Champions League Fantasy Football: Picking your squad

As another season of Champions League Fantasy Football, presented by PlayStation, fast approaches, managers have the chance to select their squad by using unlimited free transfers before Matchday 1. So what are the key factors they should consider?

How to choose your squad

A Fantasy squad has 15 players in it – although only 11 will score you points on any one matchday. Your squad must consist of:

• Two goalkeepers
• Five defenders
• Five midfielders
• Three forwards

A maximum of three players can be chosen from any one club during the league phase – this number increases during the knockout phase.

Budget

Managers are given €100m to spend on their squad during the league phase, rising to €105m from Matchday 9 – the first leg of the knockout phase play-offs.

Formation

Once you've picked your squad, you'll need to choose 11 players for your starting line-up. The players who are in your 11 that finish – not start – the matchday are the ones who will score you Fantasy points.

Your team can line up in any formation, as long as you've picked one goalkeeper, at least three defenders, at least two midfielders and at least one forward.

Popular formations include:

• 4-4-2
• 4-3-3
• 3-4-3
• 3-5-2

Help with picking your squad

With around 1,000 players available to managers on Fantasy, choosing the right ones for your squad can be a challenge. Various features are available to help you make good choices.

If you want a starter squad to be selected for you, simply choose the "Auto-fill" option in the top right of the "Pick your squad" page and all 15 players will be chosen. But don't worry, you can still make manual transfers – as many as you like before the Matchday 1 deadline.

For managers who want to make their own choices, the column titled "2025/26 total points" will be of particular interest – and for up-to-date information on how players have started the current campaign, be sure to check out the Domestic Form Tracker.

Which players to pick?

Most Champions League matchdays take place across two days, with Matchday 1 spanning three. Fantasy managers can use this to their advantage by selecting players who play on different days, allowing them to substitute out players who have already featured and substitute in those yet to play as a way to maximise points.

As it's also possible to switch captains within a matchday – you can pick a different captain for each day – it's a good idea to ensure a strong captaincy option for every day of action, so be sure to focus on when teams are playing as you select your squad.

Transfers

No matter how thoroughly you approach Matchday 1, your squad is sure to need some changes in the weeks ahead. Injuries, suspensions and team selection can all have an impact, and you'll get two free transfers every matchday during the league phase to help you negotiate them (each subsequent transfer will deduct four points from your Fantasy total).

However, if you're happy with your team, don't feel you have to make changes for the sake of it. From Matchdays 2 to 8, it's possible to roll forward one transfer to the next matchday, allowing you more opportunities to amend your team when you really need to.