Champions League Fantasy Football: All you need to know and how to play

Another season of UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football, presented by PlayStation, is fast approaching, giving managers the opportunity to select some of the best players from across Europe to score points, soar up their mini-leagues and win some incredible prizes.

The league phase draw is just round the corner and, with unlimited transfers before the opening deadline of the season, you can get involved already – so pick your first squad now!

UEFA Champions League Fantasy rules

• 15-player squad
• Goalkeepers x 2, Defenders x 5, Midfielders x 5, Forwards x 3
• €100m budget (rising to €105m after league phase)
• Maximum of 3 players per team in league phase
• 2 free transfers every matchday in league phase
• Substitutions within a matchday
• Change captain to maximise points total

How do you score points in Champions League Fantasy?

There are plenty of ways to score points in Champions League Fantasy, but here are some of the key ones:

• Goals (4 points for forwards, 5 points for midfielders, 6 points for defenders and goalkeepers)
• Assists (3 points per player)
• Every three balls recovered (1 point)
• Clean sheets (4 points for goalkeepers and defenders)
• Player of the Match (3 points)

Captain

A key way of boosting your points total is the chance to change your captain within matchdays. You can make substitutions between Tuesday and Wednesday if your starting players don't score as heavily as you hope and you can switch captains too – with double points on offer for the player who finishes with the armband, that's a fantastic opportunity to register big scores.

Leagues

Want to challenge your mates? Why not set up a private league and give them the code to take you on and see who comes out on top over the season?

You'll also be automatically entered into three public leagues – the overall leaderboard, one with other players from your country and one with other players who support the same Champions League team as you.

Key deadlines

• Matchday 1: Tuesday 16 September (18:45 CET)
• Matchday 2: Tuesday 30 September (18:45 CET)
• Matchday 3: Tuesday 21 October (18:45 CET)
• Matchday 4: Tuesday 4 November (18:45 CET)
• Matchday 5: Tuesday 25 November (18:45 CET)
• Matchday 6: Tuesday 9 December (16:30 CET)
• Matchday 7: Tuesday 20 January (16:30 CET)
• Matchday 8: Wednesday 28 January (21:00 CET)
• Knockout round play-off 1st leg: Tuesday 17 February (time TBC)
• Knockout round play-off 2nd leg: Tuesday 24 February (time TBC)
• Round of 16 1st leg: Tuesday 10 March (time TBC)
• Round of 16 2nd leg: Tuesday 17 March (time TBC)
• Quarter-final 1st leg: Tuesday 7 April (time TBC)
• Quarter-final 2nd leg: Tuesday 14 April (time TBC)
• Semi-final 1st leg: Tuesday 28 April (time TBC)
• Semi-final 2nd leg: Tuesday 5 May (time TBC)
• Final: Saturday 30 May (21:00 CET)

Selected player prices

Yann Sommer (Inter) – €6.0m
Jan Oblak (Atlético de Madrid) – €6.0m
David Raya (Arsenal) – €5.5m
Achraf Hakimi (Paris) – €6.0m
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid) – €6.0m
Denzel Dumfries (Inter) – €6.0m
Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen) – €6.0m
Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – €9.5m
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – €9.5m
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris) – €10.0m
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) – €10.0m
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – €10.5m
Erling Haaland (Man City) – €10.5m
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) – €10.5m
Harry Kane (Bayern) – €10.5m