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This article covers top fantasy tips and captaincy picks for the UCL Playoffs in the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League.
Matchday 8 of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League delivered thrilling action, highlighted by Paris Saint-Germain's incredible 4-1 victory over VFB Stuttgart and Lille's stunning 6-1 comeback victory over Feyenoord. The playoffs are here, and we are set for more UCL action to come.
The first leg of the playoffs promises more excitement, with headline clashes like Manchester City vs. Real Madrid and Feyenoord hosting Milan 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 Playoffs: First Leg deadline of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League season is Tuesday, February 11 at 12:45 p.m. EST, when Stade Brestois host Paris Saint-Germain. 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.
⚠️ UNLIMITED free transfers before the knockout play-offs!
Refresh your fantasy squad 👇 #UCL
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 10, 2025
Playoffs: First Leg - UCL Fantasy Tips
Target Paris Saint-German, Bayern Munich and Juventus Assets
Since Matchday 6, Paris Saint-Germain has gone unbeaten in the Champions League, scoring 11 goals. This run of form saw the French giants finish 15th in the UCL table and will face local rivals Brest, whom they defeated 5-2 almost a fortnight ago.
Bayern Munich have an easy fixture on paper against Celtic FC. The last time these sides met was in the 2017-2018 season when the Reds defeated the Bhoys in a 5-1 aggregate in the group stage. The UCL playoff is an ideal opportunity to double or triple up on Bayern Munich's assets.
Juventus have only secured one win in their last five games; however, the Old Lady will be looking to return to winning ways when they host PSV Eindhoven, whom they defeated 3-1 back in Matchday 1 this season.
For the first leg of the playoffs, UCL Fantasy managers are strongly advised to focus their free transfers on any Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, or Juventus assets.
#UCLFantasy knockout round playoffs (first leg)
Projections for this week's playoff first leg fixtures, via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/WiOpz5mkt2
— Rob T (@robtFPL) February 11, 2025
Based on goal projections, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are expected to generate 2.50 xG (expected goals), while Juventus is expected to generate 1.55 xG against their opponents in the first leg of the playoffs.
Recommended UCL Fantasy Assets for Playoffs
- Paris Saint-Germain: Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bradley Barcola, and Achraf Hakimi.
- Bayern Munich: Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, and Min-Jae Kim.
- Juventus: Randal Kolo Muani, Renato Veiga, Federico Gatti, and Michele Di Gregorio.
UCL Playoffs: Top Captain Picks for the First Leg
The Champions League midweek fixtures present many fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Mateo Retegui, facing Club Brugge, and Erling Haaland with a favorable home tie against Real Madrid, all present strong cases. However, our top three picks across the playoffs—first leg are:
Ousmane Dembele (€8.4m) - Paris Saint-Germain
With 13 goals scored in seven games across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain, Ousmane Dembele is having an unstoppable 2025!
No one is having a better 2025 than Ousmane Dembélé ❤️🔥🇫🇷
🆚 Monaco: ⚽️
🆚 ASSE: ⚽️⚽️
🆚 Man City: ⚽️
🆚 Reims: ⚽️
🆚 Stuttgart: ⚽️⚽️⚽️
🆚 Brest: ⚽️⚽️⚽️
🆚 Monaco: ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/cE4AODqIQY— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) February 7, 2025
One area that the Frenchman has largely benefited from is a systematic shift in position as Luis Enrique relies on his services as the sole striker for the team. This is evident in his 20 goal contributions (16 goals, four assists) in 19 games, averaging 0.77 non-penalty expected goals (npxG) per 90 minutes.
Dembele recently scored a hat-trick against Brest in the French Ligue 1, and the UCL playoffs present another opportunity for the 27-year-old to do more damage to its local rivals. Dembele is a top contender for the captain's armband this Tuesday.
Serhou Guirassy (€8m) - Borussia Dortmund
Scoring a brace against Shakhtar in Matchday 8, Serhou Guirassy took his goal tally to nine goals in the Champions League. The Guinea international remains the only player who has yet to blank in the Champions League this season, totaling 65 points for UCL Fantasy managers.
Looking for a consistent captain who is capable of scoring high fantasy points? Guirassy is the man to bet on when Dortmund faces Sporting CP in midweek.
A goal contribution in EVERY game this season 😮💨
Guirassy 🇬🇳#UCL pic.twitter.com/Wygctt8MCQ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 10, 2025
Harry Kane (€10.7m) - Bayern Munich
Harry Kane continues to dominate domestically with 27 goal contributions (21 goals, six assists); however, since scoring four goals against GNK Dinamo on Matchday 1, the Englishman is yet to hit another double-digit haul in the Champions League.
In the blink of an eye, all of this could change, especially with a favorable home match against Celtic coming up next. The 30-year-old boasts a record of 35 goals in 51 Champions League outings and is a prime captaincy pick for the Wednesday fixtures.
54 – In his 50th Bundesliga appearance, Bayern München's Harry Kane has scored his 54th goal - no other player has managed to score as many goals in his first 50 BL appearances. Star. #FCBKSV pic.twitter.com/QilQZdUy5r
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 1, 2025
Differential Captain Pick (<10% ownership)
Randal Kolo Muani (€7.1m) - Juventus
With five goals scored in his first three matches for Juventus in the Serie A, Kolo Muani is gradually setting himself as one of the best signings in the January transfer window.
Averaging 0.63 expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes, the Frenchman has made an instant impact on loan for Juventus. Favored to start ahead of his teammate, Dusan Vlahovic, the 26-year-old is set to be the main penalty taker, and this could give UCL Fantasy managers a massive edge in the knockout round.
With only 2% ownership to his name, Kolo Muani is an excellent differential captain for the playoffs when Juventus host PSV Eindhoven.
MVP in his first match at the Allianz 🏆🌟#JuveEmpoli [4-1] pic.twitter.com/OHihTQr3jR
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) February 2, 2025
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!
