UCL Fantasy Matchday 9 Best Budget Gems

The new round of the 2024/25 Champions League season is edging closer. With this in mind we continue our coverage by picking out the UCL Fantasy Matchday 9 best budget gems. To do this we consider several factors including fixture difficulty and form.

Budget players can be vital for UCL Fantasy managers. Cheap assets allow more budget for premium picks who can be some of the most consistent in the game. Finding cheap assets is essential but finding cheap assets who do well can contribute to both rank and mini-league position.

Atalanta

Atalanta could well be ‘dark horses’ in the Champions League this season. Just falling short of Real Madrid in Matchday 6, and holding teams like Arsenal and Barcelona to draws, shows exactly what they have to offer this time around.

Gian Gasperini and his men head into their clash against Club Brugge, a side who just scraped it into a qualifying spot, off the back of dismantling Verona 5-0 in Serie A.

With an impressive five clean sheets in their first eight matches, Atalanta have more than proven themselves defensively. Due to goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi’s (€4.5m) injury, UCL Fantasy managers should consider Atalanta wing-back Davide Zappacosta (€4.7m). The 32-year-old has produced an assist in his previous two Champions League matches, showing how much attacking threat he has.

Atalanta have also averaged 2.5 goals scored per game in the Champions League. This makes them very appealing from an attacking perspective. In excellent form currently is penalty taker Matteo Retegui (€5.5m). The Italian has amassed a whopping 20 goals in Serie A this season, with four of them coming in his previous match. An alternative to Retegui is Charles De Ketelaere (€5.8m), who goes into the tie fresh after playing just 45 minutes in his previous match.

Monaco

A lot of the ‘favourites’ play away from home this week, so building a team could become challenging for UCL Fantasy managers this week. One team who are hosting this week is French side Monaco, who have impressed throughout their Champions League journey.

This week they face Benfica, a side they lost 2-3 to during the league phase. Revenge will be on their mind, and playing at home will give them the advantage they need to get that.

Between the sticks, Radoslaw Majecki (€3.9m) comes in incredibly cheap. They also have some great defender options, including Thilo Kehrer (€4.8m). Kehrer is their safest defensive option in terms of minutes, but he also leads his teammates for total points so far.

In attack, Monaco have more than proven themselves. Winger Maghnes Akliouche (€5.3m) has produced a goal contribution against the likes of Barcelona, Aston Villa, and weaker sides like GNK Dinamo and Crvena Zvezda already in the Champions League.

More Budget Picks

For UCL Fantasy managers who want to back a PSG defender against Brest, then Willian Pacho (€4.8m) is the cheapest route into the backline. Pacho managed a huge 9+ ball recoveries in each and every one of his first six Champions League matches this season.

Juventus v PSV could be another interesting clash. With clean sheets against Manchester City, Aston Villa and Club Brugge already, it could be worth backing goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio (€4.2m). Those who are backing a PSV clean sheet then centre-back Olivier Boscagli (€4.5m) is a standout pick.

Other budget gems include Celtic midfielder Nicolas-Gerrit Kühn (€4.8m) against a leaky Bayern and Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin (€4.5m).