Champions League Fantasy Football: Scout notes 1 October

From expected line-ups to advice on substitutions and captain changes, the scout notes offer a helping hand to managers of #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

Fantasy decisions

• Both Salzburg vs Brest and Stuttgart vs Sparta Praha kick off at 18:45 CET on Tuesday, which is the Matchday 2 Fantasy deadline.

• Fantasy managers should ensure that any players they own who are in action on Tuesday are in their starting line-up rather than on the bench.

• Matchday 2 takes place over two days, rather than the three of Matchday 1, so there will be two opportunities to select a high-performing captain.

SALZBURG VS BREST (18:45 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Oscar Gloukh (€6.0m) – Salzburg
Scored twice in Austrian Bundesliga action at the weekend and features in just 1% of Fantasy squads.

Janis Blaswich (€4.5m) – Salzburg
Expected to start in goal for a Salzburg team who have kept three straight clean sheets in all competitions.

Predicted starting line-ups

Salzburg: Blaswich; Dedić, Blank, Piątkowski, Morgalla; Bidstrup, Bajcetic, Clark; Gloukh, Nene, Daghim

Brest: Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Coulibaly, Amavi; Camara, Fernandes, Magnetti; Faivre, Ajorque, Sima

STUTTGART VS SPARTA PRAHA (18:45 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Deniz Undav (€7.0m) – Stuttgart
His strike on Matchday 1 against Real Madrid was one of six goals in his last five games for club and country.

Victor Olatunji (€5.0m) – Sparta Praha
Both scored and provided an assist in the Matchday 1 win against Salzburg, and was also on target in his last league game.

Predicted starting line-ups

Stuttgart: Nübel; Stenzel, Rouault, Chabot, Mittelstädt; Millot, Karazor, Stiller, Leweling; Undav, Demirović

Sparta Praha: Vindahl; Vitík, Panák, Zelený; Preciado, Kairinen, Laçi, Ryneš; Birmančević, Olatunji, Haraslín

LEVERKUSEN VS MILAN (21:00 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Christian Pulišić (€7.5m) – Milan
The United States international's Matchday 1 goal against Liverpool was one of five in his last five appearances for club and country.

Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.5m) – Leverkusen
Two goals and three assists in all competitions this season, including his Matchday 1 strike against Feyenoord.

Predicted starting line-ups

Leverkusen: Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo; Terrier, Boniface, Wirtz

Milan: Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernández; Pulišić, Fofana, Reijnders, Rafael Leão; Morata, Abraham

INTER VS CRVENA ZVEZDA (21:00 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Lautaro Martínez (€9.5m) – Inter
Scored twice in Saturday's win at Udinese having set up a goal against local rivals Milan the previous weekend.

Federico Dimarco (€5.5m) – Inter
The attacking wing-back has a goal and assist in his last two Serie A outings since returning from injury.

Predicted starting line-ups

Inter: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Frattesi, Çalhanoğlu, Zieliński, Dimarco; Martínez, Taremi

Crvena Zvezda: Ilić; YW Seol, Drkušić, Djiga, Rodić; Elšnik, Krunić; Olayinka, Ivanić, Felício Milson; Bruno Duarte

BORUSSIA DORTMUND VS CELTIC (21:00 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Sehrou Guirassy (€7.5m) – Borussia Dortmund
The affordable forward has four goals in his last three games for his new club.

Nicolas Kühn (€4.5m) – Celtic
The budget midfielder has five goals and eight assists in nine appearances in all competitions this season.

Predicted starting line-ups

Dortmund: Kobel; Yan Couto, Süle, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson; Gross, Can; Adeyemi, Brandt, Gittens; Guirassy

Celtic: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kühn, Furuhashi, Maeda

BARCELONA VS YOUNG BOYS (21:00 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Robert Lewandowski (€9.5m) – Barcelona
Barcelona and La Liga's top scorer this season with seven goals.

Lamine Yamal (€7.5m) – Barcelona
Four goals and five assists in eight Liga matches this season, and also scored from outside the box against Monaco on Matchday 1.

Predicted starting line-ups

Barcelona: Iñaki Peña; Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Torre, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Young Boys: Von Ballmoos; Athekame, Camara, Zoukrou, Hadjam; Males, Lauper, Ugrinic, Niasse, Monteiro; Ganvoula

ARSENAL VS PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (21:00 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Kai Havertz (€8.0m) – Arsenal
The forward has four goals and an assist for the Gunners in 2024/25.

Bradley Barcola (€7.0m) – Paris Saint-Germain
The top scorer in Ligue 1 added two goals to his tally against Rennes on Friday, making it six for the campaign overall.

Predicted starting line-ups

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Partey, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli

Paris: Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Beraldo; Ruiz, Neves, Zaïre-Emery; Lee, Kolo Muani, Barcola

PSV VS SPORTING CP (21:00 CET)

Key Fantasy players

Viktor Gyökeres (€7.5m) – Sporting CP
14 goals and five assists in 11 appearances for club and country this season for Gyökeres, who collected nine Fantasy points on Matchday 1.

Malik Tillman (€7.0m) – PSV
Has struck four times in the Eredivisie this season, including two in a 3-1 victory against Fortuna Sittard on 22 September.

Predicted starting line-ups

PSV: Benítez; Mauro Júnior, Flamingo, Boscagli, Dams; Schouten, Til, Tillman; Bakayoko, De Jong, Lang

Sporting CP: Israel; Debast, Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio; Catamo, Hjulmand, Morita, Nuno Santos; Trincão, Gyökeres, Harder

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA VS MANCHESTER CITY (21:00)

Key Fantasy players

Erling Haaland (€11.0m) – Manchester City
The Premier League's top scorer with ten goals in his five league appearances in 2024/25.

Joško Gvardiol (€5.5m) – Manchester City
Helped City keep a clean sheet against Inter on Matchday 1 and scored in the Premier League on Saturday.

Predicted starting line-ups

Slovan Bratislava: Takáč; Blackman, Kashia, Wimmer, Zuberu; Bajrić, Szöke; Barseghyan, Tolić, Weiss; Strelec

Manchester City: Ortega; Walker, Rúben Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Matheus Nunes, Kovačić; Savinho, Foden, Doku; Haaland