The moment we have all been waiting for is finally on our doorstep as Europe’s most elite club competition returns! What better way to celebrate than launching Sofascore’s Fantasy Champions League and building your dream XI! Here’s who we recommend.
Formation: 3-5-2
Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica vs Qarabağ) – €4.5m
After seven successive clean sheets at the start of this 2025/26 campaign, Benfica conceded their first goal away at Alverca when they rotated their keepers and benched Trubin. With the underdogs from Azerbaijan, Qarabağ, arriving in the Portuguese capital, it seems like another calm day for the Ukrainian between the sticks.
Anatoliy Trubin has been more than solid thus far in the season, and his price of only €4.5m makes him quite the bargain for round 1. In this season’s Champions League qualifiers, he has already secured four clean sheets, so he may as well pick up another one!
Achraf Hakimi (PSG vs Atalanta) – €8.0m
There’s a reason why the hashtag #hakimiballondor has been going around, and that’s because the Moroccan was phenomenal last season in all competitions for the UCL’s new defending champions.
While Atalanta is no walk in the park, having Achraf Hakimi in your Fantasy round 1 XI is a no-brainer. He might be having a slower start to this campaign, but what better way to re-announce yourself than with a quality performance in the Champions League?
Miloš Kerkez (Liverpool vs Atlético Madrid) – €6.5m
Liverpool’s new starting left-back Miloš Kerkez is the definition of a must-have player in your Fantasy XI. Not only is he excellent in defense, winning numerous duels and providing stability on the left side, but his attacking attributes also make him a game-changer.
Plenty of crosses, plenty of assists, and he definitely does not mind a dribble or two. Selecting defenders that can make a difference in attack offers a plethora of potential Fantasy points. Despite Atlético Madrid being renowned for their solid defense, Liverpool should have the ability to break it down.
Panagiotis Retsos (Olympiacos vs Pafos) – €5.0m
Coming off a goal, three clean sheets, and two high ratings (8.0 & 8.1) in Olympiacos’ first three league matches, Panagiotis Retsos is a solid pick in what should be a relatively comfortable Champions League opener against Pafos in Piraeus.
Olympiacos are massive favourites at home against Champions League debutants Pafos from Cyprus. Tackles, successful duels, interceptions – Retsos should have a comfortable game against a relatively inexperienced side.
Malik Tillman (København vs Bayer Leverkusen) – €6.0m
After a phenomenal finish in the Eredivisie last season, in which PSV managed to overtake Ajax in extraordinary scenes, the American has earned himself a Bundesliga move, where he will look to develop into a world-class midfielder.
Bayer Leverkusen has had a very shaky start, Den Haag has already been replaced after only two league matches. Players often react well immediately after managerial switches, and Tillman is no stranger to an impressive Champions League performance. His last three were a 7.4 Sofascore Rating against Brest, 9.7 vs Shakhtar Donetsk, and a 9.9 against Girona.
Arda Güler (Real Madrid vs Marseille) – €8.0m
Türkiye’s most promising talent has been reborn under Xabi Alonso as his role in this competition’s most successful club has grown exponentially. With three goal involvements in Real Madrid’s first four LaLiga fixtures, Güler has solidified his name in Los Blancos’ first XI.
Champions League games at the Bernabeu often only go one way, and that’s how we see this opener going with Marseille. Real Madrid should have too much for the French to handle, and Güler will definitely find himself among the action on Tuesday.
Pedri (Newcastle vs Barcelona) – €9.5m
The Barcelona star is arguably the best midfielder in the world. Coming off a 6-0 victory against Valencia and a phenomenal international break in which he scored twice and earned a 9.4 rating away in Türkiye, as well as an 8.0 rating against Bulgaria, his form has not been much different for LaLiga’s defending champions.
What doesn’t this man do? As versatile as you’d like, Pedri’s consistency makes him a very safe pick next to all of his attributes and strengths on the pitch. Ranging from key passes and his offensive input to his defensive duties, Pedri is too dominant not to have in your Fantasy team.
Francisco Trincão (Sporting vs Kairat) – €6.0m
Remaining on the Iberian peninsula for this pick, Francisco Trincão is Sporting Lisbon’s biggest attacking threat in what should be, quote-unquote, a very comfortable Champions League opener against Kazakh underdogs Kairat. Considering Trincão’s cheap price (6.0m) and Sporting’s opponents, the Portuguese attacking midfielder should be racking up the points Thursday night.
Trincão was the second-highest-rated player in last season’s Liga Portugal campaign, with an average Sofascore Rating of 7.62, falling short of his former teammate Viktor Gyökeres. Despite Trincão’s inconsistent start to this season, with 9.4 and 5.9 performances in the League, he should be trouble for Kairat.
Michael Olise (Bayern vs Chelsea) – €11.5m
Who can even remember the last time Olise had a bad game? This man has been absolutely unstoppable ever since joining the German giants. Goals, assists, big chances created, key passes, successful dribbles, Olise is going to be a headache for Enzo Maresca’s men.
In the Bundesliga thus far, Olise has scored three goals and provided one assist, scoring at a rate of one goal every 90 minutes played, and has averaged 1.7 key passes and 5.3 shots per game. In what will be one of the fixtures to watch in round 1, Chelsea will definitely have something to say, but English clubs tend to have problems away in Munich.
Vangelis Pavlidis (Benfica vs Qarabağ) – €6.5m
For all the arguments we’ve made for Anatoliy Trubin between the sticks against Qarabağ, you can directly flip them in an attacking context for Vangelis Pavlidis. The Greek loves a Champions League goal, scoring 7 in 12 matches last season and even picking up a hat-trick at home against Barcelona.
New signing Franjo Ivanović’s form is the only factor that complicates this pick, as manager Bruno Lage has no patterns in attacking formations. Pavlidis has started some matches, Ivanović has started others, and both have been paired up a few times. Pavlidis should have the upper hand, considering his experience in the competition, and be in Lage’s starting XI against Qarabağ today.
Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid vs Marseille) – €12.0m
No better way than sealing off our 11 Fantasy picks than with our recommended team captain and the 2024/25 European Golden Boot winner. The star Frenchman already has six goals to his name this season, two for France in World Cup qualifiers and four in LaLiga.
On the other hand, Marseille looks a very vulnerable side away from home, losing both to Lyon and Rennes this season. While De Zerbi’s men have “nothing to lose” away at the Bernabéu and all the pressure will be on Los Blancos, Mbappé thrives in such situations. He is an expensive but very worth pick in our books.
Total Budget: €83.5m