Fantasy Voetball 2026/2027 Round 3 Preview
Fantasy Voetbal round 3 preview: best buys, captain picks and hidden gems
Round 3 of Fantasy Voetball 2026/2027 is a short round. Only six of the nine Eredivisie fixtures are played: Ajax, FC Twente, NEC Nijmegen, Excelsior, Willem II and Telstar all blank, because their matches were pushed back – Twente–Telstar into round 5, Ajax–Willem II into round 6. A third of the league is simply unavailable.
That changes what actually decides the round. Everybody can see that Feyenoord and PSV have the best games, and the most-owned players in this game already come from exactly those clubs. The managers who gain ground this round are the ones who fill the remaining starting slots well, and who bench their blanking assets instead of paying a hit to replace them.
Round 3 fixtures: where the points are
Round 3 kicks off on Friday 22 August with Fortuna Sittard against AZ Alkmaar and runs through to Cambuur–Feyenoord on the Sunday evening. These are the six teams worth building around, one row per team:
| Team | Fixture | Win probability | Expected goals | Clean sheet chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feyenoord | [A]Cambuur | 76% | 2.66 | 44% |
| PSV Eindhoven | [H]FC Groningen | 72% | 2.71 | 36% |
| SC Heerenveen | [H]PEC Zwolle | 61% | 2.23 | 31% |
| AZ Alkmaar | [A]Fortuna Sittard | 61% | 2.21 | 32% |
| Go Ahead Eagles | [H]ADO Den Haag | 55% | 2.01 | 30% |
| Sparta Rotterdam | [H]FC Utrecht | 37% | 1.44 | 25% |
Feyenoord are the standout. They have produced 3.21 expected goals per game in their two Eredivisie matches this season while allowing 1.26, and Cambuur are conceding 2.47 expected goals per game – the joint-worst mark in the division. PSV are close behind on 2.26 expected goals created and just 0.67 conceded, and they host a Groningen side already shipping 1.64 per game.
Two more useful numbers. ADO Den Haag are conceding 2.94 expected goals per game, the worst defence in the Eredivisie so far, which is why Go Ahead Eagles attackers price up well for a mid-table side. And PEC Zwolle have created only 0.64 expected goals per game, the lowest in the league, which is the whole clean-sheet case for Heerenveen at home.
Sparta Rotterdam - FC Utrecht is the coin flip of the round at 37% against 36%. Neither side is a clean-sheet play, but there is one very cheap attacking route through it (below). Check the Fantasy Voetbal market probabilities before the deadline – round 3 is priced off live bookmaker odds, and they move.
Goalkeepers: two clear picks
Tjark Ernst (5.5m, FEY) is the best keeper in the round on 4.2 xP, with a 44% clean sheet chance behind a Feyenoord side that kept 10 clean sheets in 34 Eredivisie games last season. He is owned by only 5.2% of managers, which makes him a rare thing: the top pick in a position and a differential at the same time.
Kjetil Haug (4.5m, GAE) is the budget answer at 4.1 xP. That is 0.91 points per million, the best value of any goalkeeper this round, and it frees up money for the premium midfield. A 29% clean sheet chance against ADO is a fair floor at that price.
If you already hold Jari De Busser (5.0m, AZ), owned by 31.4%, there is nothing to fix – 3.7 xP and a 31% clean sheet chance away at Fortuna is a perfectly good round. Save the transfer.
Defenders: Feyenoord and Heerenveen, cheaply
Mika Mármol (5.5m, FEY) is the pick of the position: 4.6 xP, 88 projected minutes and the best clean sheet odds in the round at 40%. At 8.2% ownership he is still under the radar, and his 0.78 expected assists in two games this season show he is involved further up the pitch than a typical centre-back.
Mauro Junior (7.0m, PSV) actually tops the position on 4.7 xP, but at 40.9% ownership he is pure template – owning him protects your rank rather than improving it. If you have him, keep him.
Vasilios Zagaritis (5.5m, HEE) is the correlated stack with Heerenveen's clean sheet: 4.4 xP, 88 projected minutes, 30% clean sheet chance, and 4.75 expected assists from the flank last season. Pairing him with a Heerenveen keeper doubles up on the same shut-out – worth doing when the opponent creates as little as PEC Zwolle.
Mateo Chavez (5.1m, AZ) is the differential defender at 9.8% ownership and 4.3 xP. He has already registered two assists in two league games, and his 0.33 expected goal involvements per 90 last season is genuinely high for a full-back.
For the cheapest slot, Maas Willemsen (4.5m, HEE) returns 3.6 xP on 87 projected minutes – 0.80 points per million, and only 4.2% owned. That is the kind of filler that pays for a 12.0m midfielder.
Midfielders: the best player in the round is a differential
Anis Hadj Moussa (11.0m, FEY) is the single highest projection in round 3 at 6.6 xP, and he is owned by just 6.7% of managers. He scored 11 goals and added 6 assists in the Eredivisie last season at 0.65 expected goal involvements per 90, and he is projected for 84 minutes at Cambuur. His trajectory is the strongest in the game: 6.6 → 6.9 → 4.6 over the next three rounds, with a weighted six-round score of 21.5 – the highest of any player. This is not a one-week punt.
Jacob Trenskow (8.5m, HEE) is the second-best projection at 6.3 xP and much better value per million. He hit 13 goals and 5 assists last season at 0.60 expected goal involvements per 90, and his weighted six-round score of 18.7 is second only to Hadj Moussa. At 21.4% ownership he is becoming template, so if you are buying him, buy him now rather than after he returns.
Mathis Suray (7.0m, GAE) is the mid-price play at 5.3 xP. He takes Go Ahead's penalties, he scored 12 last season, and ADO's leaky defence is the reason his projection sits above much more expensive names. Penalties are the whole ceiling argument here.
Shunsuke Mito (7.0m, SPA) is the boldest differential on the board: 5.2 xP at 2.9% ownership. Sparta are not favourites, but he carries the full penalty share for them and produced 7 goals and 3 assists last season at 0.41 expected goal involvements per 90. Low ownership plus penalty duty is exactly the shape of a rank-winning pick.
The cheap gem is Gaoussou Diarra (5.5m, FEY): 4.7 xP at 0.85 points per million, and owned by 0.9% of managers. He has 0.83 expected goal involvements per 90 in 135 minutes this season, which is elite-level output on a bench-price asset. The caveat is honest – he is projected for 60 minutes rather than a full game, so he is a rotation risk. If he does not start, Lewis Schouten (5.0m, AZ) at 3.6 xP is the safer cheap route.
Forwards: penalties and a value pick
Ayase Ueda (12.0m, FEY) is the premium striker at 5.9 xP. He scored 25 Eredivisie goals from 19.08 expected goals last season, he takes Feyenoord's penalties, and he has produced 2.50 expected goals in 161 minutes so far this season – 1.45 expected goal involvements per 90. Against the joint-worst defence in the league, he is the highest-ceiling forward available.
Ricardo Pepi (11.5m, PSV) is right behind on 5.7 xP and is the best pure finisher in the data: 0.85 expected goal involvements per 90 in the Eredivisie last season, 16 goals from 11.17 expected goals in only 1,415 minutes. He also takes PSV's penalties, so both premium forwards this round come with spot-kick duty.
Mexx Meerdink (9.0m, AZ) is the most-owned player in the game at 46.4% and projects 5.6 xP, so he is not a problem – he is simply not an edge. His 0.77 expected goal involvements per 90 last season came in only 881 minutes, and he is now the nailed starter, which is why almost half the field owns him.
The value pick is Dylan Vente (7.0m, HEE): 5.4 xP, 84 projected minutes, 0.77 points per million and only 9.7% ownership. He generated 10.88 expected goals last season, and Heerenveen at home to the league's least threatening attack is the best cheap striker fixture on the card. Victor Edvardsen (7.0m, GAE) is the alternative at 4.8 xP and 5.3% ownership, with a fuller 84-minute projection and a real assist threat.
Captain picks for round 3
- Anis Hadj Moussa (11.0m, FEY) – 6.6 xP, the highest projection in the round, in the best fixture in the round. He is also the top projection in round 4, so captaining him now is the start of a plan rather than a one-off.
- Jacob Trenskow (8.5m, HEE) – 6.3 xP, and the cheaper armband if you would rather not commit 11.0m. Heerenveen at home to a side creating 0.64 expected goals per game is as controlled a captain fixture as this round offers.
- Ayase Ueda (12.0m, FEY) – 5.9 xP with penalties, which gives him the widest range of outcomes. Ricardo Pepi (11.5m, PSV) at 5.7 xP is the same argument with a home fixture instead of an away one.
Looking one step further: the biggest single-round projection anywhere in the next six rounds is Daan Rots (7.5m, TWE) at 11.2 xP in round 5, when Twente play twice. That is worth knowing now, because it changes whether you sell a Twente asset this week.
Blanking players: bench them, do not sell them
Six clubs have no round 3 fixture, and several of their players are widely owned. Every one of them has a big round coming, so paying a hit to replace them this week is the classic early-season mistake:
- Ronald Koeman (4.5m, TEL) – 34.3% owned. Zero this round, 8.4 xP in round 5 when Telstar play twice.
- Daan Rots (7.5m, TWE) – 13.2% owned. Zero this round, 11.2 xP in round 5.
- Bart van Rooij (6.5m, TWE) – 30.3% owned. Zero this round, 8.0 xP in round 5.
- Tjaronn Chery (8.0m, NEC) – 25.8% owned. Zero this round, but 6.1 xP in round 4, the third-best projection of that round.
- Oscar Gloukh (9.5m, AJX) – 11.0% owned. Zero this round, 9.1 xP in round 6 when Ajax play twice.
The right move is a bench reshuffle, not a transfer. Make sure your eleven starters all have a fixture – with six clubs blanking, that is not automatic. The Fantasy Voetbal schedule shows exactly which rounds the rearranged matches landed in, and My Team will flag the blanks in your own squad.
Who to sell in round 3
These are the popular holds whose projections have collapsed for reasons that will not fix themselves in a week:
- Shaqueel van Persie (6.0m, FEY) – 21.8% owned and projected for 2 to 3 minutes in every one of the next six rounds. His round 3 projection is 0.6 xP. This is the single clearest sell in the game.
- Givairo Read (6.5m, FEY) – 13.3% owned with zero projected minutes in rounds 3, 4, 5 and 6. There is no fixture swing that helps a player who is not on the pitch.
- Julian Brandt (9.5m, AJX) – 17.3% owned, and projected for between 24 and 41 minutes across the next five rounds. That is a lot of money tied up in a substitute.
- Bryan Linssen (8.0m, NEC) – 19.9% owned, blanks this round, and projected for roughly 48 minutes per game after it. At 8.0m that is not a striker slot worth keeping.
Selling van Persie or Read funds Hadj Moussa or Trenskow almost outright, which is the trade that actually moves your season. Cross-check any move against the Fantasy Voetbal predicted lineups first – minutes are what these calls turn on.
Best Suikeroom team for round 3
Suikeroom gives you unlimited transfers for one round with no budget cap, so the optimal squad is simply the highest-projecting legal eleven, respecting the maximum of three players from any one club. Round 3 is early to burn it, but this is what it looks like if you do – a 1-3-4-3 worth 58.8 xP:
| Position | Player | Price | Round 3 xP |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Kjetil Haug (GAE) | 4.5m | 4.1 |
| DEF | Mauro Junior (PSV) | 7.0m | 4.7 |
| DEF | Mika Mármol (FEY) | 5.5m | 4.6 |
| DEF | Elijah Dijkstra (AZ) | 5.1m | 4.4 |
| MID | Anis Hadj Moussa (FEY) | 11.0m | 6.6 |
| MID | Jacob Trenskow (HEE) | 8.5m | 6.3 |
| MID | Guus Til (PSV) | 12.0m | 5.6 |
| MID | Mathis Suray (GAE) | 7.0m | 5.3 |
| FWD | Ayase Ueda (FEY) | 12.0m | 5.9 |
| FWD | Ricardo Pepi (PSV) | 11.5m | 5.7 |
| FWD | Mexx Meerdink (AZ) | 9.0m | 5.6 |
The implied captain is Hadj Moussa. Note that Feyenoord fill the three-player club limit exactly, which is why Tjark Ernst does not make it in despite out-projecting Haug – the cap bites before the budget does. Our optimal teams for Fantasy Voetbal page solves this live against the current projections and is the authoritative version, including bench and formation options.
Round 3 summary
Own a Feyenoord attacker and a Heerenveen midfielder, captain Anis Hadj Moussa, and make sure all eleven of your starters actually have a fixture. Then spend your transfer on selling a zero-minute asset rather than chasing a blank. Full numbers for every player are on the Fantasy Voetbal player picks page, and more rounds are covered in our Fantasy Voetbal preview hub. If you are new to this style of game, the fantasy football strategy guide covers the transfer and captaincy principles that carry over, and there is more in the guides library.
FAQ
Who should I captain in Fantasy Voetbal round 3?
Anis Hadj Moussa (11.0m, FEY) at 6.6 xP is the top captain pick. He has the highest projection of any player in the round, he plays away at Cambuur – a side conceding 2.47 expected goals per game – and he is also the top projection in round 4, so the armband does not need moving next week. Jacob Trenskow (8.5m, HEE) at 6.3 xP is the cheaper alternative, and Ayase Ueda (12.0m, FEY) at 5.9 xP has the higher ceiling because he takes Feyenoord's penalties.
Which players blank in Fantasy Voetbal round 3?
Ajax, FC Twente, NEC Nijmegen, Excelsior, Willem II and Telstar have no fixture in round 3, so only six of the nine matches are played. Twente–Telstar was moved to round 5 and Ajax–Willem II to round 6, which is why assets from those clubs still project heavily in the coming weeks. Bench them rather than selling them.
Who are the best differentials for Fantasy Voetbal round 3?
Anis Hadj Moussa (11.0m, FEY) is the standout: the highest projection in the round at 6.6 xP with only 6.7% ownership. Below him, Shunsuke Mito (7.0m, SPA) offers 5.2 xP with penalty duty at 2.9% ownership, Gaoussou Diarra (5.5m, FEY) returns 4.7 xP at 0.9% ownership, and Tjark Ernst (5.5m, FEY) is the best goalkeeper in the round at 5.2% ownership.
Which budget players should I buy in round 3?
Kjetil Haug (4.5m, GAE) is the best value goalkeeper at 4.1 xP and 0.91 points per million. Maas Willemsen (4.5m, HEE) gives 3.6 xP on 87 projected minutes for the cheapest defensive slot, and Gaoussou Diarra (5.5m, FEY) is the best cheap midfielder at 4.7 xP, with the caveat that he is projected for 60 minutes rather than a full game. Dylan Vente (7.0m, HEE) at 5.4 xP is the value forward.
Who should I sell in Fantasy Voetbal round 3?
Shaqueel van Persie (6.0m, FEY) is the priority sell – 21.8% of managers own him and he is projected for 2 to 3 minutes in each of the next six rounds. Givairo Read (6.5m, FEY) has zero projected minutes through round 6, and Julian Brandt (9.5m, AJX) is projected for 24 to 41 minutes despite his price. Selling one of them funds a move to Hadj Moussa or Trenskow.
This preview was written by TheFantasyTool AI - verified by Nicolai @ TheFantasyTool