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This article covers top fantasy tips and captaincy picks for Matchday 3 in the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League.
Matchday 2 of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League group stage delivered thrilling action, highlighted by Borussia Dortmund's remarkable 7-1 victory over Celtic FC. SL Benfica stunned the Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in a 4-0 victory which was the main upset from the previous encounter.
Matchday 3 promises more excitement, with headline clashes like FC Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich and a reignite of last season's finale, where Real Madrid host Borussia Dortmund. 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 3 deadline of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League season is Tuesday, October 22 at 12:45 p.m. EDT, when AS Monaco entertains Red Star Belgrade and AC Milan hosts Club Brugge. 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.
Matchday 3 😎#UCL pic.twitter.com/dYNIFWm5B8
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 21, 2024
Matchday 3 UCL Fantasy Tips
Invest in Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen's Attack
It's been strongly recommended that UCL fantasy managers target attacking assets from any of Real Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen. Projections for Matchday 3 indicate Real Madrid is anticipated to score 2.40 expected goals (xG) and Bayer Leverkusen at 2.15 xG.
The Spanish side's 14-match unbeaten run in the Champions League ended with a 1-0 defeat against LOSC Lille on Matchday 2. The gaffer, Carlo Ancelotti, and his boys are aiming to get back to winning ways when they host Borussia Dortmund, and this is a good time to invest in Real Madrid assets.
Bayer Leverkusen is currently fourth in the Champions League standings and has scored five goals in its opening two matches. Set to face Stade Brestois 29, Leverkusen will need to make an impact and defeat the French side to stay in the top eight UCL qualifying spots.
This week's recommended targets are Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappé, and Lucas Vazquez, Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface (if fit), and any of the attacking wingbacks—Alejandro Grimaldo or Jeremie Frimpong.
Early projections for this week's round of Champions League fixtures, via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/vn2GZJJoVO
— Rob T (@robtFPL) October 21, 2024
Double Up on Arsenal or Villa's Defense
Arsenal and Aston Villa are two EPL sides that have yet to concede a goal in their opening two Champions League matches.
Arsenal has shown great resilience in defense against tougher opponents like Atalanta and Paris Saint-Germain. At the same time, Aston Villa's long-awaited return to the Champions League has resulted in two victories and back-to-back clean sheets.
Arsenal and Aston Villa's projected clean sheet odds for Matchday 3 are 58% and 40%, respectively. With a home tie for both teams, the odds are in their favor as they aim for a third clean sheet in a row.
Willam Saliba and David Raya for Arsenal, Lucas Digne and Emiliano Martinez for Aston Villa, or a combination of both, are solid picks for this week and a solid strategy for clean sheet points in our fantasy teams.
Under the radar🔍
Price - €5m
Position - GK
Stats:
12 saves made in the first two #UCL outings with back-to-back clean sheets against Young Boys and Bayern🧤Next UCL game: Bologna (H)
Will Emiliano Martínez be your main goalie for Matchday 3?#UCLFantasy pic.twitter.com/VkLOA3ukk2
— FPL Manual (Wale) (@TheFPLManual) October 21, 2024
Atletico Madrid Champions League Home Advantage
Matchday 3 Top Captain Picks
The Champions League midweek fixtures present many fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Bradley Barcola, facing PSV Eindhoven, and Antoine Griezmann, with a favorable home tie against LOSC Lille, all present strong cases. However, my top three picks across Matchday 3 would be:
Vinicius Junior (€11.0m) - Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior boasts nine contributions (five goals and four assists) in 10 La Liga matches. The 24-year-old Brazilian is in excellent form for Real Madrid, accumulating 1.83 non-penalty expected goals in the Spanish league.
Vini Jr. is our top captain pick this week, with 21 goals and 22 assists in 58 Champions League appearances. As Real Madrid's likely main penalty taker, he'll be eager to shine against Borussia Dortmund, a team he scored against in last season's Champions League final.
💪#UCL pic.twitter.com/rqFP3oAcJc
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 17, 2024
Erling Haaland (€11.0m) - Manchester City
Despite his recent Premier League goal drought, Erling Haaland's Champions League pedigree remains unmatched.
The Norwegian forward has netted 42 goals in 41 UCL appearances and has a great chance to rekindle his scoring form when Manchester City host Sparta Praha at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Lamine Yamal (€7.5m) - FC Barcelona
The 17-year-old Spaniard, Lamine Yamal, now boasts 10 goal contributions (four goals and six assists) in his 10 league outings for Barcelona this season. His unpredictability and ability to shine in big matches make him a pivotal player to consider this week.
Given his recent form, Yamal is poised to make an impact when Barcelona host Bayern Munich on Wednesday and stands out as an alternate captaincy pick for Matchday 3.
6 - Lamine Yamal is the first Barcelona player to provide six assists after his first 10 games of a LaLiga season since Lionel Messi in 2014/15 (seven). Diamond. pic.twitter.com/sxB45UQKGB
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 20, 2024
Differential Captain Pick (<10% ownership)
Christian Pulisic (€7.5m) - AC Milan
Christian Pulisic has been brilliant for AC Milan in Serie A, scoring five goals and assisting three times in his first eight games.
'Captain America' has been a major contributor to AC Milan's goals this season, averaging 1.83 shots per 90 minutes and amassing 2.56 non-penalty anticipated goals overall.
Pulisic is our top differential captain for Matchday 3 and has another fantastic opportunity to add more goals to his Champions League total with a favorable home matchup against Club Brugge.
Eight goal involvements in Serie A already this season. This man is in red-hot form 🌶️🇺🇸#MilanUdinese #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/BalDhfMuJg
— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 19, 2024
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!
