UCL Fantasy: Matchday 2 Preview and Team Reveal
The author
Simon K. Kjær, @AeselFC on X, 25/26 ranks: #FPL 5k │ UCL: 165th │ FWC: 7k.
My previews before every Match Day – what can you expect?
I’m an experienced Fantasy Football aficionado, having played FPL for multiple seasons, finishing 10k and 5k overall for the two past seasons. Last season I also turned my focus to UCL, finishing #165th in the world in my first attempt.
I will do a thorough preview landing every Monday, 24 hours before the deadline, covering fixtures, chip strategy and key assets along with publishing my transfer thoughts. On Tuesday after lineups, I’ll update my preview and publish my team.
My final team
Here's my team for MD2:
Transfers: Raphinha & Mittelstadt to Saka & Dimarco
Captain: Yamal (TUE), Mbappé (WED)
Rank: ~300k
The most reliable Bayern news suggest that Brown starts (https://x.com/iMiaSanMia/status/2109736759483380077). Therefore, I won't take a -4 to take him out and use the 3rd Bayern spot for Olise. Importantly with this, I can field a starting XI playing on Tuesday, with exactly 4 substitutes playing on Wednesday, which is always to be preferred
MD1 recap & my team
My preview team got off to a… slightly underwhelming start, sitting at 90 points and ~300k overall. As I posted on X, my last decision was Olise (BAY) & Zalazar (SPO) vs Luis Díaz (BAY) & Til (PSV), which turned out to be a brutal 26-point swing. Hope some of you were on the right side of that 50:50 decision.
Other than that, Raphinha (BAR) (C), Yamal (BAR), Kane (BAY) and Bruno Fernandes (MUN) delivered.
Chip strategy: Unchanged
Looking ahead to MD2, the never-ending International Break was very kind to my preview team, as only the universally owned Raphinha (BAR) is definitely out, while Mittelstädt (STU) is a big doubt for MD2. However, Nathaniel Brown (BAY)’s minutes remain doubtful, and Pejčinović (STU)’s even more so.
Fortunately, I’ve got two transfers to figure this out, and I still value Limitless 3 highly, so I’m not looking to use a chip this gameweek.
Teams and Transfers to Target
Bayern and Barcelona are once again the big favourites, both projected well over 3 xG vs Viking and Galatasaray, respectively. Stuttgart, Inter, Arsenal and Liverpool closely follow. With LL3 on the cards, it’s worth noting that especially Bayern and Barcelona’s fixtures continue to look brilliant (https://thefantasytool.com/schedule-ucl?view=xg).
Therefore, it’s more important than ever to be stacking up on Bayern and Barcelona – and selecting the right players in the process. With Raphinha (BAR)’s injury, I’m looking to replace the Brazilian, and I’m looking towards his teammate Gordon (BAR), who seems to be exceeding expectations at Barcelona so far. Also, I’m considering getting rid of defender Nathaniel Brown (BAY) to allow for bringing in Olise (BAY) along with Kane (BAY) and Díaz (BAY) – a triple-up that is hard to resist.
As many will need to replace Raphinha (BAR) this GW, TheFantasyTool player picks section provides alternatives with the highest projected points (https://thefantasytool.com/player-picks-ucl?n=1). Here, I like Saka (ARS) the most, as I avoid Arsenal’s fixture vs Barcelona through LL3.
Cheaper midfield replacements are Moussa (FEY) and Paz (COM).
Many managers may look to replace Mittelstädt (STU) as well. Here, I like Dimarco (INT), Raum (RBL) or an Arsenal defender – Gabriel (ARS) – the most, as I would prioritise Bayern attackers and therefore wouldn’t go for their defenders, although Tah (BAY) feels the most nailed of those.
For forwards, it’s hard to look past Kane (BAY) this GW, but he’s very hard to bring in with his price tag, similar to Mbappé (RMA). Undav (STU), Guirassy (BVB) or Lautaro Martínez (INT) are the best in the price range just below, and I see little value in the cheap forwards, unless you’re going with a one-week punt on Gabriel Jesus (BAR), who now plays for Barcelona, or the ultra-cheap Troy Parrott (BET), who may start for Betis.
Contenders:
The list of contenders is very much chip-strategy dependent and geared towards my chip strategy (LL3, WC undecided), but nonetheless MD2 is a good entry point for these players:
GK: Martínez (INT)
DEF: Dimarco (INT), Raum (RBL), Gabriel (ARS), Konsa (AVL), Altimira (SPO), Van Dijk (LIV)
MID: Olise (BAY), Díaz (BAY), Yamal (BAR), Gordon (BAR), Saka (ARS), Wirtz (LIV), Moussa (FEY), Paz (COM)
FWD: Mbappé (RMA), Kane (BAY), Lautaro Martínez (INT), Undav (STU), Guirassy (BVB), Gabriel Jesus (BAR), Parrott (BET)
Transfer paths
Most importantly, I’ll try to get info on whether Nathaniel Brown (BAY) is rumoured to start or not. Currently, I’m looking at the following transfer paths:
1: Raphinha (BAR) & Mittelstädt (STU) to Gordon (BAR) & Dimarco (INT)
My current favourite path. It also leaves enough in the bank to go back to Raphinha (BAR) by selling Bruno Fernandes (MUN) in GW4.
2: Raphinha (BAR), Mittelstädt (STU) & Brown (BAY) to Olise (BAY), Dimarco (INT) and a 4.0 defender (-4)
If Brown (BAY) doesn’t look likely to start while Olise (BAY) does, this may be my best move this GW. Of the 4.0 defenders, I’ll have a look to see if any Lens players start, or otherwise Couto (COM) is a good shout.
Remember, we usually get a lot of key information throughout Tuesday, so keep an eye on this. I’ll update the preview when I’m fully decided on my transfers ~45 min before the deadline.