Champions League Fantasy Football: Scout notes 22 October

Last season's finalists Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund meet on Tuesday as the headline act in nine fixtures as Matchday 3 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League begins.

From expected line-ups to advice on substitutions and captain changes, the scout notes offer a helping hand to managers on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

Fantasy decisions

• The Matchday 3 deadline is at 18:45 CET, which is when both Monaco vs Crvena Zvezda and AC Milan vs Club Brugge kick off.

• Fantasy managers should ensure any players they own who are in action on Tuesday are in their starting line-up rather than on the bench.

• Matchday 3 once again takes place over two days, meaning there will be two opportunities to select a high-performing captain.

Fixtures

18:45 CET
Monaco vs Crvena Zvezda
Milan vs Club Brugge

21:00 CET
Juventus vs Stuttgart
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund
Girona vs Slovan Bratislava
Aston Villa vs Bologna
Sturm Graz vs Sporting CP
Paris Saint-Germain vs PSV Eindhoven
Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Key Fantasy players

Christian Pulišić (€7.5m) – Milan
Six goals and three assists in his last nine club games heading into the home fixture against Club Brugge.

Dušan Vlahović (€8.0m) – Juventus
Scored twice on Matchday 2 and has five goals in his last four games overall.

Deniz Undav (€7.0m) – Stuttgart
Eight goals in nine appearances for club and country, including a Matchday 1 header against Real Madrid.

Kylian Mbappé (€11.0m) – Real Madrid
Scored in La Liga against Celta Vigo on Saturday and has five goals in his last five home games for his new club.

Vinícius Júnior (€11.0m) – Real Madrid
On target in his last two club games and also struck against Matchday 3 opponents Dortmund in last season's final.

Sehrou Guirassy (€7.6m) – Dortmund
Has made a flying start in Dortmund and has 12 goals in his last eight games for club and country.

Emiliano Martínez (€5.0m) – Aston Villa
Saved a penalty in Saturday's Premier League victory at Fulham and is yet to concede in the Champions League.

Ollie Watkins (€7.5m) – Aston Villa
Eight attacking returns in his ten appearances in all competitions for Villa in 2024/25.

Mika Biereth (€5.5m) – Sturm Graz
Differential forward option who has struck four times in his last two club games, including an Austrian Bundesliga hat-trick against fellow Champions League participants Salzburg .

Zeno Debast (€4.6m) – Sporting CP
Scored from outside the box and kept a clean sheet in the Matchday 1 win at home to LOSC Lille and recorded nine ball recoveries at PSV on Matchday 2.

Bradley Barcola (€7.0m) – Paris
Four goals in his last six games for club and country, and also registered an assist against Strasbourg on Saturday.

Gabriel (€5.5m) – Arsenal
Two clean sheets and 15 ball recoveries in the Champions League; has also scored twice in the Premier League this season.

Kai Havertz (€8.0m) – Arsenal
A scorer and the Player of the Match against Paris on Matchday 2, and has found the net in Arsenal's last seven home games in all competitions.