The world’s best club competition returns on Tuesday, September 6th – the UEFA Champions League.
Fantasy football managers will be delighted that the popular UCL Fantasy game also returns.
What is UCL Fantasy?
As the name suggests, UCL Fantasy is fantasy football for the Champions League.
Largely, it is very similar to the most famous of fantasy games, Fantasy Premier League.
You select a squad of 15 players, of which you choose 11 to play. Those players score points based on various in-match events. We will discuss the specific scoring below.
Teams can be created on the official UEFA Champions League fantasy page.
Much like FPL you are given a 100 million budget to fill your squad with. That budget rises to 105 million when the knockout stages begin (MD7).
Players differ in price based on their perceived ability to get your team points.
Squads can be made up of a maximum of three players from any team. However, this does increase as the final approaches:
- Group stage: Maximum of 3 players
- Last 16: Maximum of 4 players
- Quarter-finals: Maximum of 5 players
- Semi-finals: Maximum of 6 players
- Final: Maximum of 8 players
The Difference Between FPL and UCL Fantasy
There are more similarities than not. The main difference comes in the nature of the competition itself.
This is because there are far fewer fixtures in the Champions League than a Premier League season. The competition is divided into 13 Matchdays, where Matchday 1 to 6 are the group stage games.
This makes each Matchday and fixture even more important.
It seems UEFA have noted this and as a result, are more flexible with changes during a Matchday.
Conversely, teams in Fantasy Premier League, when a Gameweek deadline has passed, cannot be changed.
This is where arguably the biggest difference comes into play – manual substitutions. While you can’t transfer in the middle of a Matchday, you can make substitutions.
Read More: Champions League Fixture Difficulty Table
A Matchday is comprised of two days – the traditional Tuesday and Wednesday that Champions League fixtures take place on.
So, if a player from the Tuesday doesn’t perform, you can substitute them out and replace them with another that plays on the Wednesday.
The same applies for the captaincy whereby if your captain doesn’t perform on Tuesday, you can give the armband to another on the Wednesday.
Doing these manual substitutions and maximizing your captain opportunities is absolutely essential if you’re to have a successful season in UCL Fantasy.
Without fail, any player you have playing on the Tuesday should be in your starting 11. Your captain’s armband should also be given to a Tuesday player, so you can switch if necessary.
What Chips Are There in UCL Fantasy?
There are two chips you are given in UCL Fantasy: ‘Wildcard’ and ‘Limitless Wildcard’.
The Wildcard works exactly as it does in FPL. Between any given Matchday you can make unlimited transfers to your team, which remain once that Matchday concludes.
It is also important to note you can make unlimited changes following the group stage anyway. So, use your Wildcard wisely!
The Limitless is something unique to Champions League fantasy. It works a little like a Wildcard but with two key differences:
- You have an unlimited budget
- Changes only apply to that one Matchday
That means you can select the likes of De Bruyne, Mbappe, Messi, and Neymar without worrying about their expensive price tags.
It is best to use this when there are a lot of advantageous fixtures to make the most of.
Read More: Champions League Cheat Sheet – Most Likely Winners, Goalscorers, More
Your team will revert back to what it was before the Limitless was used, once that Matchday is completed. Think of it as a one-week Wildcard with no budget constraints.
Changes in 2022/23 UCL Fantasy Compared to Previous Seasons
Previously Champions League campaigns would have the group-stage Matchdays played over two weeks.
This would actually give three opportunities to substitute and more importantly up to four captains.
Due to the condensed fixture schedule though, each Matchday will take place within a two day period. This means just two captain chances, at least for MD1 through to MD6.
Another important change that came into play last season was the introduction of the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
Every match will have one of these and the selected player will get an additional 3 points.
How to Score Points in UCL Fantasy
There is nothing more important than points in UCL Fantasy, and any other fantasy game for that matter. After all, it is the points that determine the winning manager.
A full list of point-scoring actions can be found on the Champions League fantasy football rules page.
Mostly, these are the same as FPL. Below are the point-scoring actions that are different between FPL and UCL Fantasy:
| Point-scoring Action | FPL | UCL Fantasy |
|---|---|---|
| Goal from outside the box | N/A | 1 point |
| Every 3 balls recovered | N/A | 1 point |
| Player of the Match award* | N/A | 3 points |
| Winning penalty** | N/A | 2 points |
| Conceding penalty | N/A | -1 point |
*Fantasy Premier League uses the bonus points system as an alternative. Players get 3, 2 or 1 bonus points based on their BPS score
**In FPL, if a penalty is scored, the player who won the penalty will get the assist
This guide should put you in good stead for UCL Fantasy. There are a lot more advanced tips to take advantage of but we’ll cover them elsewhere.