With the UEFA Women’s Champions League returning for Matchday 3, our WUCL Fantasy expert Joe shares his latest team, transfer plans and the players he’s backing ahead of the deadline.

• READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 9 early Scout Picks: Villa triple-up
• READ MORE: Who is close to a ban or suspended in FPL Gameweek 9?

My Limitless chip in Matchday 2 delivered a comfortable green arrow, moving me to just outside the top 100 overall. As planned, I’ll now activate my Wildcard for Matchday 3.

With several favourable fixture runs ahead, there’s plenty to consider. Here’s how my current draft is shaping up.

TEAM REVEAL

GOALKEEPERS

Ayaka Yamashita (€4.0m) and Lena Pauels (€4.0m) form my goalkeeper rotation. Both cost the minimum price for a goalkeeper, which seems surprisingly cheap considering they’re first-choice options for Manchester City and Benfica respectively.

The rotation works perfectly, too. Both play on different days across the next three matchdays and still have two Pot 3 opponents to face.

That should give me a decent opportunity to target clean sheets, while also having the flexibility to make a goalkeeper substitution between matchdays.

There’s a chance I switch Pauels to Mala Grohs (€4.0m), who appears to have taken the starting role at OL Lyonnes. However, I’m currently using all three Lyon spots elsewhere, so Pauels gets the nod for now.

DEFENDERS

I’ve opted for a Chelsea defensive double-up, with Ellie Carpenter (€5.0m) and Veerle Buurman (€4.6m). Anyone who plays Fantasy WSL will know just how valuable Carpenter can be.

The Australian international has already scored three goals and assisted another in the league this season, while her advanced positioning regularly puts her among Chelsea’s most attacking players.

Buurman offers a slightly different route to points. The Dutch defender has collected 19 points across her opening two Champions League appearances, recording at least nine ball recoveries in both matches.

Although she hasn’t featured regularly in the WSL, the Champions League could provide her with more opportunities. Thankfully, Chelsea play on Wednesday, so I’ll get to see their starting XI before the deadline.

If Carpenter or Buurman misses out, Kadeisha Buchanan (€4.6m) and Nathalie Björn (€4.0m) are potential alternatives. Björn could prove particularly useful, as the additional savings would allow me to strengthen elsewhere.

My differential defender is Kim Everaerts (€4.6m). OH Leuven were one of last season’s surprise packages, finishing 12th in the league phase to reach the play-off round.

Although Paris Saint-Germain thrashed them 5-0 in Matchday 2, their opening clean sheet against Roma showed what they can offer defensively. With Servette and HB Køge next, I’m backing the Belgian side to respond.

Everaerts remains a placeholder for now, though. I’ll make a final decision on which Leuven defender to select once their line-up comes out on Wednesday.

A Paris FC defender is another possibility.

Elsewhere, Wendie Renard (€6.0m) returns to my squad after missing the opening two matchdays. Only Irene Paredes outscored the Lyon captain among defenders last season, and Renard wasted little time making an impression on her return. In just 15 minutes off the bench against Chelsea, she recorded six ball recoveries.

There’s also a good chance she remains Lyon’s penalty taker, which could be particularly valuable given that the French champions have already won five penalties in the league this season.

Finally, Selma Bacha (€5.0m) is the only defender to survive from my pre-Wildcard squad. Lyon have now gone more than 450 minutes without conceding across all competitions, while Bacha continues to offer attacking potential. Three assists in six starts for club and country since the beginning of the season highlight that threat.

MIDFIELDERS

Klara Bühl (€8.5m) was one of the easiest decisions on my Wildcard.

The Bayern Munich midfielder has enjoyed an incredible start to the campaign, scoring nine goals and assisting seven more across ten starts. Bayern’s upcoming fixtures aren’t particularly straightforward, but Bühl’s form makes her very difficult to leave out.

My Chelsea midfield spot currently belongs to Sjoeke Nüsken (€6.0m). Her underlying numbers have been excellent. Last season, Nüsken averaged 0.64 expected goals and expected assists (xG + xA) per 90 minutes across her 15 WSL appearances, and that figure has increased to 0.77 this season.

The difficulty, as ever, is predicting Chelsea’s starting XI.

Sandy Baltimore (€6.0m) and Wieke Kaptein (€6.1m) are both alternatives, and I’ll make my final decision once Chelsea’s line-up becomes available.

Baltimore could be especially tempting if she starts, given her potential penalty-taking duties.

Next up are two players who are practically impossible to ignore. Caroline Graham Hansen (€9.6m) and Clàudia Pina (€9.0m) have enjoyed remarkable starts to the season, combining for 32 goal involvements in Barcelona’s opening ten matches. With numbers like those, my Wildcard is largely built around them.

I also won’t make the mistake of overlooking Graham Hansen for captaincy again. If I need a Thursday captain, she’ll be the obvious choice.

My final midfield spot goes to Clara Mateo (€7.5m). The Paris FC attacker has scored six goals in her last seven appearances for club and country, making her an exciting differential.

Paris have already faced both of their Pot 1 opponents, so I really like their remaining league-phase fixtures. Mateo looks like the standout midfield option from their attack, although Linda Dallmann (€6.6m) remains an alternative if I decide to double up on Bayern’s midfield.

FORWARDS

The three forward positions almost pick themselves this week.

First up is Melchie Dumornay (€6.6m), who looks seriously underpriced. The Haitian international has scored 13 goals since the beginning of September and shows no signs of slowing down.

At just €6.6m, she’s outstanding value, and I’m expecting her excellent form to continue in Europe.

She’ll likely take the captain’s armband on Wednesday.

Next is Ewa Pajor (€10.6m), who completes my Barcelona attacking triple-up. Pajor has already registered 15 goal involvements this season, taking the combined total for her, Graham Hansen and Pina to an incredible 47.

Rather than trying to decide which two Barcelona attackers will deliver the biggest returns, I’d rather own all three.

Of course, there’s always a risk of rotation against Pot 3 opposition, particularly given Barcelona’s attacking depth.

However, the potential upside makes that a risk I’m happy to take.

Finally, Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (€9.5m) completes my forward line. She has scored in 14 of her last 17 starts for club and country, and Bayern are the only opponents to have kept her out when she’s started this season. City face Paris Saint-Germain in Matchday 3, which isn’t necessarily the easiest fixture.

However, their schedule improves afterwards, so I’m happy to jump on the Bunny train early.

Hopefully, she can continue her impressive form against PSG.

FINAL THOUGHTS

That’s how my Matchday 3 Wildcard currently looks.

I’m particularly happy with the Barcelona attacking triple-up, Lyon’s defensive options and the value that Dumornay offers up front.

There are still a few decisions to make, particularly around Chelsea’s starting XI, my OH Leuven defender and the final midfield spot.

Thankfully, Wednesday’s line-ups should help settle some of those calls before the deadline.

Best of luck for Matchday 3, everybody!