The fantasy Champions League returns for the 2024/25 season. We have a lot of talk about regarding the first matchday of UCL Fantasy.
Feel free to JOIN our UCL fantasy league using our league code csmvnE . We are looking forward to competing with you!
Let’s dive into our UCL Fantasy Matchday 1 Tips with players to pick, odds, captain, and team selection.
1. Fantasy Champions League Tips for Success
As in the previous season, I decided to put together a few tips for UCL Fantasy success, so we will start with them. Tips are basic, but I hope they are helpful. Anyway, you can read my UCL Fantasy tips for success here.
2. New Champions League format = opportunities for more UCL Fantasy points
The New Champions League format brings new opportunities to score more fantasy points (as we have more matchdays = 17), but also a lot of headaches.
- From the 2024/25 season, UCL will have 8 matchdays in the group stage (instead of 6) and 9 matchdays in the elimination phase (instead of 7) so we will see 17 matchdays of UCL Fantasy football in the next season (instead of 13).
- Because of that there would be 2 matchdays with unlimited transfers – one after the group stage and one after the knockout round playoffs.
- Scoring is the same as last season (points for balls recovered, goals outside of the box, MOTM awards remain as they were in the previous season)
- 2 free transfers between matches as usual in the group stage and between playoffs
- 3 + 5 free transfers during knockouts
- 2 chips: wildcard + limitless wildcard
- deadline on the first kickoff
- There are more teams this season – 36 instead of 32 which means there are more opportunities to score points. In the league phase, there are an astonishing 18 matches each matchday (in comparison to 10 in the Premier League and 16 in previous UCL campaigns), which means fantasy points will be flying around. There is just no way you can catch them all – you can have only 15 players in your squad, and there will be many indifferent options to build up your team. You must accept, that you will miss some points, but that is okay when your players get you points as well.
Our most important ideas regarding the new format
- We can throw our usual chip strategies out of the window. There are no mirroring fixtures, each team has 8 different fixtures, so it is going to be extremely difficult to find the optimal chip strategy
- Goodbye to easy goalkeeper substitutions and captaincy changes. In the previous seasons, it was strict on which teams played on Day 1 and Day 2 of each matchday. This season it is different. For example, there are teams that have 6 fixtures on Day 1, and only 2 fixtures on Day 2, others have 4 fixtures on Day 1, 4 on Day 2, others 3 on Day 1, 5 on Day 2, and so on… basically a complete chaos
- For the same reasons, finding captaincy rotations (that play each matchday on a different day) will be difficult
- Each team has opponents from each of the 4 pots, which means that even weaker teams (pot 4) will have 2 easy fixtures against two pot 4 opponents. This is an opportunity to pick cheaper players from weaker teams.
- Matchday 1 will have 3 playing days (so we can change captain 2 times)
- Matchday 2 – 7 will have 2 playing days, as usual (so 1 captaincy change)
- Matchday 8 will have just 1 playing day, all matches will start at the same time, so we will know all lineups of MD8 before the deadline. However, there will be 0 captaincy changes and 0 substitutions available for this matchday because of that
Usual tips you should not forget
- bench players who play on Thursday, so you can sub them in for players who blanked
- try to have goalkeepers who play on different days so you can use subs if your first goalkeeper does not keep a clean sheet
- captain player who plays on Tuesday and if he blanks, change your captain on Wednesday to a player who is yet to play
- Do not forget to check the first lineups of first two matches before the deadline
Finding rotating fixtures
- Find your perfect rotating goalkeepers to use subs every matchday
- Find a captaincy duo to be able to switch the armband between your heavy hitters during the MD
Early thoughts on chip strategies
- We cannot use the same chip strategies as in the previous season
- We will have unlimited transfers before playoffs and before R16, so no need to save wildcard for these matchdays
- In the last season, it was a good idea to use all chips in the group stage, and we think it is going to be the same for this season as well
Wildcard
- use it in the group stage, during the fixture swing, or in MD8 when we will know all lineups before the deadline. Or in MD7 as it is played in January – after a big Christmas break, so there could be injuries and new transfers so it could be difficult to deal with that with just 2 free transfers
Limitless Wildcard
- do not use it in MD8 where all fixtures are played at the same time so you cannot use substitutions or captaincy changes (because the power of the limitless is that you can have a bench full of 8-11 million players, which really increases the odds of having good matchdays thanks to the substitutions).
- Do not use it in playoffs where top teams will be missing – so many heavy hitters will be missing.
- Do not use it in the elimination rounds, as our budget increases by 5 million after R16, so the impact of limitless will be smaller, and whipping boys (weaker teams) will be missing in elimination rounds
- Use it in the group stage during MD where many top teams will play against whipping boys. Matchday 2 seems to be full of good fixtures of top teams against weaker ones.
3. Fixtures to target in Fantasy Champions League MD1
Let’s use our Odds to probability calculator to find out which fixtures we should target in MD1 according to bookies odds.
Tuesday fixtures
- Bayern vs. Din. Zagreb: Bayern 85 % to win, 60 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Real Madrid vs. Stuttgart: Real Madrid 76 % to win, 52 % to score 2.5+ goals
- YB Bern vs Aston Villa: Aston Villa 59 % to win, 36% to score 2.5+ goals
Wednesday fixtures
- Celtic vs. Slovan Bratislava: Celtic 70 % to win, 39 % to score 2.5+ goals
- PSG vs. Girona: PSG 65 % to win, 38 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Man. City vs. Inter: Man. City 64 % to win, 37 % to score 2.5+ goals
Thursday fixtures
- Monaco vs. Barcelona: Barcelona 55 % to win, 29 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Atalanta vs. Arsenal: Arsenal 53 % to win, 27 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Atletico vs. Leipzig: Atletico 53 % to win, 26 % to score 2.5+ goals
Find 2.5+ goals odds for all teams in our article: Champions League Over 2.5 Goals Odds.
4. Best players to pick in MD1
We look at key players to pick in Fantasy Champions League MD1. We examine each position and each price bracket. You can check our separate articles here:
- Best Goalkeeper to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 1
- Best Defenders to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 1
- Best Midfielders to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 1
- Best Forwards to pick in UCL Fantasy Matchday 1
5. UCL Fantasy Matchday 1 captain
Picking the right captain is an important part of fantasy Champions League success. Because we have matchday divided into three days, the best captain strategy is to select three players with a very high expected output, each one playing on a different day.
When your Tuesday captain scores, great, you leave the armband on him. If he blanks, you move it to the one who is yet to play on Wednesday. And if he blanks as well, you change your captain to a Thursday player.
We always select a reliable player who has an easy fixture as our captain.
Standout captaincy fixtures for Tuesday:
- Bayern vs. Din. Zagreb
- Real Madrid vs. Stuttgart
Vinicius is our number-one captain pick for Tuesday. Other captaincy options for Tuesday: Kane, Mbappé, Musiala
Standout Captaincy fixtures for Wednesday:
- Celtic vs. Slovan Bratislava
- PSG vs. Girona
- Man. City vs. Inter
Haaland is our backup captain for Wednesday if our Tuesday captain blanks.
Standout Captaincy fixtures for Thursday:
- Monaco vs. Barcelona
- Atalanta vs. Arsenal
Yamal is our last captaincy pick if both of our captains from previous days fail to deliver.
6. Best UCL fantasy picks for recovering balls
Awarding a point for every three balls recovered is a new feature that UCL Fantasy added to the game before the start of the 2019/20 season. And it completely changed our view on center-backs and defensive midfielders – players who are recovering balls most often.
There are few players in the game, who are constantly recovering more than 6 balls per game. That is an extra two points. And these players cost only around 4.5-6.5 million.
Extra two points per game, that is 12 extra points per all six games in the group stage. 12 points are equivalent to a midfielder scoring 2 goals + 2 points. And which midfielder for 4.5 – 5.5 million will score with absolute certainty two goals in the group stage?
That cannot be easily predicted. Maybe none.
Predicting which players will be recovering balls very often is a much easier task when we have multiple seasons of data available.
You just pick some of these players, play them every week, and do not worry about them. At the end of the matchday, they will likely score 4-5 points (appearance points, potential clean sheet points + balls recovered points) for you without an attacking return.
Some players good at balls recovered from previous seasons:
- Schlotterbeck – 6.83 balls recovered per game in 2023/24
- Kim Min Jae – 7.67
- Marquinhos – 6.7
- Ryerson – 6.2
- Hakimi – 6.1
- Dias – 6.44
- Kounde – 6.4
- Boscagli – 7.28
- Otamendi – 8.33
- De Vrij – 8.17
- Schouten – 6.57
- Tomori – 6.66
- Gvardiol – 6.33
- Bidstrup – 6.17
- Benito – 6.6
- Matviyenko – 6.4
- Carter Vickers – 6.75
7. The MOTM awards
There was a new scoring feature introduced a few seasons ago in Champions League Fantasy. As you know, the player that gets awarded the MOTM (man of the match) will score 3 fantasy points.
The question is, which players have the highest potential of getting these awards?
This feature boosts the points potential of talismans – the key players of teams, like Mbappe, De Bruyne, Bellingham, Vinicius, or Griezmann.
8. Bookies odds
As usual, we looked at what bookies think about the Matchday 1 of UCL Fantasy.
We checked the clean sheet odds to determine which teams are most likely to keep a clean sheet in the MD1 and goalscoring odds to determine which players are most likely to score a goal in MD1.
Clean sheet odds for MD1
Bookies favor Bayern, Celtic, and Real Madrid to do well defensively in MD1. You can find the full Champions League clean sheet odds table here.
Goalscoring odds for MD1
Kane, Mbappe, and Haaland lead the goalscoring odds table for Matchday 1. Find more players in our article: Champions League Goalscoring Odds.
9. UCL Fantasy Matchday 1: Team Selection
Now, it is time to show our scout picks, our squad for matchday 1. Just as we mentioned in the captaincy section, we have three armband contenders in our squad, one for Tuesday, one for Wednesday and the other for Thursday.
The same applies to our bench. All bench players play on Thursday, so we will substitute them in for players who will have blanked on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The first Matchday of the new Fantasy Champions League campaign starts in just a few days. Make an informed decision about your UCL Fantasy team and prepare it for success.
Good luck!
10. Fantasy Champions League Tips
Find more tips, strategies, and picks for UCL Fantasy in these articles:
- Beginner? Read our guide: How to play UCL Fantasy?
- Confused about the rules? Read the Official guidelines of the game
- Do you want to get better at UCL Fantasy? Read our article about Essential Tips for UCL Fantasy Success.
