UCL Fantasy Matchday 5- Differentials
FPL Reactions talks us through his differentials for UCL Fantasy Matchday 5.
Welcome back to another edition of my UCL Fantasy differential article. Here I will give you some great differentials for matchday 5 to try to help you climb the ranks. Whether you’re trying to catch up on a mini league rival or simply chasing the overall ranks then hopefully this article will help.
Firstly if you haven’t checked out my latest Top Picks article for allaboutfpl yet give it a read. It goes through my own personally journey including my team review, rank review and how my team could look going into the next matchday. Not just that I’ve also added some features like building the readers both a wildcard team and a limitless team for players out there planning to use them in the upcoming matchday 5.
Let’s take a look who makes the differential article for MD5.
Alejandro Grimaldo
Team: Benfica
Position: Defender
Cost: 4.7 million
Ownership: 1%
Benfica are a team that are always amongst the champions league and rightly so. In 3rd place behind Porto and Sporting the race for the domestic title heats up with only 1 point between them all.
In terms of the Benfica form it’s ok with 5 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws in their last 10 matches in all competitions. Before those 10 matches they were 16 matches unbeaten showing the hype of formidable form their used to.
It’s safe to say Benfica can score, 21 goals scored in the last 10 matches for Benfica averaging 2.1 goals per match in that same period and Grimaldo can contribute to those goals.
In defence only 2 clean sheets kept in the last 10 which suggests they’ve hit a slump but with a ropey opponent up next that could change.
In the UCL Benfica have kept 2 clean sheets out of 4 so far which is very good considering the 2 they didn’t keep was against Bayern Munich, one of the best attacks in the competition.
More specifically Grimaldo. His price is initially huge in that it massively enables other more expensive players in the rest of your teams. 4.7 million is also great value for money considering they’ve kept 2 clean sheets in the UCL so far with many defenders in the game struggling to hit even that.
Starting the last 5 matches in a row now Grimaldo also gives you reliability for minutes which is something we all expect.
With a long career at Benfica so far after joining Benfica in 2016 the Spanish full back has some great numbers.
Let’s check out his heat map below:
You’ll see Grimaldo spends a lot of time up and down the left wing with huge positioning in the opponents half even some runs into the box , this already indicates how attacking he can be.
Check out his numbers since he joined Benfica:
-Season 16/17- Played 14, scored 2, created 3 and kept 7 clean sheets with 12 returns in 14 games.
-Season 17/18- Played 28, scored 1, created 4 assist, and kept 11 clean sheets with 16 returns in 28 games.
-Season 18/19- Played 34, scored 4 goals, created 12 assists and kept 14 clean sheets with a huge 30 returns in 34 matches, impressive.
-Season 19/20- Played 26, created 6 assists and kept 14 assists with 20 returns in 26 matches, again impressive.
-Season 20/21- Played 31, scored 2 goals, created 9 assists and keeping 11 clean sheets with 22 returns in 31 matches.
This season currently after 10 matches played, 2 goals scored, 2 assists created and 1 clean sheet with 5 returns in 10 matches is isn’t bad. In fact considering the price it’s actually good value for money.
With 3 returns in 4 matches for Grimaldo he comes up against a Barcelona in matchday 5 that have struggled hugely as of late. Benfica also won the reverse fixture very comfortably 3-0.
For me at 4.7 million and in good form Grimaldo has both the fixture and the enabling price to be a great cheap asset in matchday 5, and for those that want to keep him in matchday 6 he also plays Dynamo Kyiv.
Ben Chilwell
Team: Chelsea
Position: Defender
Cost: 5.5 million
Ownership: 1%
Chelsea have been known as of late as having one of the the strongest defences in Europe especially with the arrival of elite coach Tuchel.
In terms of form Chelsea usually seem to have the good of it. In their last 10 matches they’ve only lost 2 matches, drawn 1 and won the other 7, showing fine form.
Defence has always been a huge part of Tuchel’ and Chelsea game in the formation they play and the world class defensive players they own. In the last 10 matches they’ve only conceded 5 goals, a goal every 2 matches, some of the best numbers amongst Europes top leagues and teams.
As well as having some of the best underlying stats Chelsea have the joint most clean sheets in the league with Man City but are also the best in the Premier League for goals conceded in that they’ve only conceded 4 goals in the 11 matches they’ve played this season, fantastic and a great showing of a top defence.
In matchday 5 Chelsea play against Juventus, beating Chelsea in the first fixture was a surprise due to how completely dominant Chelsea were in that match. Juventus are in a small patch of inconsistency currently with 2 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw in their last 5. The perfect time for Chelsea to get their revenge.
In terms of Chilwell offensively he is very good.
Firstly just take a look at his heat map below:
You’ll see vast offensive positioning in comparison to movement in his own half which already indicates huge attacking potential. You’ll also see quite a lot of movement in the opponents box which again is exciting as a player looking at Chilwell.
Although only starting 5 matches (the last 5) in fantasy premier league Chilwell is the 11th highest scoring defender already. In that 5 matches Chilwell has managed a huge 45 points in FPL, that’s a whopping average of 9 points per game, consisting of 3 goals and 3 clean sheets.
Chilwell was given a rest in the match against Zenit last match but now he’s full up to speed. Now both defensively and offensively superior to Alonso Tuchel will more than likely look to Chilwell against Juventus.
Playing for one of the most elite defences in Europe and in top level scoring form for a wing back Chilwell could be a fantastic differential for matchday 5.
Mario Pasalic
Team: Atalanta
Position: Midfielder
Cost: 7.7 million
Ownership: 0%
Atalanta sit 4th in Serie A which is a great feat so far this season considering the competition within the Italian top tier.
Form wise they’ve lost 2 matches in the last 10 matches whilst also drawing 4 and winning 4 and being unbeaten in the last 5 matches, pretty good.
The Italians have managed to score plenty of goals in that time, 21 goals scored in the last 10 matches with a 2.1 goals scored per match on average within that same period, this shows a very sharp attack and attractive in a UCL Fantasy asset sense.
Atalanta play Young Boys in matchday 5. Young boys have only won 3 in the last 10 matches, losing 5 and drawing 2. This shows a huge level of recent inconsistency in terms of form.
Defensively Young Boys are poor. 17 goals shipped in the last 10 matches representing a poor defence. This is furthered even more by the fact they’ve conceded 8 goals in their 4 UCL matches played so far, 2 per match conceded on average and a good team to target with attacking players in matchday 5.
The Atalanta attack has been known to heavily rotate their assets but as of late Pasalic has started the last 4 matches in a row reflecting his minutes may be more reliable than the other Atalanta attackers.
Take a look at Pasalic’ heat map below:
You’ll see at first glance Pasalic plays a central midfield role but as of late after digging deeper has recently played just behind the front men, furthering his potential for attacking returns.
12 matches played so far this season in Serie A with 2 goals scored and 4 assists created, 6 attacking returns in 12 matches so far, however 5 of those attacking returns coming in the last 7 matches played suggesting a much better output whilst playing in his more recent advanced role.
With a fantastic fixture coming up against a weaker defence, playing for an in form scoring team and playing just behind Zapata, I believe Pasalic could be a great differential for matchday 5.
Sardar Azmoun
Team: Zenit
Position: Forward
Cost: 8.1 million
Ownership: 0%
The Russian giants top the Premier League in Russia but have suffered from some inconsistent form as of late. 5 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw in the last 10 matches for Zenit.
Zenit may be inconsistent at the moment but they can score, 24 goals scored in the last 10 matches showing a very good attack, especially against weaker opponents, a 2.4 goals scored per match on average in that same period which is very good.
Zenit come up against a woeful defence in Malmo for matchday 5. Losing 4 , winning 5 and drawing 1 match doesn’t suggest bad form but that can be misleading when looking at their UCL form. In their 4 champions league matches played so far Malmo have lost 4 matches and failed to score a single goal.
In terms of goals conceded, in all competitions Malmo have let in 14 goals in the last 10 matches in all competitions, not bad but again when we look into their UCL matches we see that form worsen. 12 goals conceded in the 4 matches Malmo have played so far in the UCL, averaging 3 goals conceded per match and what’s even more exciting is that they conceded 4 goals to their upcoming opponent Zenit in the reverse fixture.
Reliability of minutes has to be there and with Iranian Sardar Azmoun starting the last 4 matches in a row provides that.
Azmoun has had a long career at Zenit and also with his national team Iran. Scoring 38 goals in 59 matches for his national team he shows hugely impressive goal to game ratio.
Let’s take a look at his numbers for Zenit in the last few seasons:
-Season 18/19: Played 26 matches, scored 13 goals, created 6 assists with 19 goal contributions in 26 matches.
-Season 19/20: Played 28 matches, scored 17 goals, created 7 assists with 24 goal contributions in 28 matches, impressive.
-Season 20/21: Played 24 matches, scored 19 goals, created 2 assists with 21 goal contributions in 24 matches, which is again very impressive.
So far this season Azmoun’ form continues after playing 12 matches, scoring 7 goals and creating 1 assist, accumulating to 8 attacking returns in 12 matches.
Sardar’ scoring form is fantastic for both club and country, his recent form in all competitions is also impressive because in the last 10 matches he scored 5 goals and created 3 assists, 8 goal contributions in that 10 matches period.
Azmoun is hot in form for both Iran and Zenit and plays a very defensively poor Malmo in matchday 5 and for that reason could be a great differential.
Kingsley Coman
Team: Bayern
Position: Midfielder
Cost: 8.4 million
Ownership: 0%
We all know by now that Bayern are the early kick off on matchday 5 which allows us the chance to see their lineups before we make out changes. Ask anyone and they’d probably pick to see the Bayern lineup as their currently already through to the next stages of the competition and for that reason may rotate, luckily we get to hand pick players on the lineup and bring this into our teams.
The Bayern form, specifically more recently is good as expected, 8 wins and only 2 losses in the last 10 matches in all competitions, showing elite team level form.
Scoring goals has become easy for Bayern and expected by many, 34 goals scored in the last 10 matches with an average of 3.4 goals scored per match in the same period which is very impressive and a must when looking to target teams with good attacks.
In the UCL the Bayern form is even better with even more goals scored. 4 matches played so far with 4 wins and a huge 17 goals scored with an average of over 4 goals put away per match, incredible scoring form.
Dynamo Kyiv are the opponents up next for Bayern. Dynamo have lost 4 matches , won 5 and drawn 1 in all competitions reflecting inconsistency in form. That form gets worse when we see that of the 4 matches they’ve played in the UCL they lost 3 and drew 1 match, all without scoring a single goal.
Defensively dodgy Dynamo have conceded 13 goals in their last 10 matches with the additional knowledge they’ve also conceded another 6 goals in the UCL with 4 of those goals being conceded in the reverse fixture against upcoming opponents Bayern.
Kingsley Coman has had a fine career already winning some of the biggest titles in football but consistency and injuries have been a problem.
Starting the last 3 matches in a row now for Bayern suggests he’s gaining some form and stability in the Bayern attack. So far this season just 6 matches played and 2 goals.
Although his stats haven’t reflected his performances Coman could still be a great differential for matchday 4, in this elite goal scoring unit and against a really defensively poor team he could really do well.
Pablo Sarabia
Team: Sporting
Position: Midfielder
Cost: 7.7 million
Ownership: 0%
You’ll notice that Sarabia made my differential article for matchday 4 and now returns after a successful matchday.
In regards to form Sporting have one of the best in all competitions, after 10 matches Sporting have only lost 1 game and won the other 9 matches, showing elite form. In the UCL however that has dipped, after 4 matches played Sporting have won 2 and lost 2.
In terms of goals Sporting are up there. 21 goals scored for Sporting in the last 10 matches averaging 2.1 goals scored in that same section of matches. In the UCL they’ve scored 9 goals in the 4 matches so far which is above their last 10 matches average showing that whatever competition their in they score plenty of goals.
Sporting come up against an inconsistent Dortmund next who have won 6 and lost 4 in their last 10 matches. In the UCL even more inconsistent in that after 4 matches played they’ve picked up 2 wins and 2 losses.
The Dortmund defence is also hit and miss, 15 goals conceded in all competitions in their last 10, averaging 1.5 goals per match. In the UCL they have conceded 8 goals which is even worse than their last 10 match average, this indicates that Sporting could do really well.
Although there was some rotation in attack for Sporting that seems to have settled for Sarabia as he’s started the last 6 matches for Sporting showing just how important he is for them, which also suggests he’s reliable in terms of starts and minutes for UCL fantasy managers.
Take a look at Sarabia’ heat map below
You’ll see he primarily plays on the right hand side and attacks from there, whilst also showing large positioning in the opponents box, exactly what we want as potential owners.
For Sevilla before his move to PSG and then very quickly Sporting Sarabia played 33 matches, scored 12 goals and created 13 assists. That’s 25 goal contributions in 33 matches and just reflects what his potential can be.
This season not so great, 7 matches played in the domestic league with just 2 assists but in his UCL campaign has played 4 and scored in 2 matches, his last 2 played.
Sarabia is a nice differential against a team leaning goals, with the addition of penalties to his potential he could have a really good matchday 5.
Stanislav Kritsyuk
Team: Zenit
Position: Goalkeeper
Cost: 4.9 million
Ownership: 0%
Kritsyuk has an ownership of 0% and you can see that above with makes him a complete differential.
Clean sheets seem hard to come by in the champions league so far because of the sheer quality in many teams attacks but if you find the right opponent which you’ll find here you’ll be fine.
Zenit have suffered some inconsistency lately in form but are still leaders in the Russian domestic league with only 2 clean sheets in the last 10 matches.
Zenit come up against Malmo in matchday 5 who oddly have better form in their recent 10 matches however largely due to the quality of their own domestic league it seems.
Malmo in the UCL have been woeful, in fact not only have they been swept asides easily by every side they’ve faced they’ve also failed to score a single goal yet in the competition suggesting Zenit could comfortably keep the clean sheet.
Kritsyuk, the 30 year old Russian is number one in terms of first choice goal keeper, starting all of the 4 champions league matches so far this campaign.
Interestingly the last time Zenit played Malmo in the reverse fixture the Russians came out on top after a huge 4-0 win. This is where Stanislav returned a clean sheet and a save point for 3 saves resulting in a 7 point return.
The Zenit goalkeeper plays on the first night which gives you the opportunity to switch if he doesn’t perform as well as players want him to.
At a good price specifically to this week, playing a woeful side in terms of attack Kritsyuk has to be considered as a great differential Pick for matchday 5.
Kostas Tsimikas
Team: Liverpool
Position: Defender
Cost: 4.5 million
Ownership: 0%
Not a regular member of my articles but a potential gem if certain scenarios go in our favour as UCL fantasy managers.
With Robertson’ latest muscle injury during the international break coming a week before matchday 5 it leaves Tsimikas as the perfect player to cover in his absence. We don’t know the extent of the Robertson injury just yet but even if he was ok it’s likely we could see Tsimikas rotated for matchday 5 anyway.
Looking for Liverpool assets usually comes with a very high price tag. In this case Kostas only costs a mere 4.5 million which is a fantastic price especially because it’s a Liverpool defender. A huge enabler for the rest of your teams considering many of the 4.5 million defenders have now risen in price.
The Liverpool form is fantastic, 1 loss in their last 10 matches, 1 loss in 20 matches if extended back and 2 losses in their last 30 matches suggests elite form from an elite team.
5 clean sheets in their last 10 mates for Liverpool indicating again a great defence. Whilst in attack they’ve managed to score a huge 32 goals, 3.2 goals scored per match on average in that same period.
Take a look at Tsimikas’ heat map below:
You’ll see in the limited matches he’s played this season for Liverpool that he spends most of his time attacking the opposition half with strong red patches close to the oppositions box and smaller patches of runs into the box, reflecting just how attacking he can be.
When Tsimikas plays he usually returns points in the absence of Robertson. In the 4 matches he’s started in the Premier League this season Tsimikas has managed a huge 28 points , averaging 7 points per match and in the UCL matchday 4 when he played he returned another 7 points to stay with his average with a clean sheet and ball recovery point.
Tsimikas gives you a cheap way into one of the best teams in Europe currently going forward and very good at the back, for that reason combined with having Porto, I think he could make a great differential in matchday 5.
So there you have it, a little shorter this week and partly due to the fact that my top picks article already has lots of low ownership players in already, check it out pinned to my Twitter account @FPLReaction.
