The UEFA Champions League (UCL) began on Tuesday night, with the competition’s official Fantasy game also getting underway.
Unlike in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), where it’s hands-off management after the deadline passes, there are changes UCL Fantasy managers can make midway through a Matchday (aka Gameweek).
If you’re new to the game or are just in need of a refresher, here’s what you need to know.
MANUAL SUBSTITUTIONS
While there are FPL-style autosubs that replace non-playing names in your starting XI, UCL Fantasy also allows manual substitutions within a Matchday.
Between the end of one night (eg Tuesday) and the start of another (eg Wednesday), a maximum of four players can be switched for ones on your bench who are yet to play – unless the original starter has been sent off.
You still have to line up in a valid formation, of course, ie with one goalkeeper, at least three defenders, at least two midfielders and at least one forward.
HOW TO DO IT
On the ‘My Team’ page, click on the player you want to remove and then select ‘Sub out’ (as seen above).
You can then select a player who you want to play in his stead, provided it complies with the formation rules.
SWITCHING CAPTAIN
Similarly, a poor choice of captain can easily be remedied by changing it to someone who hasn’t yet played.
This new captain will be the only one whose points get doubled.
HOW TO DO IT
On the My Team page, click on the player who is yet to play who you want to hand the armband to and select ‘Make captain’ from the options (see above).
In Matchday 1, managers can get up to three bites of the cherry as there are games on Thursday this week, too.
WHEN TO MAKE SUBS AND CHANGE CAPTAINS
We asked our resident UCL Fantasy expert, FPL Reactions, for some advice on when you should consider making manual substitutions and captaincy changes.
Here’s what he said…
- If your player has four points or less, then I would swap him with a bench player
- If it’s five points, it’s more of a tougher decision – but I would usually swap out a player’s five points if a substitute has real haul potential
- Try not to make your substitutions until the line-ups for the early kick-offs are out
- If you picked up 8-10 points or fewer for your captain (that’s the doubled score), I’d consider captaining someone else
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