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Eliteserien 2020 is live!

Eliteserien Fantasy has launched for the new season, a month before the first game will be played.

The English signup is here.

And our mini-league is up and running with the league code ‘t1jx9f‘.

Teams to Watch

Molde

The reigning champions Molde are expected to be the front runner for the title this season again. With the exception of centre back Ruben Gabrielsen joining Toulouse, they have kept all their key players for the new season. They still got some of the best players in the league, and have exceptional depth in all positions. While they offer some of the best Fantasy picks in the league, the squad depth means rotation is likely during the season.

Rosenborg

After a very disappointing season, Rosenborg managed to secure 3rd place and Europa League in the final week. They are expected to bounce back this season, and they certainly haven’t been sleeping during the winter. Kristoffer Zachariassen has joined from Sarpsborg and Dino Islamovic from Östersund, as well as Per Ciljan Skjelbred joining his old club in August after 9 seasons in the Bundesliga. Niklas Bendtner, Aleksander Søderlund, Mike Jensen, David Akintola and Bjørn Maars Johnsen are all gone, so there will be a lot of changes in the Rosenborg attack from last season.

Bodø/Glimt

Bodø/Glimt was a major surprise last season. They were heavily tipped to be fighting at the bottom of the table, but were challenging Molde for the title for most of the season and ended up finishing 2nd. The big players from last season, Amor Layouni and Håkon Evjen, are both gone, as well as key players like Ricardo Friedrich and Erlend Dahl Reitan (returned to Rosenborg). Despite the departures there are still optimism around the team and nobody would surprised to see them fighting in the top half again. They have made a number of signings to fill the gaps, including Karsten Junker who spent the second half of last season on loan at Stabæk.

Viking

Another major surprise last season, finishing 5th and producing a lot of goals in their first season back in Eliteserien. The popular Fantasy picks Zlatko Tripic and Kristian Thorstvedt are both gone, but Viking have made two major signings bringing back homegrown players Veton Berisha and Yann-Erik de Lanlay. They also have a few interesting players ready to step up in the gap left after Tripic and Thorstvedt’s departures.

Brann

A very disappointing season for Brann, who had ambitions of fighting at the top of the table. No teams scored fewer goals than Brann, and towards the end of the season they couldn’t be relied on for clean sheets either. This year Brann is aiming to play more attacking football. Fantasy legend Vito Wormgoor has left the club, and the club have yet to bring in a replacement for their captain. Veton Berisha has left the club for Viking, as well as Ruben Yttergård Jensen heading home to Tromsø. Daniel Pedersen has been signed from Lillestrøm to bolster Brann’s midfield, with Jon-Helge Tveita giving more depth to the defence and Robert Taylor providing more attacking options. At the time of writing it looks like Brann is pulling of a shock (loan) signing in goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmänn, who’s currently on loan at Norwich from Schalke.

Vålerenga

Year after year Vålerenga are mentioned as one of the teams expected to fight around the top of the table, yet year after year they end up disappointing. This year they have appointed Dag-Eilev Fagermo as their new manager. Fagermo left Odd after 12 years, and is widely seen as one of the better managers in Eliteserien. Beside Fredrik Oldrup Jensen joining the club, who Fagermo know from Odd, there has been no major changes to their squad yet. It remains to be seen what Fagermo can do with Vålerenga, but there is a lot of potential in this squad.

Players to watch

Magnus Wolff Eikrem – Midfield – 12.5
One of the very best players in the league, and a certain point scorer. The midfield maestro is always likely for assists, and knows how to score a goal as well. He is hard to ignore, even with a hefty price tag.

Leke James – Forward – 12.0
After just 1 start and 0 goals in the first 12 gameweeks last season, James scored 17 goals in 15 games in the final 18 gameweeks. This year he’s widely expected to be the top scorer in Eliteserien.

Pål Andre Helland – Midfielder – 11.0
After a very disappointing season for both Helland and Rosenborg, he is widely expected to be one of the key players in their hunt for the title in 2020. Despite limited minutes last year, he produced a decent number of returns towards the end of the season. If Rosenborg can find form and Helland can stay fit, he’ll be one of the top picks in the game.

Torgeir Børven – Forward – 11.0
Torgeir Børven unexpectedly become the top scorer in the league, scoring 21 goals in 30 games. Børven was a consistent performer through the season, and comes in with a much bigger price tag this year. With Fagermo leaving Odd and their form taking a major dip towards the end of last season, there are some doubts he can replicate his form of last season.

Alexander Stølås – Defender – 7.5
The most expensive defender in Eliteserien ever, with good reason. After producing 3 goals, 5 assists and 4 clean sheets in the first 12 games of the season, Stølås missed the rest of the season with a horror injury. Stølås is back fit, and we can definitely expect more attacking returns from his deadly left foot.

Niklas Castro – Midfielder – 8.5
8.5 for a player from a newly promoted team? There is a reason for that price tag. Aalesund dominated OBOS-ligaen 2019, and Niklas Castro played a key part scoring 17 goals and assisting 11 in 24 games. He mainly featured as an attacking midfielder, but he also played some games as a striker. Born in Norway with a Norwegian mother and Chilean father, Castro got a call up to the Chilean national team in October 2019 while playing in the Norwegian second tier. Despite his hefty price tag, he will be a very popular pick.

Things to know

Chips

The chips in Eliteserien remain the same as last season. With “Attack! Attack!” you can captain all your three forwards in one gameweek, while “Two Captains” give you double points from both your captain and vice captain. “Rich Uncle” is similar to “Free Hit” in FPL, with the difference being unlimited budget for the “Rich Uncle” chip.

Bonus

The bonus system remain the same, with the Eurosport (Norwegian broadcaster of Eliteserien) commentators handing out the bonus points after the game. You’ll have two wildcards like in FPL, one for the first half of the season and one for the second half of the season.

DGWs

Just like last year, there are double gameweek fixtures already confirmed before the season starts.

Molde have moved two of their summer fixtures because of Champions League qualification, which results in Molde – Mjøndalen being moved from Gameweek 18 to Gameweek 12 and Molde – Brann being moved from GW20 to GW26. This means Molde will face Start (H) and Mjøndalen (H) in Gameweek 12, while Mjøndalen face Vålerenga (A) Molde (A). In Gameweek 12 Molde will face Brann (H) and Odd (H), while Brann will play Rosenborg (H) and Molde (A).

Those weeks should be prime weeks for chip usage, particularly Gameweek 12 with two prime home fixtures for Molde.

And finally..

Remember to sign up and join our Fantasy Football Scout mini-league! The mini-league code: ‘t1jx9f‘.

We’re looking to greatly expand our Eliteserien coverage this year, so look out for more developments in the coming days – be sure to bookmark the new Eliteserien homepage, where you can find all our latest Eliteserien content.

And remember! Only comments about Eliteserien should be left on this article. This is a dedicated Eliteserien space!

38 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Rotation's Alter Ego
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 23 days ago

    A brand new season!

    Thanks Niemi for writing, looking forward to seeing how this season goes.

    On a slight aside - my knowledge of Eliteserien is low (to say the least!) so if anyone wants to think about doing occasional hot topics in key weeks or in the run up to the season starting, we'd greatly appreciate it. Best of luck everyone!

    1. Einarglu
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 23 days ago

      Send me a private message on Twitter @mmerhol , and we can sort something out

  2. Geoff
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 23 days ago

    And we've now got a dedicated home page for Eliteserien:

    http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/eliteserien

    Bookmark that, as all the Eliteserien content will be hosted here. I'll look to add some features in the coming days/weeks.

  3. Geoff
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 23 days ago

    James and Eikrem look like great picks, I want both of them.

    I'll have a bit of Castro too! Haugen for triple Molde maybe?

    1. fachada
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 23 days ago

      I'd expect Molde to be slighly "slow" on starting their season as it happens usually for defending champions. Currently looking at a double up on Eikrem and Helland as its expected that Rosenborg will want to finally kick start the season they never had last year

      1. Geoff
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 23 days ago

        I really hope Helland performs, I've got a bit of bias towards him

  4. fachada
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 23 days ago

    Anyone else getting an error when trying to choose Aalesunds from the dropdown Menu on the transfers?

    1. BryanLaksana
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 23 days ago

      Yes me, and it happens also in 4.5 price GK button

  5. Mullered in Maenam
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 23 days ago

    Thanks Niemi, looking forward to it as always.

    1. Geoff
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 23 days ago

      Done a draft?

      1. Mullered in Maenam
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 23 days ago

        Hi Geoff

        Yep, draft done and it's a load of poop. GKs sorted, happy with my back four, delighted with my four across the middle - and then came the tiny flaw in the plan - I only had 18m left for three forward positions.

        Luckily we have four weeks to play around with it.

        Glad this and hopefully soon Allsvenskan are starting up, it's nicely taking my mind off FPL for a while!

  6. Ze_Austin
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 23 days ago

    Glad to be back 🙂

    1. NorwichCityLad
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 23 days ago

      Is there any sites that do stats for eliteserien league?

      1. Geoff
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • Has Moderation Rights
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 23 days ago

        We'll hopefully include some in future articles

  7. Mince n Tatties
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 23 days ago

    Welcome back Niemi - missed you last season!
    Hefty Pricing on Eikrem, James, Borven & Stolas making it much trickier this season!
    But I guess you can't have 'em all!
    Looking forward to 4th April!!

  8. Men in green tights
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 22 days ago

    Had a go at this last year from about game week 10 as a taster, just looked at the players to pick apart from the ones named in the article anyone got some sound advice on cheaper/bargain players so you can afford the big hitters . Only normally play English fantasy football so will be a steep learning curve.
    Many thanks

  9. FPLnashville
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 22 days ago

    Great to have the Eliteserien articles back, good work Niemi! Really enjoyed my first season getting to know a new league and just have fun with it, finished 1k in the end. Looking forward to more content this season and seeing the game grow even more, gaining popularity in the Twitter community too

  10. The FPLScope
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 22 days ago

    Norwegian who finished 2655 after forgetting about the game some gameweeks after a good start and being sloppy towards the end of the season here. Got some early suggestions:

    Dønnum 8.5 mid (Vålerenga)

    NB: Vålerenga is my favorite team

    Took over most of the scoring when Ejuke went to Heerenveen last season. 21 years old and one of the biggest talents in Eliteserien. Plays as an inward winger who likes to dribble and shoot. That's not a bad thing when it comes to bonus, where in ES it comes down to experts choosing. Should be nailed and can take some set pieces.

    Other than that not much is enticing from Vålerenga. Borchgrevink will likely be a nailed young offensive right back. Sahraoui probably becomes something later on in the season. Possibly Camara too. Klaesson should be the starting GK for 5.0, so if Fagermo sorts out the defence, he could be a cheap option.

    Gretarsson 5.0 def (Aalesund)

    Regarded as Aalesunds best defensive player for a defence that conceded only 25 goals in 30 games (albeit in a lower tier). Should be sweeping up bonus with experts picking. I think they will stay sound defensively in Eliteserien too.

    Bojang 4.5 def (Sarpsborg)

    Sarpsborg had a crappy season last year after being in the Europa League the year before that, but they did keep a fair share of clean sheets towards the end of the season. Successful Scandinavian manager Mikael Stahre in as a new boss and brought in a huge upgrade on the GK position with Miltov Nilsson at a costly 5.5. Sulayman Bojang for 4.5 has a good chance of being a starting defender at a cheaper price point.

    Adegbenro 10.0 mid (Rosenborg)

    Destroyed Ajax a couple of seasons ago to get Rosenborg into the Europa League, but has struggled with an injury nightmare since. 1 million less than Helland who has similarly struggled with injuries and I think Adegbenro is a much better player, even though Helland is a set piece taker. I'm counting on Adegbenro being the one to make Rosenborg a force again, if anyone.

    Castro 8.5 mid (Aalesund)

    Castro was the 1. divisjon player of the season last year, getting selected to the Chilean national team squad in the process. He's a former Vålerenga talent actually, who got a resurgence in the 2nd tier. Listed as a mid, but is pretty much involved in most Aalesund do attacking wise. Pen taker as well.

    Zinckernagel 8.0 mid (Bodø/Glimt)

    The best of the rest. Glimt won't be as good this season, but Zinckernagel looked like a breakout in many parts last season while being overshadowed by Evjen and Layouni. Wouldn't be surprised if he breaks out properly this season.

    Kastrati 8.0 fwd (Kristiansund)

    Struggled a bit with injuries last season, but is usually pretty lethal in front of goal and has looked good enough in pre-season for other teams to pry around. Kristiansund have been good in their two seasons in Eliteserien and Kastrati is their main striker.

    Boniface 8.0 fwd (Bodø/Glimt)

    Is a punt, but the 19 year old Nigerian striker has unbound potential. Might have to knock out new Glimt striker Junker for a starting spot. Junker had a good half-season on loan with Stabæk, but has a meh history goalscoring wise and his 6 goals in 12 matches are boosted by a hat-trick against Mjøndalen. Glimt have a history of bringing through talents and Boniface could become the next export.

    Apart from the usual suspects (Børven, James), I don't find many good strikers actually. Not sure about Islamovic for RBK either.

    1. Men in green tights
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 22 days ago

      Thanks for the info

  11. Majestic Chanka
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 22 days ago

    Awesome that’s it’s back, itches the tinker scratch and stops me being crazy in FPL!

    It’s so weird that half of the players have left, it levels the field though so everyone is starting out with very limited info. Good luck everyone!

  12. Hotdogs for Tea
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 21 days ago

    helllloooooooo

    1. Onz
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 21 days ago

      Guday mate.
      Rosenborg fan from New Zealand 🙂
      Third season playing with average results, made the top 1k in the second season, 2.5k last season after a poor season end.

  13. Witty Pun: Not good at this…
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 21 days ago

    Once again I will turn to this game in vain hope of drowning my unhappiness with my FPL and will probably forget about it after 3 weeks 😎

  14. FPL Sergeant
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 20 days ago

    Anybody know if Stolas has featured much pre season? Id like to consider him but not if he isnt back in the first team after last seasons injury.

    1. MTPockets
        4 years, 20 days ago

        Don't know but he's in today's team vs Stabaek
        https://twitter.com/FKHaugesund/status/1236654738646732804

        1. FPL Sergeant
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 14 Years
          4 years, 20 days ago

          Cheers for that. Great that he's fit and playing again. Now to decide if 7.5m is worth it considering he was 6.5m last year. Could be the Eliteseriens TAA if he continues where he left off.

          1. MTPockets
              4 years, 20 days ago

              Yeah tough to get him in & afford likes of Eikrem, James, Mol defender.
              Plays Rosenborg and BG in first 3 so could wait a bit

        1. Mince n Tatties
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 10 Years
          4 years, 19 days ago

          Thank you Sir! Some Great Stuff here!

          1. Sandstorm
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 14 Years
            4 years, 17 days ago

            Yes thanks but... There's only 24 hours in a day! 🙂

      • Stat Sloth
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 18 days ago

        For those who like to gander at the pre-season friendlies:

        https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UyQkxVWJZNQxpSROxcr25wBPazfB0c5sJfeqlYTfM0s/

        This is a spreadsheet with a lot of information on all teams and their registered players - minutes played, goals scored, assists.

        Some friendlies lack information, some of them because they were played in Marbella without media present, or more recently some are closed-door friendlies due to the Corona virus.

        1. MTPockets
            4 years, 15 days ago

            Great effort. Shame how things are turning out but cheers

        2. Men in green tights
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 15 days ago

          Presume with current developments they might delay start of season any thoughts anyone

            1. Men in green tights
              • 5 Years
              4 years, 14 days ago

              Cheers