Champions League Fantasy Football: The Scout squad for the final

The UEFA Champions League final is a matchday like no other on UCL Fantasy, presented by PlayStation, and as such requires a different approach. With only 11 players scoring points instead of the usual 15, and no possibility to swap captain as usual, the Scout is relying on Arsenal's steadfast defence and Paris Saint-Germain's devastating attack for the last matchday of the 2025/26 campaign.

Goalkeepers

Although only 11 players – and therefore one goalkeeper – can be picked to score points in the final, Fantasy managers who have both starting keepers can leave their selection options open until the last minute. David Raya (€5.6m) has almost doubled the Fantasy total of Paris opposite number Matvei Safonov (€4.7m), 71 points to 39 respectively, although the Arsenal No1 has made three more appearances.

Raya has nine clean sheets in this season's Champions League, conceding only four goals and making 34 saves – worth another six Fantasy points. Safonov has four clean sheets but has conceded 12 times – although he has added nine points to his Fantasy total thanks to 35 saves. In all competitions, Raya has kept four successive clean sheets and has conceded in only four of his last 14 matches, six goals in all, statistics that may earn him a starting place in the Scout's final team.

Defenders

Given Arsenal's defensive excellence this season, with only six goals conceded in their 14 games on the road to Budapest, Gabriel (€5.8m) and William Saliba (€6.0m) are almost automatic selections. The former is Arsenal's top Fantasy scorer on 75 points, four more than Raya, with Saliba on 63; as well as their defensive returns – Gabriel has eight clean sheets, one more than his fellow centre-back – Gabriel has a goal and an assist while both have made 55 ball recoveries, adding 14 points to their Fantasy totals.

Three Paris players lead the way for balls recovered among defenders; Willian Pacho (€5.1m) is on 101 ahead of the final with Nuno Mendes (€6.3m) on 83 and Marquinhos (€5.1m) making 65. Pacho is the top-scoring Fantasy defender on 88 points; Mendes is three behind thanks to an extra attacking threat that has brought two goals and two assists. Marquinhos has also been an influential figure in Paris' free-scoring attack, scoring twice and winning a penalty as part of his 66 points overall.

Midfielders

This is where Paris' goal-heavy attack really starts to come to the fore, with four of the five Fantasy top scorers in midfield representing the French club. No one can get near Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (€8.5m), whose total of 117 points is 23 more than any other player in any position, the Georgian providing 75 in the knockout rounds alone. Désiré Doué (€8.1m) has 53 Fantasy points in the knockout rounds while João Neves (€6.2m) is preferred to Vitinha, who has a higher total overall, having scored 30 points in the last six matches, five more than his club-mate.

Much of Arsenal's midfield attacking threat is likely to come through Bukayo Saka (€9.4m), who got the only goal of the semi-final second leg against Atlético de Madrid, his third in this season's Champions League to go with two assists. Leandro Trossard (€6.9m) is the final pick, team selection permitting; the Belgian scored seven Fantasy points in the second leg against Atleti and has a goal and an assist from his last three Premier League games.

Forwards

The forward line is more of a conundrum. Ousmane Dembélé (€9.7m) has been an injury doubt for the final but is expected to recover in time – given his six goals and one assist in Paris' last six Champions League games, that could be crucial. While a significant reshuffle will be required if Dembélé does not make it, there is room to select both of Arsenal's potential forward options.

Viktor Gyökeres (€9.0m) has started all six of Arsenal's knockout games, although he has only one goal; the Swede nevertheless has five across the 2025/26 Champions League. Kai Havertz (€7.4m) is also in contention having got the only goal of Arsenal's quarter-final victory against Sporting CP. The German has two goals in his last five Premier League appearances and scored the winner for Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final.