Champions League Fantasy Football: The Scout squad for Matchday 3

The Scout has opted to invest heavily in the forward line for the third round of league phase matches in the UEFA Champions League with Erling Haaland, Vinícius Júnior and Kai Havertz all selected in a 15-player squad that also includes attacking midfielders Lamine Yamal and Florian Wirtz and potential bargains Rico Lewis and Daniel Bragança.

Goalkeepers

Two teams with strong defensive records – although more in the Champions League than on the domestic front in recent weeks – provide the goalkeepers. Arsenal's David Raya (€5.6m) is the top-scoring goalkeeper with 17 points ahead of a visit from Shakhtar Donetsk, who are still to score in this season's competition.

Like Raya, Inter's Yann Sommer (€5.5m) has kept two clean sheets and on Wednesday returns to his native Switzerland to face Young Boys, who have lost both games without scoring while the Nerazurri managed their first Serie A shut-out since 30 August on Sunday.

Defenders

Arsenal and Inter also provide players for the back line given their defensive records and favourable fixtures. A weekend injury to the budget-friendly Francesco Acerbi means Alessandro Bastoni (€5.5m) is the Inter selection with 14 points so far; Gabriel (€5.5m) has three more thanks to 15 ball recoveries.

Rico Lewis (€4.6m) is level with Gabriel on 17 points, supplementing his two clean sheets with an assist as Manchester City welcome Sparta Praha on Wednesday. Jeremie Frimpong (€5.6m) is the fourth-most popular defender on Fantasy, currently in 22% of teams, and has 20 points before Bayer Leverkusen visit Brest, his two clean sheets and three assists demonstrating his versatility, while José María Giménez (€5.1m) has already scored in this season's competition as Atlético de Madrid look to get back on track with a visit from LOSC Lille.

Midfielders

With some big names – and accordingly big investment – to come up front, there are some carefully-costed selections in midfield, none more so than Daniel Bragança (€4.5m). His Sporting CP side visit point-less Sturm Graz on Matchday 3, with the low-budget option having scored in three of his last four games. Florian Wirtz (€7.6m) is in 37% of teams after 25 points in the first two matchdays, but even his popularity is overshadowed by Lamine Yamal (€7.5m); the Barcelona winger's tough Matchday 3 fixture at home to Bayern München has not dissuaded 64% of Fantasy managers from including him in their squads, the 17-year-old having made it six assists in ten La Liga games this season at the weekend.

Ademola Lookman (€6.5m) will look to add to his goal and assist in the 2024/25 Champions League as his Atalanta side take on Celtic, who conceded seven on Matchday 2. Benfica put four past Atlético de Madrid in their last game and Orkun Kökçü (€6.1m) delivered 12 points thanks to his second goal in as many matches and the Player of the Match award, setting him up nicely for another home game against Feyenoord.

Forwards

Thanks to that careful financial planning, the funds are there to splash out on two premium players up front. Erling Haaland (€11.0m) has gone three Premier League matches without a goal but opened his Champions League account last time out and remains the most popular forward on the game in 53% of teams. Vinícius Júnior (€11.0m) has been selected by 22% and, thought he has only four Fantasy points this season, has scored in Real Madrid's last two Liga games ahead of their home meeting against Borussia Dortmund – a repeat of last season's final in which the Brazilian scored.

Also in a rich vein of form is Kai Havertz (€8.0m), who has scored in Arsenal's last seven home games in all competitions ahead of Shakhtar's trip to north London; indeed, the German had found the net in four successive outings, including in the Matchday 2 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain, before drawing a blank at the weekend.