind is their MD3 fixture is at the Bernabeu…

• Ederson (£6m) - Man City’s next 4 UCL games are Bratislava (a), Sparta Prague (h), Sporting Lisbon (a) & Feyenoord (h). You could see them winning all four! The questions that remain are, how will they cope without Rodri (out for the season) and will Pep rotate in these fixtures?

FIVE Defenders:

• Federico Dimarco (£5.5m) - As I said before, no-one considered Inter assets in MD1 because they were playing Man City. However, when at his best, Dimarco is one of the best LB’s in the world. Just see his latest goal for Italy to witness his talent (Tonali amazing assist….Newcastle fan writing here…)

• Rico Lewis (£4.5m) - The question with all Man City players, especially in the UCL group stage, is will Pep start them? Or start playing roulette with his team and our emotions/hearts.

• Jeremie Frimpong (£5.5m) - His Leverkusen fellow wingback scored a mega 12 points in MD1 when lots picked him. Jeremie might feel slightly unloved, because he got 12 points as well! Could the double up work?

• Gabriel (£5.5m) - It doesn’t seem too controversial at the moment to suggest Arsenal’s defence is the best in world football. Add on to that Gabriels two goals in six games (as a CB!) and you’ve got a potent mix. Arsenal’s fixtures aren’t amazing, and i’ve chosen to avoid them until wildcard MD4/5, but if you want one, the angel Gabriel is the one.

• Andy Robertson (£5.5m) - I can see it now. Wednesday night. My head in hands after I set up my whole team to make sure I had TAA, and Robertson has hauled. Completely possible, and i’m absolutely certain he’ll explode with points in either FPL and UCL soon - make sure you don’t miss it.

FIVE Midfielders:

• Florian Wirtz (£7.5m) - It was between Bellingham and Wirtz for me in MD1. Guess what? I chose Bellingham. SO annoying. What a player. A big money move isn’t far away. He’s better than ever after a huge injury last year. Get him if you can.

• Raphina (£7.5m) - Everyone focussing on Yamal and Lewandowski for the Barcelona fixture vs Young Boys could miss out on Raphina. Already has a hattrick this season. Maybe go all three for MD2?

• Mohammed Salah (£10m) - The player I must get in for MD2. The obvious captaincy option for day 2 of MD2. At home vs a poor Bologna team. You’ll be going against the grain massively if you don’t get him - which i’ll respect!

• Ademola Lookman (£6.5m) - Two goals in two games in Serie A and he became the first player to score a hattrick in a one legged european final since 1969 last summer (Europa League Final). BARGAIN.

• Luis Diaz (£7.5m) - In sensational form for Liverpool in the Premier League, is he the UCL asset we’ll all be getting after a hattrick in MD2. Save your future self and get him now.

FIVE Forwards:

• Robert Lewandowski (£9.5m) - Seven goals in seven La Liga games. A rejuvenated Barcelona. A home game against a team thumped by Aston Villa in MD1. Get him. Captain him on the Tuesday.

• Vinicius Junior (£11m) - With Mbappe’s injury (3 weeks apparently) Vini is now the main man again. If you have a premium space upfront you’d do a lot worse than to consider the Ballon D’or favourite.

• Marcus Thuram (£7.5m) - The forgotten team (Inter). Home against Crvena Zvezda. Thuram the most in-form Inter attacker. If you want to target this fixture, do it! 

• Deniz Undav (£7m) - The former Brighton man with a goal every other game this season. I genuinely thought he’d be £6m so £7m seems a bit much, but he has Sparta Prague at home next AND he scored in MD1 vs Real Madrid.

• Mateo Retegui (£5.5m) - The bargain. Four goals in five Serie A games so far for his new team Atalanta. Shakhtar away followed by Celtic at home isn’t too bad either. Go for it.