Welcome back, Messrs Messi, Mbappe, Salah and Haaland!
The knockout phase of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League (UCL) is about to start – and the official Fantasy game for Europe’s premier club competition is live (official game app here).
Managers have an unlimited number of transfers to make to their group-stage squads but it’s still possible for new names to sign up, create a squad and win some of the superb matchday prizes.
Similarly, if you’ve had a poor group stage with your original 2022/23 team, there is still a material incentive to continue into the round of 16 and beyond.
As always, we’ll be bringing you regular content on this game throughout the knockout rounds, starting with a quick reminder of the game’s basics.
GRAND PRIZES
There are some very decent prizes on offer in this free-to-play Fantasy game, whether it’s overall or for individual matchdays.
By winning the season-long competition, one lucky person will win two tickets to the 2023/24 Champions League final in London, plus a Playstation 5.
Finish between second and sixth, you’ll win a shirt from the Champions League team of your choice, whilst seventh to eleventh get an official ball.
12th-to-16th managers will win €100 in vouchers to spend in UEFA’s online store.
MATCHDAY PRIZES
Even by entering now, you can win two tickets to the 2023/24 final, as it also goes to the best knockout phase manager.
Get the highest score for any matchday and you’ll win a shirt from a Champions League club of your choice, with second place winning FIFA 23.
There is also a prize draw to win a Playstation 5 on each of the 13 matchdays, you just enter by making a sub or transfer during it.
SIGN UP TO PLAY UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FANTASY HERE
HOW TO PLAY UCL FANTASY
BRIEF RULES
To summarise the game in one sentence: UCL Fantasy managers now get an increased budget of €105m to spend on a 15-man squad, who earn points based on their on-field performances in the Champions League.
Anyone who has played Fantasy Premier League (FPL) will have no trouble in picking the game up, as many of the rules are exactly the same or very similar:
- Pick a squad of 15 players
- No more than four players from each club in the Round of 16 (this increases for each future stage)
- Select a starting XI in a valid formation for every ‘matchday’ (the UCL equivalent of a ‘Gameweek’, which incorporates both the Tuesday and Wednesday fixtures)
- Select a captain who earns double points
- Make free transfers between matchdays
Those are the fundamentals but there are one or two quirks of the game that require a bit of explaining, which we will cover below.
SUBSTITUTIONS
If you prefer the hands-off approach to Fantasy management, auto-subs occur if any of your starting XI fail to feature and there is a playing substitute on your bench – providing that player doesn’t break the formation rules (a minimum of three defenders, two midfielders and one forward).
Where UCL Fantasy differs is that it also gives managers the chance to make manual substitutions instead.
After all matches on a single day (eg Tuesday) have finished and before the next matches within that matchday kick off (eg Wednesday), UCL Fantasy managers can:
- Replace a maximum of four players (unless they have been sent off), with any of their substitutes whose teams are yet to play within the matchday.
- Change their captain to another player from their squad whose team is yet to play. The original captain’s double points will be lost and the new captain’s score for that matchday will be doubled.
As an example, say you have selected Neymar (€10.0m) for Paris Saint Germain’s Matchday 7 clash with Bayern Munich on Tuesday 14 February.
If the forward fails to feature or returns a middling score of, say, two points, you can then replace him with one of your substitutes who is in action on Wednesday 15 February.
TRANSFERS
As we mentioned earlier, free transfers are allowed between matchdays, although none can be rolled over now that we’ve reached the latter stages.
For every transaction you make beyond your quota of free transfers, you’ll take a hit of four points.
The below table details how many moves are allowed at each stage of the competition:
| Phase | Number of free transfers |
| Between Matchday 6 and round of 16 1st leg | Unlimited |
| Before round of 16 2nd leg | 3 |
| Before quarter-final 1st leg | 5 |
| Before quarter-final 2nd leg | 3 |
| Before semi-final 1st leg | 5 |
| Before semi-final 2nd leg | 3 |
| Before final | 5 |
CHIPS
There are two chips available to UCL Fantasy managers: Wildcard and Limitless.
These chips can be used only once per season – although not on the imminent Matchday 7 – and, once played, they can’t be cancelled.
Wildcard
As in FPL, the Wildcard gives you the chance to change your squad as much as you like. When you play it you can make free unlimited transfers and any players you transfer in will stay in your squad once that matchday has finished.
Limitless
Limitless is the equivalent of FPL’s Free Hit chip and gives managers the chance to change their squad for one matchday only.
Once the matchday has finished, your squad will return to how it was before you played the Limitless chip.
Rather excitingly, there are no budget restrictions when activating Limitless – so, should you wish, you can pack your squad with the most expensive assets in the game.
SCORING SYSTEM
Again, the scoring system is a very familiar one.
Most of the player actions and the points on offer tally with FPL, although there are one or two notable differences.
A goal scored from outside the box gets an additional point, for example, while the acts of winning and conceding a penalty are rewarded and punished respectively.
Players also gain points through ball recoveries, which gives the more defensive-minded players a chance to rack up a tidy score.
Over 40% of Jorginho‘s 2020/21 points total in UCL Fantasy was made up by recoveries, for example.
| Action | Points |
| All players | |
| Appearance | 1 |
| Playing at least 60 minutes (includes points mentioned above) | 2 |
| Goals scored from outside the box (in addition to points for scoring) | 1 |
| Assist | 3 |
| Every three balls recovered | 1 |
| Winning a penalty | 2 |
| Conceding a penalty | -1 |
| Missing a penalty | -2 |
| Yellow card | -1 |
| Red card (includes yellow card deduction) | -3 |
| Scoring an own goal | -2 |
| Player of the Match award | 3 |
| Goalkeepers | |
| Scoring a goal | 6 |
| Saving a penalty | 5 |
| Keeping a clean sheet (must play at least 60 minutes) | 4 |
| For every three saves | 1 |
| For every two goals conceded | -1 |
| Defenders | |
| Scoring a goal | 6 |
| Keeping a clean sheet (must play at least 60 minutes) | 4 |
| For every two goals conceded | -1 |
| Midfielders | |
| Scoring a goal | 5 |
| Keeping a clean sheet (must play at least 60 minutes) | 1 |
| Forwards | |
| Scoring a goal | 4 |
JOIN OUR MINI-LEAGUE
There are two types of league in UCL Fantasy: Private and Global.
Private leagues
Private leagues give you the chance to battle for bragging rights among your friends, family and colleagues.
To create a league, go to ‘Leagues’ and select ‘Create a league’. Then invite others to join by sharing the league code.
You can also reactivate your leagues from previous seasons in the ‘Leagues’ section.
We have set up our own mini-league, the details of which are below.
JOIN THE FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT MINI-LEAGUE HERE
Enter the following code: 75L4Q5EA10
Global leagues
Your team will be automatically included in the following leagues:
- The overall leaderboard with all other players around the world
- A league with other players from your country
- A league with other players who support the same Champions League team as you
