UCL Fantasy Matchday 3 Best Budget Gems

The third round of the 2024/25 Champions League season is edging closer. With this in mind we continue our coverage by picking out the UCL Fantasy Matchday 3 best budget gems. To do this we consider several factors including fixture difficulty and form.

Budget players can be vital for UCL Fantasy managers. Cheap assets allow more budget for premium picks who can be some of the most consistent in the game. Finding cheap assets is essential but finding cheap assets who do well can contribute to both rank and mini-league position.

Atalanta

One of the standout fixtures in Matchday 3 is the match between Atalanta and Celtic. The Scottish side go into the game after a humiliating 7-1 loss to Dortmund. The result also highlights just how poor Celtic can be defensively.

A draw against Arsenal and a convincing win in their first two European matches suggests the Italian side have started the season well. But, one factor we must emphasise is that they also rank top for goals scored in Serie A so far.

Atalanta have some lovely cheap assets to invest in ahead of their upcoming tie. One of those is wing-back Raoul Bellanova (€4m). The Italian secured a huge 13-pointer in Matchday 2 against Shakhtar due to his goal and clean sheet. He could have multiple routes to points going into the clash with Celtic.

Whilst midfielder Ademola Lookman comes in at €6.5m, those looking to go even cheaper should consider Mateo Retegui (€5.5m). The Italian international has been in excellent form recently – racking up a huge six goals and two assists in his previous four matches for club and country. Retegui also converted his sides latest penalty which gives him even more appeal.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa are another side with bags of potential this week. Losing just one match all season in all competitions, Unai Emery’s men appear to be in fantastic overall form. Two Champions League wins, along with two clean sheets and four goals scored reinforces the opinion that they should not be underestimated.

Playing at home this week Aston Villa will are heavy favourites. Bologna lay ahead, who since losing former manager Thiago Motta, appear to be struggling. The Italian side have won just one of their matches 10 games this season, painting a target on their backs in the process.

With two European clean sheets already, it could be beneficial to invest in someone like full-back Lucas Digne (€4.5m). As well as clean sheet potential Digne offers significant assist potential as per his three assists banked already this season.

The effective Aston Villa frontline is full of great options, but one of the cheapest and most promising is Morgan Rogers (€5m). Although a slow start to the season in terms of output placed doubts over his ability, Rogers responded by producing two goals and two assists in his latest four matches in all competitions.

More Great Budget Picks

Manchester City are amongst the teams with great fixtures this week. They face a clash with Sparta Praha at home so it could be a good opportunity for out of position and in-game defender Rico Lewis (€4.6m) to make it four returns in his first three games.

Another defender we could look to is Vanderson (€4.6m). The flying full-back produced four attacking returns during his first five matches of the season. A meeting with Crvena Zvezda at home could well see him recapture his early attacking form, along with the potential to bank a clean sheet.