Matchday 3 UCL Fantasy Scout Picks: Best Budget Players and Team Targets

Matchday 3 Scout Picks: where the value sits

The early case for Matchday 3 is built around a few clear team opportunities: Roma and Manchester City rate well for clean sheets, while Liverpool and City offer attacking promise. Those projections make the fixtures look attractive, but they don’t remove the usual risks of rotation or uncertain form. If you’re setting a squad now, the useful question is where a low price buys you a credible route to points.

UEFA Champions League Fantasy managers can use the UCL Fantasy Toolkit to shape their teams. It includes free resources, while Chief Scout Members get access to deeper tools: player points projections, underlying statistics, the Fixture Ticker, Rate My UCL Team and the Draft Tool.

Goalkeepers

Roma’s 18 Serie A clean sheets last season tell you why the club is drawing attention, and the Toolkit places them among the top three teams for projected shutouts this round. At €4.0m, Pierluigi Gollini is a budget option for the opening night. The projection is appealing; it still depends on Roma delivering defensively.

If Gollini doesn’t come through on Tuesday, Zion Suzuki (€4.0m) offers another inexpensive route. Aston Villa are coming off a 6-0 home win in Matchday 2 and will look to keep a second consecutive home clean sheet. That’s a promising setup, though one strong result alone doesn’t guarantee another.

Defenders

Manchester City lead the clean-sheet projections ahead of hosting AEK Athens. Rotation clouds the appeal, but Marc Guéhi (€5.1m) looks a relatively dependable defensive pick; his 10-point return in the opening round showed what he can offer in Fantasy.

Roma’s Gianluca Mancini (€4.5m) brings a different kind of upside. He scored four goals in a six-match spell last season, making his set-piece threat hard to ignore. With Roma also rated highly for a clean sheet, Mancini can contribute at either end.

Waldemar Anton (€4.5m) is among the top projected defensive scorers. Dortmund need a response against Champions League newcomers Sabah, and a clean sheet would give the German centre-back a path to points.

Sporting CP host LASK, one of the weakest teams in the competition so far by the article’s assessment. That makes their players worth a look, particularly Sergi Altimira (€4.0m). He continues to play out of position in midfield, where ball recoveries and attacking contributions could boost his score.

Federico Dimarco (€5.0m) already supplied an assist in Inter’s previous Champions League match. Inter welcome Shakhtar Donetsk with a chance to record their first clean sheet of the campaign, while Dimarco’s attacking play gives him another way to return points.

Midfielders

Liverpool scored six in Matchday 2 and remain among the leading teams for projected goals. They host Villarreal, which puts their attackers firmly in the conversation. Bradley Barcola (€7.0m) arrives after a 20-point haul last round—a standout score, though a tough act to repeat.

Manchester City’s home fixture against AEK Athens also looks attractive after AEK’s 3-1 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk. With Antoine Semenyo out injured, Jérémy Doku (€7.5m) appears likely to start on a wing. He has one goal and one assist across his last three appearances.

A City double-up could pay off. Enzo Maresca’s side have won all six of their opening Premier League matches, and Rayan Cherki (€7.0m) has been influential, with six goals and four assists for club and country this season. Those numbers make the AEK match tempting, though they don’t settle the question of how much exposure to take.

RB Leipzig’s 6-1 defeat to Bayern Munich has left their defence looking vulnerable, especially away from home. They now travel to face Real Madrid, where Vinícius Júnior (€9.5m) stands out as a way to target those weaknesses.

Florian Thauvin (€6.5m) stands out in midfield despite Lens’ poor Matchday 2. He still produced 1.19 expected goal involvements, and his penalties, corners and free kicks give him several ways to return. Club Brugge have been vulnerable at the back this season, making the fixture appealing.

Forwards

Roma’s projected goal tally trails only Aston Villa’s, and the matchup explains the optimism: Slovan Bratislava have shipped nine goals in the competition already. Donyell Malen (€6.5m) has eight goals and an assist in all competitions this season. His form and the opponent’s defensive record make him an easy inclusion.

Luis Suárez (€7.1m) has returned points in each of Sporting CP’s first two Champions League matches and continues to score regularly. Viking’s forwards have played considerably more matches, so set that comparison aside; Suárez still makes a persuasive case on his own, particularly with penalty duties. Kylian Mbappé (€11.0m) completes the line and gives the picks a Real Madrid attacking double-up. He has scored in both Champions League outings, while his domestic form has also been strong: 11 goals and two assists across all competitions this season. Penalty duties add another route to points against RB Leipzig. The price is steep, but his current run is hard to ignore.

UCL Fantasy Matchday 3 Scout Picks