The 2021/22 Bundesliga season is finally here, and ahead of Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s clash this evening, here are our Fantasy Bundesliga picks for Matchday 1.

The deadline is just before kick-off at 19:29 BST, so there is still time to enter a team!

With the first Wildcard, or unlimited transfer period, arriving just after Matchday 3 there’s plenty of scope to take risks, as we have done with this squad.  

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GOALKEEPERS

Rafał Gikiewicz (7.0m), Philipp Pentke (1.0m)

Last season’s second-highest scoring keeper, Augsburg’s Rafał Gikiewicz (7.0m), gets the nod in goal for Matchday 1.

The Polish stopper loves a save and Hoffenheim present the perfect opposition – an attacking team who will shoot consistently but haven’t yet found their stride in front of goal.

Philipp Pentke is the best option at 1.0m. Although he’s not guaranteed a start with Oliver Baumann (7.0m) returning from injury, if you want a bench keeper with a chance of a start in Matchday 1, then he’s your guy. 

DEFENDERS

Angeliño (14.0m), Christian Günter (11.0m), Borna Sosa (11.0m), Jérôme Roussillon (7.0m), Joe Scally (2.0m)

All five of our defender picks are left-backs.

Borna Sosa (11.0m) has a prime fixture and grabbed a goal and an assist in the Pokal to add to his 12 assists last season. VfB Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo has even stated publicly he’s encouraging Sosa to add more goals to his game. 

Freiburg’s Christian Günter (11.0m) is a safe pick with opportunities to pick up points across the board. His game against Arminia Bielefeld should give him lots of freedom going forward and a good chance at clean sheet points too. 

Last season’s top-scoring defender Angeliño (14.0m) is still on most set-pieces and is well-placed to take advantage of a COVID-stricken Mainz side in their Sunday fixture. He grabbed an assist in the Pokal last week and should have plenty of attacking freedom under Jesse Marsch. 

Jérôme Roussillon (7.0m) presents great value after Paulo Otávio‘s (11.0m) injury. Wolfsburg’s back-up left-back grabbed two assists in 14 appearances last season and has a plum opening fixture for Mark van Bommel’s side against newly promoted Bochum. 

Joe Scally (2.0m) has made Gladbach’s left-back spot his own in Ramy Bensebaini’s (12.0m) absence and looks set to start for Adi Hütter’s Foals against Bayern. What may seem like a poor fixture for Gladbach is actually far from it, with Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern side coming into this game after a very poor pre-season and riddled with injuries. As they play the first game, there’s plenty of scope to simply substitute Scally out if the punt doesn’t work.

MIDFIELDERS

Filip Kostić (14.0m), Christopher Nkunku (14.0m), Lars Stindl (13.0m), Vincenzo Grifo (12.0m), Mateo Klimowicz (7.0m)

Even under new management, Filip Kostić (14.0m) looks set to be the main man for Eintracht Frankfurt. Last season’s top-scoring midfielder has a tough game against Borussia Dortmund, although he did grab nine and 15 points in last season’s two games against BVB. Kostić is the most fixture-proof midfielder in the Bundesliga and will still be on all set-pieces and involved in everything Frankfurt do.

Christopher Nkunku (14.0m) was on fire in the Pokal and, as with Angeliño, faces a Mainz side that’ve been massively disrupted by COVID. He’ll line up on the right-wing for Jesse Marsch’s men and shares set-pieces with Angeliño. With question marks over who will start at left-wing for RB Leipzig, Nkunku is a nailed pick with a great fixture.

Vincenzo Grifo (12.0m) is Freiburg’s talisman and Arminia Bielefeld is a great fixture for any attacker to rack up shots and chances created. Grifo is on penalties and free-kicks for Freiburg, so the Italian winger has a lot of ways to score points. 

Lars Stindl (13.0m) had an unbelievable campaign last time out, bagging 14 goals and 10 assists in just 23 starts. As with Scally, this is the perfect time to play Bayern. Adi Hütter also started him up front in their Pokal win over Kaiserslautern, where he grabbed the only goal of the game. 

Stuttgart’s Mateo Klimowicz (7.0m) will line-up behind the striker, fresh from grabbing a goal and an assist in the Pokal. Greuther Fürth is a prime fixture for VfB and the young midfielder should play a big-role for Matarazzo’s injury-stricken side. 

FORWARDS

Erling Haaland (16.0m), André Silva (15.0m), Hamadi Al Ghaddioui (4.0m)

Now look, we know there’s someone missing here.

However, after Bayern’s dire pre-season and the strong form and fixture of these three forward options, we’ve decided to invest Robert Lewandowski’s 17.0m elsewhere. 

Erling Haaland (16.0m) comes into this game fresh from a stunning Pokal hat-trick. Marco Rose’s new-look Dortmund side look ready to go, while Haaland has the monopoly over penalties and a whole team geared to help him succeed. Frankfurt looked poor in their Pokal loss and may need a bit longer to bed in under Oliver Glasner. 

André Silva (15.0m) was Fantasy Bundesliga’s second-highest scorer last time out and now lines up as RB Leipzig’s much-needed striker. As mentioned above, Leipzig looked good in their Pokal game and Mainz’s COVID problems could be a blessing for Jesse Marsch’s new side. 

Stuttgart striker Hamadi Al Ghaddioui (4.0m) is very much a one-week punt, but the veteran German will start up-front in their plum fixture hosting league newcomers Greuther Fürth. For 4.0m, what’s the worst that can happen?

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