The UEFA Champions League (UCL) returns this week – and so too does the official, free-to-play Fantasy game.
The knockout stages get underway on Tuesday evening, with Manchester City and Real Madrid among the teams in action.
Even if you didn’t get involved in the group stage, there is still an incentive to sign up to play UCL Fantasy for the round of 16 and beyond.
From unlimited transfers to the prizes on offer, we’ve got all you need to know in this article.
SIGN UP TO PLAY UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FANTASY HERE
WHY SIGN UP NOW?
Fair enough, you’re not going to win any mini-leagues or top the overall leaderboard after missing the first six Matchdays (the equivalent of Gameweeks).
But: there are still prizes on offer for anyone signing up now.
Matchday prizes
For each of the remaining seven Matchdays, UEFA are giving away a PlayStation 5.
Doing well isn’t even a requisite: all you need to do is make a sub or transfer and you’ll be entered into the prize draw automatically.
Knockout stage prize
Finish as the highest-scoring manager in the knockout stage only and you’ll also win a PlayStation 5.
We’ve got some essentials below but if you’re completely new to UCL Fantasy, have a read up on how the scoring system works and our basic overview of the rules.
WHEN IS THE NEXT DEADLINE?
There’s no 17:45 GMT kickoff this week, so Matchday 7 gets underway with FC Copenhagen v Manchester City and RB Leipzig v Real Madrid at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday 13 February.
Team leakers can put their feet up for the night: UCL Fantasy managers will get to see the teamsheets from both matches before finalising their squads.
In fact, UCL Fantasy managers can make transfers and changes to their teams right up to kick-off in these two games.
HOW DO TRANSFERS WORK IN THE ROUND OF 16?
If your squad is full of dead wood and eliminated players from the group stage, have no fear: unlimited transfers are here.
Unlimited transfers also apply to anyone signing up to play UCL Fantasy for the first time.
You can pick whoever you want up until 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, providing you:
- Stick to the €105m budget
- Select a squad of 15 players (2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders, 3 forwards)
- Adhere to the following limits:
| Stage | Max. players per club |
| Round of 16 | 4 |
| Quarter-finals | 5 |
| Semi-finals | 6 |
| Final | 8 |
Free transfers are then awarded as follows throughout the rest of the knockout stage:
| Matchday | Number of free transfers |
| Before round of 16 | Unlimited |
| Before round of 16 second leg | 3 |
| Before quarter-finals | 5 |
| Before quarter-finals second leg | 3 |
| Before semi-finals | 5 |
| Before semi-finals second leg | 3 |
| Before final | 5 |
CAN I MAKE CHANGES BETWEEN THE ROUND OF 16 TIES?
Yes, you can.
There are two types of changes that UCL Fantasy can make even after a deadline has passed: manual substitutions and captaincy.
MANUAL SUBS
Between the end of one night (eg Tuesday) and the start of another (eg Wednesday) within a Matchday, a maximum of four players can be switched for ones on your bench – unless they’ve been sent off.
For example, if Phil Foden (€8.1m) disappoints on the Tuesday of Matchday 7, you can replace him with a substitute who is yet to play.
It’s slightly different in the round of 16 as the first leg ties are spread out over two weeks, but the same rules apply:
As is the case with FPL, autosubs also replace non-playing names in your starting XI.
CAPTAINCY SWITCHING
Similarly, a poor choice of captain can easily be corrected by changing it to someone who has yet to play.
This new captain will be the only one whose points get doubled.
CAN I PLAY A CHIP BEFORE THE ROUND OF 16 STARTS?
No.
If you’ve still got a Limitless chip intact, you can play it any time apart from Matchday 7 (the upcoming round).
Limitless, for the uninitiated, is effectively a Free Hit with no budget restrictions.
As for the Wildcard, you also can’t play it in Matchday 7 as everyone gets unlimited transfers anyway.
Beyond that, it’s available to use – if you haven’t already.
WHERE TO FIND MORE UCL FANTASY CONTENT
There’ll be more UCL Fantasy articles to come on this site before Tuesday’s deadline.
In the meantime, there is lots more to read up on over on our sister website, Fantasy Football Community.
Make sure to catch our regular podcast via the linked image below, too:
SIGN UP TO PLAY UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FANTASY HERE
