The 67th overall installment of the premier European club football tournament is slated to start from mid-September. However, after its renaming, this is going to be the 30th season of the UEFA Champions League. Regardless of its names, the top tier of European football never fails to amaze the spectators with its amazing quality of football and excitement. The UCL Fantasy is another constituent adding to the nuance of an already exciting contest. Every new season brings in ample new Champion clubs from across Europe, lots of new faces in terms of UCL Fantasy. We, however, as usual, would guide Fantasy managers throughout the UCL season. In this article, we will outline all these different changes, as well as give insight and an overview as to what your teams could look like ahead of the UCL Fantasy 2021/22 Matchday 1 fixture.
UCL Fantasy 2021/22 Overview: Price Changes
The UCL Fantasy players’ prices change at the start of every season, based upon the players’ previous season’s stats and the probability of him being a starter. Sometimes, positional changes also prove to be the reason behind price alteration. The following table contains the price rises of notable players from the top UCL teams. Take note that, we have considered the initial prices of the previous and the upcoming season.
Major Price Rises
| Player Name | Club | Position | 2020/21 Season’s Price | 2021/22 Season’s Price |
| E. Mendy | Chelsea | GK | €5m | €6m |
| J. Oblak | Atletico Madrid | GK | €6m | €6.5m |
| A. Hakimi | PSG | DEF | €6m | €6.5m |
| D. Upamecano | Bayern Munich | DEF | €5m | €5.5m |
| Angeliño | RB Leipzig | DEF | €5m | €5.5m |
| B. Fernandes | Manchester United | MID | €9.5m | €10.5m |
| D. Jota | Liverpool FC | FWD | €7.5m | €8m* |
There aren’t many noteworthy price changes in the forwards’ department though. These price changes have a dubious effect on a fantasy manager’s plans for the season. Certain players, such as Bruno Fernandes, Angelino won’t be much of a concern due to their risen prices, based upon their form, position and style of play. However, a €6.5m for a keeper looks insane in terms of UCL fantasy. Oblak no doubt is one of the best goalies at the moment, but keeping him in the squad would reduce the budget where it is more necessary.
Major Price Drops
| Player Name | Club | Position | 2020/21 Season’s Price | 2021/22 Season’s Price |
| C. Ronaldo | Juventus | FWD | €12m | €11 |
| L. Messi | PSG | FWD | €12m | €11 |
| M. Salah | Liverpool | MID | €11.5m | €10.5m |
| R. Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | FWD | €12m | €11.5m |
| S. Mane | Liverpool | MID | €11m | €10m |
| K. De Bruyne | Manchester City | MID | €11.5m | €11m |
| S. Ramos | PSG | DEF | €6.5m | €6m |
| Neymar | PSG | FWD | €11.5m | €10.5m |
As you can see, most of the top forwards in Europe have their prices reduced. Messi‘s price reduction may also be an effect of his transfer to PSG, where he would also have better players surrounding him. Hence, it would automatically shift the reliance on him for goals. There aren’t many noteworthy price drops due to a change of position. Besides the mentioned players, prices of Karim Benzema, Timo Werner, K. Mbappe have also been reduced a bit. Ironically, price reductions are a blessing sometimes, it helps managers maintain a balance in their team budget.
UCL Fantasy 2021/22 Overview: Players from new teams to watch out for
Out of the 32 group stage teams, there are several teams who participated in the previous installment too and the fantasy managers are well aware of the talents those teams possess in terms of fantasy points. However, certain teams would be featuring after a season or two, or in some instances, after really a long time. No short of talents, however, such teams are to be analyzed by fantasy managers to find top talents and vital fantasy assets from them.
Villareal
Starting with, we would focus upon the Europa League champions, Villareal. Incidentally, the last appearance for the Spanish side in the UCL group stage came in the 2011/12 season. After 10 years of absence, the Submarino Amarillo is now back in the group stage as the Europa League champions.
With Gerard Moreno at €8.5m, the managers might consider him as a choice, given his form. Cheaper alternatives like Paco Alcacer at €7.5m and Boulaye Dia at €6.5m also look decent options, based upon who is the 1st choice besides Gerard Moreno. Defender Alberto Moreno who plays as a left midfielder for the team, is also a good choice for the fantasy team, considering his guarantee to start and his €4m price.
VfL Wolfsburg
The Die Wölfe from Germany would be featuring in the UCL group stage after almost 5-6 years, having last played in the 2015/16 season. Now they are back in the top stage of European football, by finishing 4th in the last season’s Bundesliga. Dutch forward Wout Weghorst (€8m) would be the center of attraction. He is the sole striker for Wolfsburg and is playing an important part for them currently. Defenders Kevin Mbabu (€4.5m) and especially Ridle Baku (€5.5m), who is a midfielder in the team, might also play an important role in their UCL season.
AC Milan
The 2nd best club in UCL history in terms of titles won, the l Rossoneri are finally back in the competition after a long absence of 7 years. Last they played the UCL group stage in the 2013/14 season. They qualified as the runners-up of the Italian Serie A.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic(€8m), Ante Rebic(€7.5m), and Franck Kessie(€5.5m), the penalty-taker proved to be their main men, and are likely to be so in this season’s UCL too, if their injuries get healed. Besides, defender Theo Hernandez (€5.5m) might also prove to be a decent option for your team. Lest we forget the new signing Olivier Giroud(€7m), who can also be vital, considering his comparatively cheaper price as a forward.
Lille OSC
The French league champions were one of the surprise packages of the last season. The Les Dogues almost dethroned the heavyweights PSG in France. The current French champions’ last UCL group stage appearance came in the 2019/20 season, being the Ligue 1 runners-up in the season before. Forwards Burak Yılmaz (€8m), Jonathan David (€7.5m) and midfielder Jonathan Bamba (€7m) may be the ones fantasy managers should keep an eye on.
Sporting CP
Now coming to the Portuguese champions, this is their first appearance in the UCL group stage since 2017/18. Known for the possession of substantial young Portuguese talents over the years, the Verde e brancos won their 19th league title, after 19 years. Not short of talents this time too, forwards Paulinho (€6m), Nuno Santos (€7m) and midfielder Pedro Gonçalves (€8m) are some must-haves for being cheaply priced starters. Consequently, their goalkeeper Antonio Adán (€4.5m) is a serious contender if managers prefer cheaper alternatives in goal.
Beşiktaş J.K.
Last but not the least, we focus on the Turkish champions. The Istanbul club last featured in the group stage in the 2017/18 season, just like Sporting CP. Although they are kind of short in numbers when fantasy assets are a concern, all of their 1st-choice defenders are within the €4m-€4.5m price bracket. Also, their first-choice goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu (€4m) might be a good filler for the bench. The Algerian, Rachid Ghezzal signed from Leicester was an important part of their title run, and would be worth consideration, alongside forwards C. Larin, M. Batshuayi, and K. Kamaran.
The fans and players always look up to the glorious European nights. Be it the team from the top 5 European leagues, or from the ones below them, the excitement of watching your own team play the UCL matches none. The excitement of a new UCL fantasy season is no less for the managers. In comparison to FPL, UCL fantasy undoubtedly carries the bigger names within.
This is where the selection dilemma starts. However, troubled fantasy managers should keep an eye on all sorts of fantasy assets, to make their squads balanced. Don’t hesitate to twist your team every now and then as you do have unlimited transfers ahead of Matchday 1. Good luck!
Did you find our analysis and overview on the new UCL Fantasy 2021/22 season useful? Drop your comments in the comment section below!
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