Sponsored by Fanslide
With no Premier League football over the most recent weekend, fans showing withdrawal symptoms will surely be watching the imminent Champions League coverage in midweek.
Make sure you do so with Fanslide, the fast-growing, real-time Fantasy game that is ideal for those wanting to both watch football, take on other managers, and win prizes – of which there are three chances throughout the Tuesday and Wednesday matches.
In case you’re new to Fanslide, it’s completely free to download and play. All you need to do is choose three players at the time you think they’ll pick up the most points (more of which below).
We’re playing it ourselves this season – so get involved to show us up and once again prove that the punters know better than the pundits!
How to play Fanslide
You can select three players at any one time, ‘sliding’ them into slots for single, double or treble points when you think they’re about to have an impact on the match.
Slides must be managed wisely though, with each player only available for a maximum of 20 minutes alongside an ability to remove them early to use their remaining time later. Your first three slides of each half are free, the rest will cost two points unless it’s due to time expiry.
Compared to FPL, there are loads more ways to win or lose points. Alongside the usual reward of goals (20 points), penalty saves (15) and assists, they are also given for actions such as defensive blocks, winning a tackle, having a shot on target and keeping a 20-minute clean sheet.
However, points are deducted for defensive errors, conceding free-kicks and being caught offside, as well as the usual bookings, red cards and own goals.
Full rules are here.
Live Fanslide matches
| Tuesday 5:45pm | UCL: Sporting CP v Tottenham (BT Sport) |
| Tuesday 8:00pm | UCL: Liverpool v Ajax (BT Sport) |
| Wednesday 8:00pm | UCL: Manchester City v Dortmund (BT Sport) |
| Thursday 5:45pm | UEL: Sheriff v Manchester United (BT Sport) |
Both the Liverpool and Man City matches have a £100 freeroll prize pool, which costs nothing to enter.
Early goals
Using data from Soccer Stats, we can look at the goal times of last season’s Champions League group stages and see whether starting with three defenders is a valid tactic if you anticipate the match to start slowly. This, therefore, leads to clean sheets by their 20th-minute expiry.
During the 96 group games of 2021/22, there were more goals in the second half (55.8%) than in the first (44.2%). On average, a first would arrive in the 29th minute, with only 27.6% taking place in the first third of the 90 minutes.
Teams such as Ajax, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain tended to start strongly, each netting five times in the opening 20 minutes, whilst Club Brugge (seven), Young Boys (five) and Atletico Madrid (four) conceded the most.
Stretch this out to the first 30 minutes and we can start estimating which of last season’s teams could replicate their busy or quiet beginnings.
The three sides to score most often in the opening 30 minutes all participate in Fanslide’s midweek matches. Liverpool and Ajax face each other at Anfield, so it might be wise to start with attacking talent in the three slots.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola will want his Manchester City line-up to quickly put Dortmund away so that early substitutions can take place. Perhaps Erling Haaland scores against his former club – it’s not like he’s struggling right now.
How to get involved
Yet the best way to learn is by getting stuck into a live match. Join the Fantasy Football Scout group on Fanslide by clicking here.
Fanslide is free to play but contains an option for players to deposit and place bets. You must be 18 or older to play and if you do choose to deposit money and place bets, please always remember to gamble responsibly.
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JOIN THE FFSCOUT GROUP ON FANSLIDE
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