The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League gets underway on Tuesday, which means UCL Fantasy is back for another season.

Ahead of Matchday 1, we have picked out the best options in each position for the first Scout Picks of the campaign.

Remember, UCL Fantasy allows manual substitutions between playing days, meaning all 15 players in our squad can potentially contribute. No bench fodder here!

Matchday 1 is also spread across three days, giving us up to three opportunities to switch the captaincy if our earlier picks fail to deliver.

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Remember, managers still putting the finishing touches to their squads can also get plenty of help with our UCL Fantasy Toolkit.

There’s free stuff in there for every UCL manager but, as ever, Chief Scout Members can dig even deeper.

From player points projections and underlying statistics to the Fixture Ticker, Rate My UCL Team feature and Draft Tool, it’s all here to help you build your Matchday 1 squads.

GOALKEEPERS

Making sure we have two goalkeepers who play on different days is as important as ever. If one disappoints and finishes without a significant return, we can bring our back-up goalkeeper off the bench.

Finding the right balance between spending as little as possible between the sticks and targeting clean-sheet potential is key. Fortunately, the game has provided managers with a gift this season in Zion Suzuki (€4.0m).

Aston Villa travel to Belgium to face Club Brugge, who failed to score against Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Sporting CP last season. With that in mind, we shouldn’t write Suzuki off simply because of his budget price tag.

Pairing with Suzuki, we have opted for Fabian Bredlow (€4.0m) of Stuttgart. Using our brand-new UCL Fantasy Toolkit, we can see that the German side rank second among all teams for projected clean-sheet potential this week (above).

Stuttgart host Viking, who have not featured in the Champions League since 1992, so the Bundesliga side head into the match as clear favourites. Bredlow continues to provide cover while Stuttgart’s first-choice goalkeeper recovers from injury, while his €4.0m price also helps free up funds elsewhere.

DEFENDERS

Although yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League, Manchester United’s defensive picks have potential in Matchday 1. Michael Carrick’s side host newcomers Sabah, making their defensive assets extremely appealing.

Their standout option at the back is, arguably, Harry Maguire (€5.0m). The centre-back carries a major threat from set pieces and also registered a Fantasy assist in his second league outing.

Another player with multiple routes to points is Maximilian Mittelstädt (€4.5m). The German already tops his position for big chances per 90:

However, arguably most of his appeal comes from his corner and penalty-taking duties. Combined with his clean-sheet potential, he could have huge potential against Viking this week.

It could be difficult to leave out Achraf Hakimi (€6.0m), even with his premium price tag. Back-to-back European champions PSG host Slovan Bratislava, who scored just three goals and ended their 2024/25 campaign with zero points from eight matches.

Hakimi produced seven attacking returns during his previous Champions League campaign, reminding everyone just how attacking he can be. He also takes a share of set plays, which adds another route to points.

To enable more funds in attack, which has historically produced some of the biggest hauls in UCL Fantasy, we’ve opted for two cheap defenders to complete the backline.

Sporting and PSV both rank well for projected clean sheets this week. That makes Sergi Altimira (€4.0m), who plays out-of-position in central midfield, and Armando Obispo (€4.0m) potentially very useful budget options.

MIDFIELDERS

Starting with a €4.5m midfielder, and potentially the most exciting pick in this midfield, which may be controversial to say. Finding budget gems should be a top priority when trying to fit in the pricey premium options, but finding cheap players who can actually deliver can be difficult.

Well, in Rodrigo Zalazar (€4.5m), we may have just that. Sporting were one of the best sides in the Champions League during the League Phase last season. This week, they host a Galatasaray side who have shipped two goals in three of their first four league matches.

Zalazar bagged 21 attacking returns for Braga last season and has already scored and assisted in his first four matches for Sporting. He has also been taking corners for his new side, which further increases his chances of returning.

Thanks to Zalazar, we can fit in plenty of big hitters, including Bruno Fernandes (€9.0m). No player is projected to score more points (above) than the Manchester United penalty-taker this week. He also heads into the meeting with Sabah having scored three goals and created one assist across his first two league matches.

Only Arsenal scored more goals than Bayern Munich during last season’s League Phase. The German giants consistently rank among Europe’s highest-scoring sides, and Michael Olise (€9.0m) is one of their most effective attackers. Olise racked up 34 goal contributions in the Bundesliga alone last season, highlighting his potential against Bodo/Glimt on home turf.

Barcelona are projected to score 3.41 goals at home to Feyenoord this week. New signing Anthony Gordon (€8.0m) and Lamine Yamal (€10.0m) are both interesting options, but the former carries some question marks over his game-time. Meanwhile, Yamal doesn’t take the same share of set plays as Raphinha (€9.5m), who has already bagged five goals and one assist in just three La Liga matches while featuring ‘out of position’ up front.

PSG’s meeting with Slovan Bratislava could be a gold mine for UCL Fantasy points this week. The visitors averaged more than three goals conceded per game during their previous campaign.

Last season’s highest-scoring UCL Fantasy player, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (€10.0m), registered 16 goal contributions in 16 matches. That incredible output helped him finish as the game’s top points scorer.

FORWARDS

Going without Harry Kane (€11.0m) for a home match against Bodo/Glimt could be extremely punishing for both overall rank and mini-league position. The Bayern Munich striker amassed a monstrous 50 goals across the Bundesliga and Champions League last season.

Captaincy is key in UCL Fantasy, so having a viable option with a favourable fixture on each playing day is important.

To cover the first day, we have included Serhou Guirassy (€8.5m). The striker leads the Dortmund attack as they host Villarreal, who are yet to win in the league this season. Guirassy also scored in his latest league outing, so he should head into Matchday 1 full of confidence.

While we have doubled up on the Stuttgart defence, it could also be worth owning one of their attackers. The German side head into the round off the back of a 4-1 Bundesliga win.

Deniz Undav (€7.0m) was also one of their standout performers last season. Undav was absolutely key to Stuttgart’s excellent campaign, producing an impressive 19 goals and six assists from 29 starts. The home match against Viking provides a perfect opportunity to continue that form.

UCL FANTASY MATCHDAY 1 SCOUT PICKS