The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign begins today – and so does the competition’s official Fantasy game.
Make sure you check out our complete UCL Fantasy guide below in preparation for the big kick-off – and stay tuned for regular articles throughout the season.
Here, FPL Milanista, another one of our European football experts who finished 31st in the world in 2022, gives us his UCL Fantasy Matchday 1 team reveal – and three differentials.
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MATCHDAY 1 DIFFERENTIALS
UCL Fantasy kicks off today, so let’s jump straight into discussing three players who are less than 5% owned but have the explosiveness trait that could jump you up the ranks.
PEDRO GONCALVES
First is Pedro Goncalves of Sporting, owned by just 3% of total managers. The 26-year-old Portuguese has started his new season from where he ended last, contributing seven goals (four of his own and three assists) in the opening five games.
He chipped in with 23 goals in the Primeira Liga last season and was instrumental for his team’s successful campaign, which saw them crowned as champions.
Sporting have a juicy Matchday 1 fixture at home to Lille, who have had a shaky start domestically, losing twice in their first four Ligue I games. They then face PSV and Sturm Graz in Matchdays 2 and 3 – fixtures that the Portuguese side can prosper in too.
I’ve had some success owning Goncalves in previous seasons and he is very likely going to make it into my final 15-man squad later this evening.
RICCARDO ORSOLINI
My second pick is Riccardo Orsolini from Bologna, a player who is being reported to have 0% ownership in the game!
The Italian winger has 43 goals over his Bologna career. Unlike our previous pick, Riccardo has had a slow start to this season, finding the net just once via a penalty on Serie A’s opening day.
However, the talent is there and in fact he was one of the players that Luciano Spalleti got criticized for leaving out of the Italy squad that went to Germany for Euro 2024.
Bologna kick-off their UCL campaign on Wednesday, hosting Shakhtar before two tricky trips to England to face Liverpool and Aston Villa.
ADEMOLA LOOKMAN
My third and final pick is Ademola Lookman of Atalanta. The hat-trick hero of last season’s Europa League finals features just 3% of teams, a percentage that I believe is highly affected by his difficult opening game hosting the Gunners on Thursday.
The Nigerian winger had a controversial summer with his club but returned to the starting XI and contributed with a goal and an assist in his team’s victory over Fiorentina.
Last season, Ademola scored 11 goals and assisted seven in Serie A from 31 appearances. Gasperrini’s side is usually entertaining to watch with a lot of attacking potential so it wouldn’t surprise me to see them score past Arsenal in Matchday 1.
The fixtures beyond Matchday 1 are really good for the Black and Blues, with Shakhtar, Celtic, Stuttgart, and Young Boys to come in Matchday 2-5. This cements Lookman as at least a shortlisted player in case a UCL Fantasy manager couldn’t justify bringing him from the start.
FPL MILANISTA’S UCL FANTASY MATCHDAY 1 TEAM REVEAL
