First things first, a quick reminder: #UCLFantasy IS NOT FPL. - Fewer fixtures (8 GWs in the new league phase). - Chips can make or break your season. - Rotations are brutal (I suffered it A LOT last year). That’s why planning is key. But here’s the twist: it’s not everything.

Some lessons learned: Lesson #1: Don’t overthink captaincy. Stick with consistent premiums. My captain picks last year’s league phase: GW1 Kane (42) GW2 Salah (28) GW3 Gyokeres (16)* GW4 Lewandowski (20) GW5 Haaland (24) GW6 Salah (16) GW7 Raphinha (32) GW8 Kane (12) Only

Lesson #2: Attack fixtures, not just names. Form is nice, but fixtures win you points. Last season, with limited info before GW1, I went heavy on Bayern vs Dinamo Zagreb (Kane, Musiala, Gnabry). I also doubled on Leverkusen vs Feyenoord with Wirtz and Grimaldo. Both were great

Lesson #3: Time your chips wisely. Planning is important, but don’t be rigid. If your team isn’t in good shape, adapt. Don’t say “no, I already planned WC5 so I must stick with it.” Last season my initial plan was WC4/5 & LL7. In reality? I went WC2 & LL6. And it worked

Quick asterisk here 🧤: GKs are underrated in #UCLFantasy. Clean sheets can quietly decide mini-leagues or even overall rankings. I was stuck with Blaswich, Di Gregorio & Dibu Martínez last league phase… and still got 4 clean sheets out of 8. This year, the game gave us

Lesson #4: Be ruthless. Detach emotionally. If a premium is underperforming and has tough fixtures, don’t hesitate to sell. Last season I dropped several “untouchable” names. It felt wrong… but it freed up budget for players who delivered. ⚠️ Don’t let loyalty cost you

Lesson #5: Instincts vs Community. Twitter/X is full of great #UCLFantasy content. But at the end of the day, your instincts matter most. Many of my key moves last season went against the community consensus… and they paid off. I watch A LOT of football, and I take my own

With that in mind, let’s look at teams worth targeting early on. Fixture strength + rotation risk = everything ⚔️ Lots of fixture difficulty ratings are circulating already, debatable, and bound to change, but still useful as a starting point. Here’s my take 👇

GW1 gives us juicy fixtures: - Benfica vs Qarabag - Olympiakos vs Pafos - Sporting vs Kairat Tempting to load up. But here’s the risk ⬇️ Olympiakos then face Arsenal (A) & Barça (A). El Kaabi or Chiquinho might shine in GW1, but do you really want to spend transfers moving

Moving on, I’ve seen people mark Spurs as having “easy” fixtures. Personally, I disagree. Villarreal is a tough side with a great coach and strong summer reinforcements. Monaco in GW3 isn’t simple either. And, for me, details like these matter. For now, I have zero Spurs in my

Another team everyone highlights early: Inter. Yes, their first 4 GWs look kind. But one thing people overlook: Inzaghi is gone. Chivu is in charge. And I’m not convinced. For that reason I’m cautious about loading up on Inter assets. Could be fine, but until we see how they

Now let’s move into what everyone loves: player picks. This is where squads are built or broken. I’ll go position by position with my current thoughts. ⚠️ Keep in mind: prices this season gave us some unusual bargains, so value-hunting will be key. Also, all these players are

Goalkeepers (GK). Lesson learned: I’m not improvising here again. Last season, I was stuck with Blaswich and Di Gregorio, and it hurt. This year, we actually have insane value at GK: - Chevalier (4.5) - Joan García (4.5) - Milinković-Savić (likely starter, 4.0!) - Raya (5.5)

Defenders (DEF). Defenders are always tricky in #UCLFantasy, but a few stand out: - Hakimi (6.0): pure fixture-proof upside. PSG’s matches are brutal, but he doesn’t care. Attacks any game, any context. - Dumfries (6.0): probably my only Inter pick for GW1. Same logic as

Some extra defenders I think deserve attention 👇 Napoli: tough GW1 vs City, but from GW2 fixtures ease up. - Di Lorenzo (5.5): nailed, 90 mins most games, attacking threat. - Spinazzola (4.5): budget-friendly fullback. - Juan Jesus (4.0): starter while Rrahmani is out, could

Midfielders (MID) The injury to Lamine Yamal (one of the “locks” for many of us) opens the door to play around a bit in midfield. This is the most competitive zone in #UCLFantasy, and where smart picks can separate contenders from the pack. Here are my thoughts 👇 - Raphinha

Some extra midfielders I think deserve attention 👇 - Akilouche (5.0): I’ve seen him in a lot of drafts already. A real baller, perfect to balance budgets if you’re stacking premiums. - Trincão / Gonçalves (6.0): both very good GW1 punts vs Kairat. Popular, but for good reason.

Forwards (FWD) - Mbappé (10.5): best player in the world. Nothing to add, as he should be in every team. - Kane (10.5): consistent points machine. Chelsea in GW1 is tricky, but GW2 vs Pafos is almost a must. - Haaland (10.5): only 16% owned. Napoli (H) is tough, and

Some extra midfielders I think deserve attention 👇 - Schick (7.0): one of my favourite differentials. No real competition, likely on pens. Fixtures: Copenhagen + PSV = perfect start. - Greenwood (7.0): my 3rd favourite differential in the game. Under De Zerbi he’s thriving, on

That’s all for my giga-thread on #UCLFantasy ahead of GW1 🚀 Thanks for reading, and I hope it helps sharpen your drafts! A quick shoutout to some top creators I always follow & recommend for constant updates on lineups, injuries, and more: Louis (@FPLReaction) & Wale

@joaquin_roth hey Joaquin, thoughts on this?

@NateThegFantasy Hey, Nate. Overall, I think it's a really solid team from my point of view. Nice GK rotation, solid defence, well-balance midfield with Perisic as the differential, and the usual suspects up front. When are you planning to use your chips? Do you have something in mind already?

@joaquin_roth Hi Joaquin. Thankyou for all the insights on this giga-thread. Wanted to know your perspective on my squad; I’m planning on WC4 and LL6. Having little doubts between these two options. Cheers man!

@Maxi_Dellaqua Hey, Maxi. Overall I think it's a solid team, well balanced. Getting deeper into it, I have some doubts about Kerkez as one of the defenders and Gyokeres. Olise vs Simons is also another tough call to make. I think the French is a way better player, playing for a way better

@joaquin_roth Thank you for your posts, great job! What do you think about chip strategy LL4, WC7? Team for the first 3 rounds and then skip 4th tough round. After the 40 days winter break take WC7 for the last two rounds. Thank you for your opinion!

@carecare232 Appreciate the support and the kind words, pal. That actually sounds like a very viable plan 🙌. I really like the idea of LL4 as it lets you dodge a tough round and fully attack with unlimited budget when fixtures might be trickier. Makes a lot of sense. WC7 after the long

@joaquin_roth Hi Joaquin, should I downgrade my striker to spend more for defenders? I think all 3 would be very exposive, good fixtures too so I feel like a mistake skipping any of them three.

@FplHieuDuong Hey there, I wouldn’t say there’s any need to downgrade at all 🙌 We all know how explosive Mbappé, Haaland & Kane can be; skipping one always feels wrong. And again, there’s no single “correct” strategy in this game. Sometimes it just comes down to gut feeling and following

@joaquin_roth Hi Joaquín, thank you for all this information! What do you think about this?

@BjornFant Pretty similar to the template I've seen here, Bjorn. Arsenal triple def can be risky (as when tripling up with any team), but I see the rationale behind. Also, interesting to go with Pedri (not too many offensive contributions but last season we saw him getting suspicious

@joaquin_roth Hey, mate ! What do you think about my FUCL squad? Do you have any suggestions for this squad that I will consider later?

@wibugibol Really nice team! Don't know if Meret will continue to be the starting GK with Vanja starting last weekend. Something to monitor. Other than that, love the team and the Grimaldo pick. I'm trying to squeeze him into my team.