Champions League Fantasy Football: What the numbers say

Predicting which Fantasy players are going to perform on any given matchday is a difficult task. Through crunching the numbers, a projected points total for each player has been calculated based on the player's historical performance in the UEFA Champions League. Goals, assists, clean sheets and the likelihood of playing are the major parameters used in our projections.

Presented by Playstation, the top projected players for each position for Matchday 3 are given below. As ever, check latest team news and possible line-ups before making your final selection.

GOALKEEPERS

Despite conceding on Matchday 2, Edouard Mendy remains a favourite of the algorithm and is the top-ranked goalkeeper alongside Manuel Neuer for Matchday 3. The Chelsea custodian has kept clean sheets in his last four UEFA Champions League games at Stamford Bridge, while Bayern's Neuer has yet to concede in this season's group stage.

Manchester City may have shipped goals in both their UEFA Champions League games so far but domestic form is also taken into account in the projections and with Ederson having kept clean sheets in five of his last six Premier League games, the Brazilian stopper remains a tempting choice for #UCLfantasy managers. Manchester City drew a blank at Paris on Matchday 2, however, and assuming that Gianluigi Donnarumma keeps his place, the Italian international is expected to be among the #UCLfantasy points once again when the Ligue 1 outfit entertain Leipzig.

DEFENDERS

Thomas Meunier provides multiple avenues to Fantasy points and that's what puts him top of the pile for the Matchday 3 projected defenders. A clean sheet, an assist and an impressive 18 ball recoveries so far have combined to bring in 15 points for the Belgian's owners, although the wing-back will need to recover from a recent injury in time to face Ajax.

You could argue the case for a number of Chelsea defenders when they host Malmö , with the algorithm edging towards dependable starters Antonio Rüdiger and César Azpilicueta, although Marcos Alonso is a calculated risk that has the potential to pay off handsomely should he be selected over Ben Chilwell on the left side.

Premium attacking full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold, Achraf Hakimi and João Cancelo are all fancied to return points, while the form of budget favourite Cristiano simply cannot be ignored. The Sheriff left-back has amassed 21 #UCLfantasy points so far, the joint highest total among defenders.

MIDFIELDERS

#UCLfantasy managers looking to squeeze in a Bayern midfielder are often torn between Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry. Both feature in the projected midfielders but it is the former who is given top billing having recorded a goal, two assists and a Player of the Match bonus so far.

Mohamed Salah, Jude Bellingham, Bruno Fernandes, Christopher Nkunku and Ivan Rakitić have also delivered attacking returns on both matchdays to date, with Nkunku in particular standing out as his four goals have taken him to 29 points – more than any other player in #UCLfantasy.

Attacking contributions at both domestic and international level recently, as well as performances in last season's UEFA Champions League campaign, are the reasons behind the inclusion of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden. The Manchester City pair have the potential to produce double-figure returns when on the pitch, and eagle-eyed #UCLfantasy managers will be blessed with the knowledge of the starting line-up at Club Brugge before the Matchday 3 deadline.

FORWARDS

With two goals in each of his first two group games, Robert Lewandowski is out on his own at the top of the projected forwards list, although the relentless Cristiano Ronaldo – who scored his tenth hat-trick for Portugal over the international break – is another stellar option for #UCLfantasy managers looking to load up their forward line with premium assets.

To make matters more complicated when it comes to high-priced strikers, Dortmund star Erling Haaland will be a difficult man to ignore if he wins his race to be fit for Matchday 3, while Paris duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, as well as Chelsea frontman Romelu Lukaku, all have home fixtures.

The stock of Sébastien Haller remains high, with the Ajax forward the top scorer in this season's competition on five goals, while Salzburg's Karim Adeyemi has enjoyed a stellar start to the European campaign and provides superb value at just €7.1m.