Champions League Picks – Matchday 3

There’s just a few hours left until the next round of Champions League matches gets underway, with this evening’s deadline at 19.30 GMT. For those playing the official UEFA Fantasy Champions League, we bring you a total of 10 players worth considering for Matchday 3, with five potential picks for each of the two evening’s fixtures:

Tuesday

Carlos Puyol – a trip to the San Siro is never the easiest but a number of injuries for the hosts should bolster Barcelona’s chances of clean sheet returns. Milan have scored just one goal in each of their last three home games in all competitions, whilst the Spanish side have conceded only two goals in their last six – coming in at 6.5, Puyol has just returned from months out through injury and has an ownership under 1% ahead of this evening’s match.

Federico Piovaccari – Steaua will be looking for their first points of this season’s tournament after suffering back-to-back losses against Schalke and Chelsea. With five goals in his last seven matches, Piovaccari, priced at just 5.5, looks the one to watch as the Romanian side prepare for the visit of Basel.

Leon Goretzka – despite the loss of injured duo Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfan, Schalke seem full of goals right now and have found the net three times in four of their last five fixtures. Goretka is a real punt for this evening’s match with Chelsea – the 5.0 priced midfielder climbed off the bench to replace the injured Marco Höger at the weekend and notched in the Braunschweig; if he gets the nod to start, he could be worth a shout.

Oscar – on the other hand, Schalke’s lack of resilience bodes well for Chelsea’s chances of grabbing a goal or two. Jose Mourinho will be plotting to take advantage of a defence that has shipped 19 goals in their first nine Bundesliga fixtures – the Blues’ in-form Brazilian (priced at 7.5) gets the nod, having now scored in each of his last four for club and country.

Diego Costa – having served a two-match European ban, Costa is welcomed back for Atletico Madrid for this evening’s trip to Austria Vienna. Top scorer in La Liga this season, with 10 goals in nine appearances, he looks strong value at just 9.0 as Diego Simeone’s side go in search of their third successive victory.

Wednesday

Jan Kirchhoff – absences at the back for Bayern bring the 4.5 priced centre-back into the reckoning. With Dante injured and Jerome Boateng suspended, Kirchhoff looks set to be installed at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s defence ahead of a home clash with Viktoria Plzen.

Seydou Doumbia – CSKA have struggled to find the net in recent matches but with visitiors Man City still missing influential skipper Vincent Kompany, the Russians will be confident of breaching the visitors’ backline. Having recently returned from injury, Doumbia – at just 6.0 – welcomes Manuel Pellegrini’s side in impressive form, with four goals in his last six appearances.

Wesley Sneijder – Roberto Mancini’s arrival at Galatasaray seems to have brought out the best in the Dutchman. After a somewhat disappointing season, Sneijder looks to have rediscovered his eye for goal and bagged a brace in the weekend home win over Karabükspor – priced at 8.5, he’s set to host FC Copenhagen tomorrow evening.

Marquinhos – we’re keeping faith in the PSG centre-half after he grabbed a goal and clean sheet in the previous Matchday’s win over Benfica. The top scoring defender in this year’s tournament so far, 5.5 priced Marquinos could be set for further returns as the French side make their way to Anderlecht.

Stefan Kießling – having recommended team-mate Sidney Sam ( 5.0 priced midfielder) in our previous article, we’re opting for last season’s top scorer in the Bundesliga as Leverkusen play host to Shakhtar. Kießling has racked up six goals and three assists in nine league appearances this term (including last week’s infamous ghost goal against Hoffenheim) and spearheads an attack that has notched twice in each of the opening two Matchdays. At 9.0, he’ll be looking to bring his domestic form to tomorrow’s match, having yet to find the net in this term’s tournament.