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This article covers top fantasy tips and captaincy picks for Matchday 12 in the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League season.
Matchday 11 of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League delivered thrilling action, highlighted by Arsenal's 7-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Leverkusen. Part two of the Round of 16 begins in a few hours, and we are thrilled for more UCL action to come.
Matchday 12 promises more excitement with headline clashes like Inter vs. Feyenoord and Aston Villa hosting Club Brugge this midweek. The road to Germany is set to be thrilling, ultimately leading to the final at Munich's Football Arena. RotoBaller remains your go-to source for top-tier UEFA Champions League fantasy content.
The Matchday 12 deadline of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League season is Tuesday, March 11, at 1:45 p.m. EDT, when FC Barcelona welcomes SL Benfica. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
Coming up this week 😮💨#UCL pic.twitter.com/2COhFpxvdw
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 10, 2025
Matchday 12 UCL Fantasy Tips
Target Inter Milan and Arsenal Assets
The Nerazzurri have a two-goal advantage over their Dutch opponents, Feyenoord. Feyenoord's manager, Robin Van Persie, managed to field a 22-man squad list with key players like Igor Paixao and Hwang In-beom unavailable, including 14 players missing due to injury or suspension.
To this end, Matchday 12 is a perfect opportunity to target Inter assets and maximize their attacking numbers against an injury-stricken Feyenoord team.
Per notti come queste ✨
Sempre al vostro fianco 🖤💙#ForzaInter #UCL #InterFeyenoord pic.twitter.com/qvm8SMsLIa— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter) March 11, 2025
Note: Inter's head coach, Simon Inzaghi, has hinted he will be making squad rotation for this round. Invariably, don't be surprised to see your best fantasy assets rested this midweek.
A few Italian outlets have reported that key players like Lautaro Martinez and Alessandro Bastoni are likely to start on the bench while Marcus Thuram is a 'wait and see' for Inter this Tuesday.
🎙️ Simone Inzaghi on rotating like in the 2022/23 season:
“Absolutely, but two years ago the #UCL wasn’t like this. This season is different, two extra games were added and you need to be focused in all of them. It’s not easy. Rotation is fundamental at this stage.” @Inter pic.twitter.com/q7RDpab8X9
— Inter Xtra (@Inter_Xtra) March 10, 2025
On Matchday 11, Arsenal won 7-1 away to PSV Eindhoven, becoming the first Champions League team to score seven goals away from home in the knockout stages.
Arsenal making history ✅#UCL pic.twitter.com/sQrt3agrH5
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 7, 2025
Will history repeat itself this week? The Gunners are technically through to the next round and will be looking to finish the job, as they host Feyenoord at the Emirates Stadium this week.
Recommended UCL Fantasy Assets for Matchday 12
- Inter: Mehdi Taremi, Denzel Dumfries, and Yann Sommer.
- Arsenal: Martin Ødegaard, Declan Rice, and William Saliba.
Best Florian Wirtz Replacement
Leverkusen talisman, Florian Wirtz, who has scored six goals in the Champions League this season, is set to be out for several weeks after suffering a ligament injury in the right ankle over the weekend.
Here are a few midfield options to replace the German international below:
🤕 Florian Wirtz will face a spell on the sidelines. Keep your head up and come back stronger, Flo! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/jcWSSQLV4d
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) March 10, 2025
Martin Ødegaard (€8.9m) - Arsenal
The 26-year-old was the star of the show in Matchday 11, amassing a 19-point haul against PSV Eindhoven and becoming the top-scoring UCL Fantasy player of the week. Ødegaard excelled in breaking down the opposition's defense by consistently posing an offensive threat in any pocket of space left by the opposition.
Ødegaard point-haul 😮💨@PlayStationEU | #UCLfantasy pic.twitter.com/NaqgzvPRn4
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 6, 2025
This resulted in him contributing three goals (two goals and one assist) against the Dutch last time out, and with Arsenal at home this week, the Norwegian international will be eager to recreate this feat again.
Lamine Yamal (€7.4m) - Barcelona
The 17-year-old Spaniard has contributed 16 goal contributions (five goals, eleven assists) in the Spanish La Liga and has been the creative engine for Barcelona this season, averaging 0.34 xA (expected assists) per 90 minutes.
Priced at €7.4m, Yamal provides a slightly cheaper route to replace Florian Wirtz, as he is €0.5m cheaper and solid replacement who could add some flair to your fantasy team.
Lamine Yamal, born to shine 💫 #BarçaBenfica @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/wrGLpdOXys
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 10, 2025
Matchday 12 Top Captain Picks
The Champions League midweek fixtures present many fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Ollie Watkins against Club Brugge and Vinicius Junior facing Atletico Madrid all present strong cases. However, our top two picks across the Round of 16 second leg are:
Raphinha (€7.7m) - Barcelona
With nine goals so far this season, the Brazilian international has been outstanding in the Champions League and is tied with teammate Robert Lewandowski. Raphinha leads the UCL fantasy ranking with 93 points, only seven points shy of the 100-point mark this season.
The 28-year-old presently boasts a goal record of three goals scored in the last two outings against SL Benfica and will be hoping to add a fourth against the Eagles this midweek. Raphinha is favored as our RotoBaller captain of the week.
Raphinha tearing it up this season 😮💨#UCL pic.twitter.com/PExPkK8ydC
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 10, 2025
Mohamed Salah (€10.1m) - Liverpool
Despite scoring on 27 occasions in the Premier League, Mo Salah has only scored three goals in the Champions League this season. Nonetheless, the 32-year-old veteran ranks among the top 10 all-time UCL scorers with 51 goals scored in this competition.
With Liverpool hosting Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on Matchday 12, the Egyptian king is a favorite to score this week, and an excellent asset to have in a high-stakes encounter. Salah is an excellent option for the captain's armband for our Tuesday games.
Join The RotoBaller League
Once again, join our RotoBaller.com league. Hit any of our writers up over the next two weeks, and we will give you the code (also in the graphic below), and you'll be good to go. Good luck for UEFA Champions League Fantasy, RotoBallers!
Stick around for more UCL Fantasy content coming soon. Is there a question you would like to have answered every week? Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
