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We’re four games into the new Premier League season and, in fantasy terms, positions are taking shape?

How’s it going for you? Frustrated by the international break? Keen for more action in the early part of the week? Kind of wish you could start again!

If so, why not check out Fanteam’s new UCL 2025/26 Season League Phase Game.

Last season the Champions League had a change in format with all 36 teams put into one giant league, each one playing eight fixtures.

And that’s the basis of this fantasy game – scoring as many points as possible over those eight matches.

The FanTeam game which costs £20 to enter, boasts a Minimum Guaranteed Prizepool of £25,000.

NEW USERS – CLICK HERE

Let’s take a deeper delve into the rules and format:

KEY POINTS

£110M Budget – Pick 15 players. Note there is a maximum of 5 entries per manager

3 Players maximum from each team

2 Free transfers each gameweek. Any additional transfers cost -4pts each

1 Wildcard during the eight-game league phase

Captains score double

STRATEGY

Watch for deadlines. Weekly UCL action kicks off on Tuesdays and that includes fixtures played at 5.45pm BST. Don’t get caught out thinking you have until 8pm.

Watch for team news. The game has revertible transfers so if you go early and then hear of an injury in a weekend domestic league match, you can still make further changes for free.

Seek out a fixture grid list. Several teams have lopsided schedules. Take Inter Milan. They open with matches against Ajax (a), Slavia Prague (h), Union SG (a) and Kariat (h). Compare that to their final four: Atletico Madrid (a), Liverpool (h), Arsenal (h), Dortmund (a).

Transfers are massively important. You have 2 per gameweek and can stack up to 14 if rolling over each week. But look to be proactive. Seek out favourable fixtures – big guns v lesser lights – and spot patterns on how managers rotate between domestic and European games. If a player has been rested or taken off a little early in a weekend domestic game, there’s a fair chance they’re being saved for UCL action.

Wildcarding is a tricky science but don’t be afraid to pull the trigger early. Also watch how the league is unfolding. Teams already qualified could rest their big stars for the last couple of fixtures.

Elite teams have big squads designed to cope with busy schedules. That means lots of rotation. To counter this, try and pick out absolute undroppable locks, not players who flit in and out.

WEEK 1 TEAM REVEAL

GOALKEEPER

Yann Sommer (Inter Milan) – 5.0M

The Swiss stopper had seven clean sheets on the way to the final last season although let’s not talk about what happened against PSG. With a favourable fixture list, the Inter man looks good value at 1M cheaper than David Raya and you can keep him in until halfway through the league campaign until Inter’s rivals switch from easy to hard.

Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham) – 5.0M

What’s this, three clean sheets out of four for Spurs in the Premier League so far! That makes Vicario a good option for a second 5.0M goalkeeper, especially given Tottenham’s relatively easy opening fixtures.

DEFENDERS

Denzil Dumfries (Inter Milan) – 5.0M

Using the same argument as above, getting an Inter defender in makes lots of sense. And Dumfries, with his potential for attacking returns, is the obvious play.

Achraf Hakimi (PSG) – 7.0M

The Moroccan scored in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the Champions League last season which is pretty remarkable for a right-back. Add in potential for clean sheets and assists (he got five in the UCL last season) and the PSG man looks a no-brainer for inclusion.

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – 6.0M

Liverpool were sensational in the league phase in 2024/25, topping it with seven wins out of eight. They need representation but further forward it’s tricky given the number of attacking options. Even defensively there is scope for rotation but VVD can be pencilled in and has scoring potential at both ends of the pitch.

Micky van de Ven (Tottenham) – 5.0M

Spurs are going well and lifted a European trophy last season, shutting out Manchester United in the final. Like Inter, the fixture computer has spat out nice early fixtures: Villarreal (h), Bodo/Glimt (a), Monaco (a), Copenhagen (h). Van de Ven, if he stays fit, will be a key man if they’re to make progress and he already has a couple of goals this season – v PSG and West Ham.

Juan Jesus (Napoli) – 4.5M

The experienced Brazilian has helped Napoli shut out the opposition in the Italian champions’ first two Serie A fixtures so is a handy option at the price. Bench him for the opener (away to Man City) but then he’s a contender for favourable fixtures for the next four gameweeks.

MIDFIELDERS

Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) – 11M

The Real Madrid man, who has scored the winner in a Champions League final, is classed as a midfielder so it’s easy to find room for him. The Brazilian has racked up goal talllies of 8, 6 and 7 (= 21) across the last three Champions League campaigns. The competition’s most successful team start at home to Marseille before an away trip to Kairat.

Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich) – 9M

Diaz scored a UCL hat-trick for Liverpool last season (v Bayer Leverkusen) and he’s already netted four goals in his first five games for Bayern. He already looks at home in Bavaria and can combine for assists and goals with Harry Kane (see below).

Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) – 8.5M

Okay, this is a slight punt but there’s an argument that Wirtz will find the pace and rhythms of the Champions League easier to cope with than the helter-skelter of the Premier League. Ownership should be far lower than it was the day he signed for the Reds but don’t abandon this world-class operator based on knee-jerk social media chat writing him off.

Marcel Sabitzer (Dortmund) – 5M

The versatile Austrian is a decent bench warmer option. If required, the Dortmund man still has an eye for goal and scored in both his country’s games in the recent international break.

Marten de Roon (Atalanta) – 5M

The Dutch midfielder is a makeweight but, if forced into action, has scoring potential beyond the opener against PSG as Atalanta have home games against Brugge and Slavia Prague.

FORWARDS

Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) – 12.5M

The iconic Frenchman has 22 goals across his last three Champions League campaigns, two of those played in the colours of PSG. It’s easy to see him kicking on even further in this second season at Madrid. Six in six for club and country so far is an eyecatching start.

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) – 11.5M

Kane’s scoring exploits for Bayern made him an instant hero in Bavaria and he plundered 11 goals in his first UCL campaign for the Germans last season. And the goals keep flowing. The England striker already has a hat-trick for Bayern in the new campaign and added another brace at the weekend to make it eight in five for the Bundesliga leaders this term.

Lauro Martinez (Inter Milan) – 9.0M

I’ll triple up on Inter given their easy start and Martinez scored nine goals in the UCL in 2024/2025 so is their biggest goal threat. He’s already been on target for both club and country this season.

Don’t forget, NEW USERS – CLICK HERE