There is a wealth of premium attacking options for Eliteserien Fantasy managers to choose from at the start of the 2019 season.
As already mentioned last week, there are more expensive options in the league than in 2018, with those who have impressed outside the top clubs getting price rises accordingly.
For that reason, it is more important than ever before to assess whether these premium players are worth paying the money for, especially the ones who play for defending champions Rosenborg.
READ MORE: A guide to every team in Eliteserien Fantasy 2019
At this point, it’s hard to say who will be starting up front for the 2018 title winners out of Nicklas Bendtner (11,5) and Alexander Søderlund (10,5). The fact is we are not likely to see them both together, so there are big question marks over both as Fantasy assets at the moment. Furthermore, Bendtner is lacking match fitness, and Søderlund is injured right now.
Pål Andre Helland (11,0), David Akintola (10,5) and Samuel Adegbenro (10,0) are competing for the two wide spots in the team. So far in pre-season matches, Helland and Akintola have been preferred, with Adegbenro working hard to adapt to the new style.
Akintola was one of the best players in the league last year before joining Rosenborg from Haugesund, along with manager Eirik Horneland. Given that he will be working with the same boss as before, Akintola already knows the new style at Rosenborg and should be the first choice right winger.
Helland is enjoying a decent pre-season so far, being moved from his usual right-wing position to the left. Returning players will know he is very injury prone, but he’s stayed fit for over half a year now.
In midfield, Rosenborg have signed Gjermund Åsen (9,0) from Tromsø, while Mike Jensen (8,5) has received a much kinder price than last season. So far in pre-season, Jensen has been deployed as an attacking midfielder playing behind the striker, although this has not yielded much success. If Horneland continues to use him in that role he might be a bargain, but only if he adapts to it in time for the start of the campaign.
In general, Rosenborg have looked pretty poor in pre-season, so I’m unsure at this stage if their premium options will be worth the investment. On the other hand, they are likely to have high ownership and given that they still have Fantasy potential, it is still advisable to consider them.
The Molde players are priced much higher than last year after their great run of form in the second half of the campaign. Magnus Wolff Eikrem (11,0) had an incredible season after joining midway through, scoring four goals, assisting nine and receiving 16 bonus points in just 12 starts and 985 minutes. He is joined by Eirik Ulland Andersen (10,0) and Eirik Hestad (9,5) as the premium midfielders from Molde.
Ulland Andersen, widely known as EUA among Fantasy players, has been one of the top midfield assets over the last two years playing for Strømsgodset. Last season was slightly disappointing for him with six goals and seven assists in 28 games, compared to 11 goals and eight assists in 26 outings in 2017.
If he can nail down a place in the starting XI I think he will still be Fantasy gold, but at the time of writing he has played just 10 minutes in pre-season and is lacking match fitness. That means Andersen is currently a massive doubt for Gameweek 1.
Another concern is that set-pieces are among both players’ strengths, which means they could potentially each other’s Fantasy appeal if they share duties.
With Erling Braut Håland joining Red Bull Salzburg, Leke James (10,5) doesn’t really have any quality competition for the striker spot. He started showing form towards the end of last season and has the potential to be one of the highest-scoring forwards in the league. However, James has struggled with a few injuries lately and had an average pre-season. Molde are also chasing another forward to add some competition up front, so that situation should be monitored.
Vålerenga also have a few heavy hitters in midfield and attack, which might be surprising to some. Matthias Vilhjalmson (9,5) joined from Rosenborg this winter, although he has struggled with injuries and missed pretty much all of last season. The 32-year-old has shown in previous years that he is a top striker at this level; if he can stay injury free, I believe he can be a very good pick for 2019. Vilhjalmson could also be on penalties. At 9,5, he does seem a little bit expensive at first glance but will be a very popular pick with the Double Gameweek early on.
In midfield for Vålerenga, we find Bård Finne (9,5) and Herolind Shala (8,5). Finne was a differential pick towards the end of last season, despite mainly featuring as a left winger while being classified as a forward. As we mentioned last week, he has now been shifted back into midfield on Eliteserien. Finne has both goals and assists in his locker, is most likely second choice for penalties right now and can also be used up front, which happened a couple of times last season. He has looked dangerous so far in pre-season, and with good starting fixtures in addition to the Double Gameweek, Finne is a solid pick.
Shala was another popular differential option towards the end of 2018, after joining relegated side Start in the summer. He was one of the top players in the league when played for Odd from 2011-2014, and both his returns and underlying stats from those seasons are very impressive. Shala’s history in Eliteserien and his good half-season for Start last year makes me believe he can be a very good pick for Fantasy managers and a big improvement for Vålerenga’s attack. He has already scored multiple times in pre-season and has provided assists too.
Out of the other premium forwards, I think Stabaæk’s Franck Boli (10,0) is the most exciting option to me, after an amazing second half of 2018. In the first half, he played mostly as a left winger but was moved up front when new manager Henning Berg was appointed. In the 16 Gameweeks of after the former Blackburn man took over, Boli scored an impressive 15 goals to become the Eliteserien’s 2018 top scorer despite scoring just twice in the first 14 games. Arguably the best striker in the league, he has also been scoring a lot in pre-season.s
Mos (9,5) has been consistently scoring goals in Eliteserien for a few different clubs, and last year was no different when he was finally given a chance. In his seven starts towards the end of the season, he scored seven goals, as well as scoring five goals in three games against top Eliteserien sides in Strømgodset’s run to the cup final.
It will be interesting to see if they can fit both Mos and Markus Pedersen (10,5) into the starting lineup. Pedersen was expected to miss the pre-season after being injured in October, but he is ahead of schedule and back in full training. There’s still doubt over whether Mos will find match fitness in time for the first Gameweek, but he won’t be far away.
However, there are a lot of question marks over Strømsgodset, as their squad looks fairly poor after the big stars in midfield left. They do have two great forwards at this level though, so they could find attacking form, it’s just hard to be sure. So far in pre-season, they haven’t impressed at all, despite Mos scoring a few goals.
Daouda Bamba (9,5) is also going to be a popular pick from the start of the season due to the early Double Gameweek for Brann. After a great first half of the season for Kristiansund, he never found his top form after moving south, despite ticking along and scoring a few goals. There are question marks over the quality of Brann’s front three, but in their current situation, they will rely heavily on Bamba to score the goals. Of note for those interested in signing him, he has been struggling with a back injury in pre-season and missed a few friendlies. With those concerns about his fitness, I’m a bit unsure if he’s a good pick for Gameweek 1.
Lillestrøm pair Arnor Smarason (9,0) and Thomas Lehne Olsen (9,0) do seem a bit expensive this season. That said, they were both, Smarason in particular, among the players with the highest point per game last season. If Lillestrøm
