How should Champions League Fantasy Football managers approach the knockout phase play-offs?

The UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs represent a unique section of the season for managers on UCL Fantasy, presented by PlayStation. UEFA.com offers some advice to help with planning on Matchdays 9 and 10.

What's different about the knockout phase play-offs?

• Only teams who finished 9th to 24th in the league phase are in action across the next two matchdays. The top eight have advanced directly to the round of 16, which starts on Matchday 11, while the teams who finished 25th to 36th have been eliminated.

• The knockout phase play-offs involve a two-legged tie between teams who finished 9th to 16th (seeded) against those who finished 17th to 24th (unseeded). The first legs take place on Matchday 9, with the return fixtures on Matchday 10.

What does this mean for Fantasy managers?

• The Fantasy deadline for Matchday 9 is Tuesday 17 February at 18:45 CET – the kick-off time for Galatasaray vs Juventus.

• Fantasy bosses have unlimited transfers ahead of Matchday 9, with a further two free transfers before the second legs on Matchday 10.

• There are now a maximum four players that can be selected from any one club, compared to three in the league phase.

• Every Fantasy manager is allocated an additional €5m to pick their squads for the knockout rounds. For example, if your squad value was €100m at the end of the league phase, it increases to €105m for Matchday 9.

How to plan for the knockout phase play-offs

Given that unlimited transfers are also available ahead of the round of 16 first leg, Fantasy managers do not need to hold on to players from clubs like Arsenal, Bayern München and Barcelona, who are not involved in the knockout phase play-offs.

Although the pool of players to choose from is significantly smaller compared to the league phase, managers now have the opportunity to make selections they perhaps would have otherwise overlooked.

While there will be a temptation to focus on options from teams playing at home on Matchday 9, Fantasy managers should consider the fact that the fixtures will be reversed on Matchday 10 and there will only be two free transfers available in which to rebalance your team.

However, if you still have one of your chips available, you will have the option of using it on Matchday 10, which will give Fantasy managers unlimited transfers for three consecutive matchdays. Be aware though, neither the Wildcard nor the Limitless chip can be played on Matchday 9.

For those considering Galatasaray and Juventus players, it would be wise to wait until those starting line-ups are released prior to the Matchday 9 deadline.

Both knockout phase play-off matchdays take place across a Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning there will be two opportunities to select a high-performing captain each time. Given that some of the usual favourites such as Harry Kane and Erling Haaland are not in action, some differential captains could become viable options.

What can be learned from 2024/25?

Holders Paris Saint-Germain were also involved in the inaugural knockout phase play-offs last season, recording a 10-0 aggregate victory over fellow French outfit Brest. Once again drawn alongside Ligue 1 opposition this time around in the form of Monaco, could we see another one-sided affair that benefits the likes of Vitinha and Ousmane Dembélé?

The most highly-owned Fantasy player, Kylian Mbappé will feature at this stage for a second year in a row. Last season the Real Madrid forward scored four goals across a 6-3 aggregate triumph over Manchester City, including a hat-trick in the second leg.

Last season clean sheets were at a premium, with only seven teams not conceding across the 16 matches, so it may be wise for Fantasy managers to focus the majority of funds on attacking players.