After Europe’s most elite club competition kicked off two weeks ago, we’ve already got Round 2 of the UEFA Champions League at our doorstep. Round 1 didn’t just deliver drama on the pitch, but it also set records off it as well!
Before a ball was even kicked, over 115,000 Champions League Fantasy teams were created, breaking the previous single-day record held by our Premier League Fantasy.
In total, Sofascore Fantasy has now seen more than half a million teams created across the game’s leading leagues and tournaments, with fans building their XIs in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League, and the Brasileirão.
Ranging from France to Angola, Mexico and Congo, our Fantasy community is bigger than ever, being available in 47 markets worldwide!
While we are a community, we also love to compete, so let’s get into our Round 2 Sofascore Fantasy recommendations to help you stay one step ahead!
Formation: 4-4-2
David Raya (Arsenal vs Olympiacos) – €6.0m
After securing a clean sheet in Round 1 back home against Athletic Bilbao, Arsenal await much “easier” opposition, in the form of Greek champions, Olympiacos, at home. The Gunners have been rock solid in defense, conceding their first goal this season against Manchester City after four Premier League clean sheets and an untouched net away in Spain.
David Raya has been solid and consistent this season, with not much work to do, considering the backline he has in front of him. Moreover, Olympiacos’ Champions League campaign did not have the most promising start, as they couldn’t find the net against debutants Pathos at home.
Ben White (Arsenal vs Olympiacos) – €5.0m
Riding the Arsenal wave, we’ve got another Gunner as we bank on their dominant performance both in attack and defense. Arteta will look to freshen up and rotate their starting XI ahead of Olympiacos, which is why we’ve given Ben White a shot ahead of Jurriën Timber.
Ben White started on the right in Arsenal’s mid-week match against Port Vale in the third round of the EFL Cup and managed to pick up an assist. Ben White won’t be put under too much pressure against a weaker Olympiacos side, allowing him to contribute both in attack parallel to his defensive duties.
Álvaro Carreras (Kairat vs Real Madrid) – €6.5m
The only factor that might get in the way of a Kairat battering is the sheer distance Los Blancos will have to travel. The Champions League’s most decorated club has not known a draw or loss this season, going 6/6 in LaLiga and beating Marseille in Round 1. The Kazakh underdogs are unlikely favourites out of teams looking to halt their winning run.
With no other concrete options on the left, Álvaro Carreras will definitely be a part of Xabi Alonso’s Asian expedition. Carreras’ consistency this season emphasizes his defensive solidity, not fluctuating and putting in good performances week in, week out. Real Madrid’s backline should have a calm day in the office against Kairat’s weak attacking force.
Dean Huijsen (Kairat vs Real Madrid) – €7.4m
As we did with Arsenal, we are staying in Madrid for two players in a row. Dean Huijsen has adapted to life in Spain quite well, which shouldn’t surprise anyone considering his nationality. Barring a very question red card vs Real Sociedad, Huijsen has had an exceptional start to this season and has relatively quickly established himself as Alonso’s most trusted center-back.
Real Madrid’s dominance against Kairat shouldn’t come into question, and such a matchup is an excellent opportunity for Spain’s giants to finally pick up another clean sheet after more than a month since their last untouched net, on the 24th of August away in Oviedo.
Virgil Van Dijk (Galatasaray vs Liverpool) – €7.5m
Moving 5,500 kilometers westwards from Almaty, Liverpool will return to Türkiye’s metropolis, where they famously came back from three goals down against prime AC Milan and won the Champions League for the fifth time. While Galatasaray has been superior in the Süper Lig, a quite bizarre domestic league riddled with ‘superstars’, Türkiye’s European participants have largely underwhelmed.
Galatasaray fans won’t be feeling too optimistic after a 5-1 defeat away in Frankfurt, especially with Van Dijk on the other side. Being arguably the best centre-back in the world, he’s already opened his scoring account in the Champions League with a Van Dijk-esque winning header against Atlético Madrid in Round 1. There’s not much to say about Van Dijk that hasn’t already been said, he’s a must have in defense.
Federico Dimarco (Inter vs Slavia Praha) – €6.5m
Inter will play host to Champions League minnows Slavia Praha on Tuesday night’s match. Despite a rocky Serie A start, Inter’s inconsistent form has not translated in Europe, as they comfortably beat Ajax away in Amsterdam in Round 1.
Dimarco always poses a threat with his speed and overlaps on the left-hand side, and he’ll definitely have the space to do so against a relatively weak Sparta side in the Giuseppe Meazza. His highest-rated performance thus far in the season came at home against Sassuolo with a 9.0 Sofascore rating, 1 goal, 1 big chance created, and 3 key passes.
Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund vs Athletic Club) – €7.0m
The Champions League match of Round 1 was definitely the insane Croatian managerial clash in Turin, in which Igor Tudor’s men managed to rescue a point after being two goals down in the 90th minute against Niko Kovač’s Borussia Dortmund.
Karim Adeyemi was extremely dangerous on the right behind Guirassy, scoring and providing, and picking up an 8.0 rating. Adeyemi has continued this run of form in the Bundesliga as he’s scored in three matches in a row, playing a vital role in Dortmund’s last two wins. He’ll definitely be a handful for a slower Athletic Bilbao back line.
Jérémy Doku (AS Monaco vs Manchester City) – €7.5m
In a world of static and overly cautious wingers, Doku’s game is often refreshing and a joy to watch. In Man City’s Champions League opener and De Bruyne’s homecoming to the Etihad, the Belgian twenty-three-year-old was electric, scoring a beautiful individual goal, picking up an assist, 5 key passes, and an 8.4 Sofascore rating.
While his form in the Premier League has been inconsistent, Doku has Pep’s trust and should continue to be option #1 on the left. If Man City can get him in isolated areas and one-versus-one situations against Monaco on Wednesday, he’ll be nothing but trouble for the French.
Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal vs Olympiacos) – €6.5m
We are really banking on a dominant Arsenal performance in Round 2 against Olympiacos at home, because we’ve got our third Gunner. Next to Raya and Ben White in defense, Martinelli will have an opportunity on the wing to keep his good run of form going.
The Brazilian was crucial in Arsenal’s 0-2 win away in Round 1 against Athletic Bilbao, scoring and assisting in just 19 minutes played, earning a deserved 8.3 Sofascore rating. Only five days later, he scored against Man City after being substituted in with 10 minutes until the end of the game. He surely deserves a start after such performances, especially after being benched yet again against Newcastle on Sunday.
Lautaro Martínez (Inter vs Slavia Praha) – €8.5m
We’ve reached our final two and attacking picks. Inter will get the job done in Round 2 at home against Slavia Praha, but it’s about selecting the right striker for the job. With Francesco Pio Esposito getting his first Serie A goal against Cagliari during the weekend, substituting a poor Marcus Thuram, Martínez is a safe pick.
The Argentine also scored in Inter’s 0-2 victory and should start against the Czech underdogs, despite being benched in Round 1 away in the Netherlands. While Chivu has heavily rotated options in attack, Lautaro Martínez is Inter’s captain and star player.
Harry Kane (Pafos vs Bayern Munich) – €12.1m
Last time about, we recommended Mbappé as your Round 1 captain, and what did Los Blancos’ star player end up doing? Two goals and 32 points (if he were your captain) in the bag! For Round 2, we don’t think there’s a player currently more in form than the Brit in Bavaria, Harry Kane.
His statistics during the start of the 2025/26 campaign speak for themselves: 13 goal involvements in his first 5 Bundesliga matches, an average Sofascore rating of 8.78 in the league, and two goals with a 9.4 Sofascore rating in Bayern’s Champions League opener against Chelsea at home. Pafos’ defenders may as well not even show up…
Total budget: €80.5m