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Are you a fan of the UEFA Champions League? Do you want to test your skills and knowledge as a manager of your own fantasy team? If so, then you might want to try playing UCL Fantasy, the official fantasy game of the Champions League.
UCL Fantasy is a fun and exciting way to follow the action of Europe’s top club competition. You can create your own squad of 15 players from the 32 teams participating in the group stage, and compete with over 1 million plus managers from around the world – stats gotten from official UCL fantasy website.
In this guide, we will explain the basics of how to play UCL Fantasy, including how to pick your squad, how to score points, how to make transfers, and how to use chips. We will also give you some tips and tricks to help you succeed in the game.
Matchdays
UCL Fantasy works by matchdays. There are thirteen matchdays in total, corresponding to the six rounds of games in the group stage, plus two legs of the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, before the final.
Every matchday except the final is split over more than one day – usually Tuesday and Wednesday within the same week. Each matchday, once the first day’s games have finished, you can make subs or switch your captain.
That means that if any of your starting players doesn’t score as many points as you would have liked, you can sub them off for a player on your bench who might score you more points later in the matchday.
By making changes within a matchday, you have the chance to score more points for that matchday. See ‘Picking a captain’ and ‘Subs’ for more information.
Picking your squad
Picking a team name
When you create your team, you’ll have to pick a team name. You can edit your team’s name at any point until the next matchday.
Selecting your players
To get started, you’ll need to pick a squad of 15 players:
• 2 goalkeepers • 5 defenders • 5 midfielders • 3 forwards
Budget
In UCL Fantasy, each player in the Champions League is assigned a virtual price. You’ll get an initial €100 million to spend on your squad, which rises to €105 million from the round of 16 onwards.
How Many players Can You Pick Per Club In UCL Fantasy
There’s a limit on how many players you can select from one club depending on the stage of the competition.
| Stage | Max. players per club |
|---|---|
| Group stage | 3 |
| Round of 16 | 4 |
| Quarter-finals | 5 |
| Semi-finals | 6 |
| Final | 8 |
If any of your players is transferred to another Champions League club during the season, they’ll stay in your squad. However, if that player takes you over the player limit for a given club, you’ll have to transfer them out the next time you make transfers.
If any of your players are knocked out of the Champions League, they’ll stay in your squad – and you can keep them there for the rest of the season if you want. However, once they’re out of the competition, they won’t score you any more points.
Starting late
You can create a team at any point during the competition.
If you create a team between matchdays, you’ll start scoring points from the following matchday.
If you create a team once a matchday has started, you’ll start scoring points from the next day within that matchday. So if you create a team on the Tuesday once matches have kicked off, you’ll start scoring points on the Wednesday.
Managing your squad
For each matchday throughout the competition, you’ll need to select 11 starting players from your 15-player squad.
All your matchday points will be scored by the players in your XI – not the 11 players who start the matchday in your team, but those that finish the matchday in your team.
For every matchday except Matchday 13 (the final), you’ll be able to sub players in and out depending on their performances – with the aim of ending the matchday with the highest-scoring 11 players from your squad in your XI.
You can read more about this in the Subs section.
You’ll need to save your team before each matchday deadline, which is the kick-off time of the first game within the matchday.
If any of your starting players don’t play that matchday, they’ll be automatically replaced by your substitutes (as long as formation rules aren’t broken). Have a look at the Substitutions section for more information.
Formations
Your team can line up in any formation, as long as you’ve picked 1 goalkeeper, at least 3 defenders, at least 2 midfielders and at least 1 forward.
Selecting a captain
Every time you save your team, you’ll need to pick a captain from your starting XI. That player’s points will be doubled for that matchday. If your captain plays on the first day within a matchday and doesn’t score as highly as you’d like, you’ll have the option to switch to another player whose club are playing on a later day within that matchday.
This gives you the chance to double the score of a different player you think will do better. However, bear in mind that if you aren’t happy with your new captain’s score, you won’t be able to change back. And you can’t ever select a captain who’s already played in that matchday.
If your captain doesn’t play on a particular matchday, and you haven’t made any manual changes during that matchday, your captain will be automatically subbed out. However, his replacement won’t get the captain’s double-points bonus.
If your captain doesn’t play in a matchday where you’ve made other subs, your captain won’t be subbed out – and none of your players will score double for that matchday.
TIP: Select a captain from a team that’s playing on the first day of a matchday. That way, if he doesn’t score as many points as you would have liked, you can switch captain to one of your players who is playing later in the matchday.
How Many Transfers Can You Make In Every Stage In UCL Fantasy
Transferring players in and out of your squad helps you get more points throughout the season. Before the UEFA Champions League kicks off, you can make as many transfers as you like as long as you stay within the budget. You can also make as many transfers as you like between the group stage and round of 16.
Throughout the competition, you get free transfers each matchday, where no points will be deducted from your score. The number of free transfers you can make depends on the stage of the competition. Bear in mind that if any of your players get injured or become unavailable for any other reason, you won’t get any extra free transfers to compensate.
For every transfer you make beyond your quota of free transfers, you’ll have 4 points deducted from your total. Because of the way points are calculated, this will be deducted from your overall score rather than your matchday score.
| Matchday | Number of free transfers |
|---|---|
| Before group stage | Unlimited |
| During group stage | 2 per matchday |
| Before round of 16 | Unlimited |
| Before round of 16 second leg | 3 |
| Before quarter-finals | 5 |
| Before quarter-finals second leg | 3 |
| Before semi-finals | 5 |
| Before semi-finals second leg | 3 |
| Before final | 5 |
During the group stage, if you don’t use your free transfers between matchdays, you’ll only be able to carry one forward to the next matchday – meaning you can’t stockpile free transfers over several rounds. If you use your Wildcard or Limitless chip, then no free transfers get carried forward.
And once the knockout stage starts, you can’t carry any free transfers forward between matchdays.
Player Price Changes In UCL Fantasy Explained
Player prices will stay the same until the Matchday 2 deadline. For Matchday 3 onwards, some players’ prices will be adjusted based on their performances in the previous games. Prices will keep changing throughout the season depending on how many points they score.
When Are The Deadlines For Every UCL Matchday
Every matchday, teams will lock as soon as the first match kicks off. You’ll need to save your changes before the matchday kicks off for them to take effect. If you don’t save until the matches have already started, your changes won’t apply to that set of matches.
TIP: Wait until official line-ups are announced for the first set of matches – that way, you at least know some of the players who will definitely start for their teams (and get you points).
| Matchday | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | Tuesday 19 September |
| Matchday 2 | Tuesday 3 October |
| Matchday 3 | Tuesday 24 October |
| Matchday 4 | Tuesday 7 November |
| Matchday 5 | Tuesday 28 November |
| Matchday 6 | Tuesday 12 December |
| Matchday 7 (round of 16 1st leg) | Tuesday 13 February |
| Matchday 8 (round of 16 2nd leg) | Tuesday 5 March |
| Matchday 9 (quarter-finals 1st leg) | Tuesday 9 April |
| Matchday 10 (quarter-finals 2nd leg) | Tuesday 16 April |
| Matchday 11 (semi-finals 1st leg) | Tuesday 30 April |
| Matchday 12 (semi-finals 2nd leg) | Tuesday 7 May |
| Matchday 13 (final) | Saturday 1 June |
How Many Chips Are There In UCL Fantasy
Chips give you the opportunity to change your squad and score more points. You get 2 chips, which you can play once each throughout the competition. Chips can be played on any matchday except 1 and 7 (round of 16 1st leg), when everyone automatically gets unlimited free transfers.
| Chip | Number available | Unlimited transfers | Unlimited budget | Team resets once matchday is over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | 1 | Yes | No | No |
| Limitless | 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What is The Wildcard Chip In UCL Fantasy
The Wildcard gives you the chance to change your squad for upcoming matchdays. Playing it allows you to make free unlimited transfers, and any players you transfer in will stay in your squad once that matchday has finished. The normal rules for automatic subs, manual subs and captain changes still apply when your Wildcard is active, as well as formation constraints and the number of players you can pick from one team. If you’ve already made transfers ahead of a matchday and you then play your Wildcard, the transfers you’ve made previously will be cancelled, along with any points deductions.
To play your Wildcard, select ‘Activate wildcard’ and then confirm the transfers you’d like to make. Once you save your transfers, your changes will come into effect.
This chip can be used only once and can be played at any time except Matchday 1 and Matchday 7 (the round of 16), when everyone gets unlimited transfers. Once you’ve played it, it can’t be cancelled.
What is The Limitless Chip In UCL Fantasy
Limitless gives you the chance to pick your dream squad for one matchday only. Playing it allows you to make unlimited free transfers for that matchday with no budget restrictions. Once the matchday has finished, your squad will go back to how it was before you played your Limitless chip.
The normal rules for automatic subs, manual subs and captain changes still apply when playing Limitless, as well as formation constraints and the number of players you can pick from one team.
If you’ve already made transfers ahead of a matchday and you then play Limitless, the transfers you’ve made previously will be cancelled, along with any points deductions.
To play your Limitless, select ‘Activate Limitless’ and then confirm the transfers you’d like to make. Once you save your transfers, your changes will come into effect.
This chip can be used only once and can be played at any time except Matchday 1 and Matchday 7 (the round of 16). Once you’ve played it, it can’t be cancelled.
How Are Points Scored In UCL Fantasy
Throughout the season, your players will score points based on their real-life performances. Some actions are rewarded the same amount of points regardless of the player’s position, others vary depending on where each player plays.
All data will be taken from the official match reports.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| All players | |
| Appearance | 1 |
| 60 mins on pitch | 1 |
| Goals from outside the box | 1 |
| Assist | 3 |
| Every 3 balls recovered | 1 |
| Player of the Match award | 3 |
| Winning penalty* | 2 |
| Conceding penalty* | -1 |
| Missing penalty | -2 |
| Yellow card | -1 |
| Red card | -3 |
| Own goal | -2 |
| Goalkeepers | |
| Scoring a goal | 6 |
| Saving a penalty | 5 |
| Clean sheet | 4 |
| Every 3 saves | 1 |
| Every 2 goals conceded | -1 |
| Defenders | |
| Scoring a goal | 6 |
| Clean sheet | 4 |
| Every 2 goals conceded | -1 |
| Midfielders | |
| Scoring a goal | 5 |
| Clean sheet | 1 |
| Forwards | |
| Scoring a goal | 4 |
How Are Assists Given In UCL Fantasy
A player gets points for an assist whenever he plays the final pass, cross, header or shot which leads to a goal. This also applies to set plays (corners, free-kicks and throw-ins).
Players also get points for an assist if a goal is scored on the rebound when they’ve shot against the post or bar.
When an attempt on goal is blocked on the goal line by an opposing player, the player who takes that shot will get points for an assist.
They’ll also get points for an assist when their pass, shot or cross leads to an own goal.
Players that win a penalty don’t get points for an assist – instead, they get 2 points for winning the penalty (except when the penalty is awarded for handball). When a goal is scored from a solo run or dribble, no player is credited with the assist. Only one player can get points for an assist for any one goal.
Tips and tricks
Here are some tips and tricks to help you succeed in UCL Fantasy:
- Do your research. Check the fixtures, form, injuries, suspensions, and line-ups of the teams and players before making your decisions. You can use our blog raensports to get tips and insight from experts on each matchday.
- Be flexible. Don’t stick to one formation or strategy throughout the season. Adapt to the changing circumstances and opportunities. For example, you might want to switch to a more defensive formation when the knockout stage starts, or use your chips when there are favourable fixtures or double matchdays.
- Be active. Don’t forget to check your team and make changes before each matchday deadline. You can also make subs and captain changes within a matchday to maximise your points. Follow the live scores and updates on the UCL Fantasy website or app to stay on top of the action.
- Have fun. UCL Fantasy is a game that lets you enjoy the thrill of the Champions League. Don’t take it too seriously or get frustrated if things don’t go your way. Experiment with different players and tactics, and challenge your friends and family to see who can do better.
We hope this guide has helped you understand the basics of how to play UCL Fantasy. Now it’s time to create your team and join the millions of
Redeyedrae, is an FPL content writer with years of experience in playing and writing about FPL. He has written for major FPL blogs like ALLABOUTFPL, Fantasytipsters, FF Titans, and nevermanagealone. With his deep knowledge of the game, he has become a trusted source for FPL fans worldwide. His content is well-researched and always up-to-date. He’s passionate about helping FPL managers gain an edge in their leagues by sharing insights and analysis about everything fantasy football on raensports.