Champions League Fantasy Football: Scout notes 9 September

The Scout notes offer guidance to managers on UCL Fantasy, presented by PlayStation, for Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League.

Fantasy decisions

• The deadline for manual substitutions and captain changes is 18:45 CET on Wednesday – the kick-off times of both Stuttgart vs Viking and Barcelona vs Feyenoord.

• This will be the first opportunity to make manual changes this season, but you don't need to substitute in any of your Thursday players just yet. That can be done following Wednesday's fixtures.

• For those looking for a new captain, it's best to switch to a player in action on Wednesday at this point, even if you think one of your Thursday options is a stronger choice.

Fixtures

18:45 CET
Stuttgart vs Viking
Barcelona vs Feyenoord

21:00 CET
Sporting CP vs Galatasaray
Napoli vs Arsenal
Liverpool vs Atlético de Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain vs Slovan Bratislava

Key Fantasy players

Fabian Bredlow (€4.0m) – Stuttgart
Bargain-priced goalkeeper who is expected to start for Stuttgart are at home to debutants Viking.

Maximilian Mittelstädt (€4.5m) – Stuttgart
Another budget-friendly pick for the German side and potentially on penalty duty.

Lamine Yamal (€10.0m) – Barcelona
Ten attacking returns in Europe last season and has four goals in four games this season for the Liga leaders.

Raphinha (€9.5m) – Barcelona
Has scored six times for Barcelona this season and also looks to be their designated penalty taker.

Iván Fresneda (€4.0m) – Sporting CP
Has started Sporting CP's last three league games, two of which have resulted in clean sheets.

Luis Suárez (€7.0m) – Sporting CP
Four goals and an assist in his last three domestic games; scored five goals in last season's Champions League.

Kevin De Bruyne (€7.0m) – Napoli
Differential midfielder; eight goals and five assists against Matchday 1 opponents Arsenal for Manchester City.

Riccardo Calafiori (€4.5m) – Arsenal
Two assists already this campaign for an Arsenal side who conceded only four goals in last season's league phase.

Bukayo Saka (€8.5m) – Arsenal
Has started the season with two goals in his first three Premier League appearances.

Virgil van Dijk (€6.0m) – Liverpool
Scored the winning goal and was Player of the Match in the Matchday 1 fixture against Atleti last season.

Dominik Szoboszlai (€7.0m) – Liverpool
Selected by 15% of Fantasy managers; Liverpool's top Fantasy scorer in 2025/26 with 89 points.

Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.5m) – Atleti
Defender who registered seven attacking returns for Bayer Leverkusen in last season's competition.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (€10.0m) – Paris
Top Fantasy scorer in 2025/26; 16 goal involvements, two penalties won and four Player of the Match awards.

Ousmane Dembélé (€10.0m) – Paris
Only the fourth highest-owned forward despite beginning with a home fixture against Slovan Bratislava.