With Matchday 3 approaching, UCL Fantasy managers may be considering whether now is the right time to activate their Wildcard chip.

Here, we put together our best Wildcard team for Matchday 3, focusing on players who could deliver both immediate returns and long-term value.

*This article will be further updated on Tuesday to address any rotation/injury concerns

Remember, managers still putting the finishing touches to their squads can also get plenty of help with our UCL Fantasy Toolkit.

There’s free stuff in there for every UCL manager but, as ever, Chief Scout Members can dig even deeper.

From player points projections and underlying statistics to the Fixture Ticker, Rate My UCL Team feature and Draft Tool, it’s all here to help you build your Matchday 3 squads.

BEST WILDCARD TEAM

SUMMARY

Money certainly isn’t an issue for the run ahead, so pairing Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma (€6.0m) with Inter’s Josep Martínez (€4.5m) could work out well. The two goalkeepers rotate perfectly from Matchday 3 to Matchday 7, giving us plenty of flexibility.

We have a bit of a mixture at the back. Wing-backs Federico Dimarco (€5.0m) and Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.5m) offer significant attacking threat, whilst Sergi Altimira (€4.0m) continues to operate out of position in central midfield. They join Amir Rrahmani (€4.5m) and Waldemar Anton (€4.5m), who provide more defensive routes to points.

Having a premium midfielder in place could be handy, so the scintillating Lamine Yamal (€10.1m) fits the bill. He has multiple routes to points, much like set-piece takers Kevin De Bruyne (€7.0m) and Florian Thauvin (€6.5m), who both have decent schedules overall.

There is also room for a couple of more aggressive picks. Rayan Cherki (€7.0m) sat out Manchester City’s recent league game, which could boost his chances of starting in Europe. Meanwhile, Johan Manzambi faces Viking next after producing a 13-point haul in Matchday 2. Both could offer massive potential.

Having at least one premium forward in place makes sense, and Erling Haaland (€11.1m) is our man. Manchester City host AEK Athens next, which looks like an excellent opportunity for the Norwegian to deliver.

There are plenty of other great forward options, though. Roma talisman Donyell Malen (€6.5m) missed the previous league game through suspension, whilst Luis Suárez (€7.1m) has returned points in each of his previous two Champions League matches. Both have huge potential.