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This article covers top fantasy tips and captaincy picks for Matchday 7 in the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League.
Matchday 6 of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League delivered thrilling action, highlighted by Bayern Munich's incredible 5-1 victory over Shakhtar and Barcelona's stunning 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund. With only two games left in the league phase, who has the best chance of finishing in the top eight? Let's dive in!
Matchday 7 promises more excitement, with headline clashes like Atletico Madrid vs. Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain hosting Man City this midweek. The road to Germany is set to be thrilling, ultimately leading to the final at Munich's Football Arena. RotoBaller remains your go-to source for top-tier UEFA Champions League fantasy content.
The Matchday 7 deadline of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League season is Tuesday, January 21 at 12:45 p.m. EST, when Atalanta BC entertains Sturm Graz and AS Monaco hosts Aston Villa. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
We're back! 🙌#UCL pic.twitter.com/a3kizqozJt
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 20, 2025
Matchday 7 UCL Fantasy Tips
Target Atalanta BC and Real Madrid Assets
With no wins in their previous four matches, Atalanta BC has a chance to return to winning ways at home against 29th-place Sturm Graz, who has only one UCL win this season. With only two points shy of the qualifying spots, a victory for the Black and Blues this midweek could significantly boost their chances of finishing in the top eight.
I convocati per la sfida di domani 📝
Our squad list for #AtalantaSturmGraz 🚨#UCL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫🔵 pic.twitter.com/pVegZfeSRa
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) January 20, 2025
Real Madrid is playing superbly. The team is leading La Liga and scored 19 goals in its previous five games. However, Los Blancos are four points off the automatic qualifying spots and must assert its attacking prowess against a leaky RB Salzburg side that has conceded 18 goals so far.
For Matchday 7, UCL Fantasy managers are strongly advised to focus their free transfers on any Atalanta BC or Real Madrid assets.
#UCLFantasy MD7
Projections for this week's round of Champions League fixtures, via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/POyuaWsga5
— Rob T (@robtFPL) January 21, 2025
Based on goal projections, Atalanta BC and Real Madrid are expected to generate 2.75 and 3.55 xG (expected goals) against their opponents in Matchday 7. Defensively, both teams are projected to earn clean sheets, with 52% for Atalanta BC and 58% for Real Madrid.
This week's recommended targets include any of Atalanta BC's Ademola Lookman, Mateo Retegui, Raoul Bellanova, and Marco Carnesecchi, and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Antonio Rudiger.
Chip O'Clock: Time to Maximize your Wildcard and Limitless Chip
For fantasy managers with Wildcard and Limitless chips, Matchday 7 is the ideal time to use at least one to bring in many exciting assets with favorable fixtures.
Here is a quick draft template that could guide your selection for your Limitless Chip:
Limitless #UCLFantasy Draft Template for Matchday 7
Front three of Gyökeres, Lewa and Vini Jr ⚽️
Bellingham and Olise could make up gains for those chasing.
Ademola will likely start (early KO on Tuesday) and a nice captaincy shout.
Double up of Arsenal and Liverpool Defence 🛡️ https://t.co/gCXAduSTyg pic.twitter.com/agcb0tJpLg— FPL Manual (Wale) (@TheFPLManual) January 20, 2025
Meanwhile, if you have only your Wildcard chip available, below is a list of favorable fixtures to target for the midweek:
- Arsenal vs. GNK Dinamo Zagreb
- Celtic vs. Young Boys
- RB Leipzig vs. Sporting CP
- Feyenoord vs. FC Bayern Munich
- AC Sparta Praha vs. Inter
Arsenal and Celtic are unbeaten in their UCL home ties, while Sporting CP and FC Bayern Munich will be looking to improve their away form against their respective opponents. Inter has one of the best defenses in the Champions League, conceding only once this season.
Recommended wildcard selection includes a combination of Arsenal's Kai Havertz, Celtic's Nicolas-Gerrit Kühn, Sporting CP's Viktor Gyökeres, and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, and a possible double-up of Inter's Yann Sommer and Denzel Dumfries in defense.
⚫️🔵#UCL pic.twitter.com/zeG5Zjcyn7
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 20, 2025
Matchday 7 Top Captain Picks
The Champions League midweek fixtures present many fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Michael Olise facing Feyenoord, and Mohamed Salah with a favorable home tie against LOSC Lille all present strong cases. However, my top three picks across Matchday 7 would be:
Who should be my Champions League Fantasy Football captain for Matchday 7? 🤔🤔🤔
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 20, 2025
Robert Lewandowski (€9.6m) - FC Barcelona
Robert Lewandowski leads the Champions League goal-scoring rankings with seven goals and has been a key player for Barcelona this season, scoring 16 goals in La Liga.
The 36-year-old Polish has 42 fantasy points, which places him second among forwards. Lewa also boasts an impressive record of scoring seven goals in six appearances against SL Benfica. This makes the experienced veteran a favorite for our RotoBaller top captain of the week.
Ademola Lookman (€6.7m) - Atalanta BC
The 2024 African Player of the Year, Ademola Lookman, has been instrumental for Atalanta this season, contributing 15 attacking returns (10 goals and 5 assists) in the Italian Seria A for the Black and Blues.
With a favorable home tie to Sturm Graz, the Nigerian international is set to get his name on the scoresheet this midweek and a compelling choice for the captain's armband.
Ademola Lookman is the only player hit to 10+ goals in each of last three Serie A seasons 🇮🇹🔥 pic.twitter.com/oLgnnjXEFr
— LiveScore (@livescore) January 18, 2025
Vinicius Junior (€11.2m) - Real Madrid
Although his teammate, Kylian Mbappe, has been in the headlines for his recent surge in form. One player you can't rule out to deliver a world-class performance in the Champions League is Vinicius Junior.
The Brazilian international has contributed four attacking returns in the last three UCL games, including a hat-trick scored on Matchday 3. Looking for a clutch captain pick? Then Vinicius is your man for the captain's armband for our Matchday 7 Wednesday fixtures.
Differential Captain Pick (<10% ownership)
Kyogo Furuhashi (€6.5m) - Celtic
Scoring 10 goals for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, "Kyogoal" is on our menu for captain picks this week. The Bhoys have a favorable home tie against Young Boys, who are at the bottom of the table and have been eliminated in the Champions League.
With only 1% ownership to his name, Kyogo Furuhashi is an excellent differential captaincy option for Matchday 7.
🎂 Happy birthday, @Kyogo_Furuhashi!#KYOGOAL! 🙆♂️ #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/RiysEP3Pub
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 20, 2025
Join The RotoBaller League
Once again, join our RotoBaller.com league. Hit any of our writers up over the next two weeks, and we will give you the code (also in the graphic below), and you'll be good to go. Good luck for UEFA Champions League Fantasy, RotoBallers!
Stick around for more UCL Fantasy content coming soon. Is there a question you would like to have answered every week? Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
