Fantasy Bundesliga is back after the international break and we’ve all got our Wildcards in play, so here are some of the best picks ahead of Matchday 4.
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GOALKEEPERS
Manuel Riemann (5.4m), Phillip Pentke (1.0m)
Maneul Riemann has done a solid job so far this season and fixtures don’t come much better than a home tie against rock-bottom Hertha Berlin. Bochum have been solid at the back so far and will know how important these three points are. Riemann is currently the third highest-scoring goalkeeper in the game with 27 points, while his 14 saves ranks third.
Phillip Pentke is the 1.0m fodder of choice so far this season and holds his place after another solid week on the subs bench.
DEFENDERS
Alphonso Davies (13.7m), Kevin Mbabu (10.8m), Anderson Lucoqui (6.2m), Niko Giesselmann (3.7m), Joe Scally (2.2m)
Four of the top five highest-scoring defenders so far this season make this squad thanks to good fixtures and great underlying stats.
Niko Giesselemann has secured the left-wing back spot vacated by Christopher Lenz (9.3m) and has scored in his last two games. Union’s home fixture against 17th placed Augsburg, who’ve looked chaotic at the back and clueless going forward so far this season, is a prime fixture to rack up a third double-digit haul in a row. At just 3.7m, you really can’t go too far wrong with this pick.
Anderson Lucoqui racked up 23 points on his Bundesliga debut, picking up six points for winning at least 15 duels and four points for two goal attempts. Lucoqui was everywhere for Mainz on Matchday 3 and is well-placed to add to this against a Hoffenheim side who’ve conceded lots of chances so far and looked unconvincing at best at the back.
The highest-scoring defender in the game so far this season, Kevin Mbabu, has scored 35 points without yet registering a goal contribution. He’s grabbed 16 points for duels won, managed 10 open play crosses and Wolfsburg visit a Fürth side who’ve looked very poor at both ends of the pitch. The Swiss right-back was one of the first names on this team sheet.
Alphonso Davies is something of a risky pick after he went off injured against the USA on international duty, but he’s back in training and Julian Nagelsmann really needs him ready for their visit to RB Leizpig. Jesse Marsch’s Leipzig side have failed to impress so far this season and Davies has been one of Bayern’s best players through the opening three Matchdays. I looked at bringing in Raphael Guerreiro (14.1m) for this spot, but Davies being a captaincy option on the Sunday swings the decision in his favour.
Gladbach’s Joe Scally is still in their starting XI due to injury and they have a great defensive fixture at home to Arminia Bielefeld. Despite quite how bad Gladbach have been at points this season, Scally has been one of their strongest players, picking up eight points for goal attempts and 12 points for duels. Whilst he may not be a long term pick, he’s a great option this week at just 2.2m.
MIDFIELDERS
Leon Goretzka (14.3m), Jonas Hofmann (12.5m), Jude Bellingham (11.6m), Jens Petter Hauge (11.4m), Wooyeong Jeong (4.4m)
This is the first time four out of five of these midfielders have made my picks.
Wooyeong Jeong has been playing up front for Freiburg and got two goals against Stuttgart last time out. Freiburg have been solid so far this season and 4.4m for a midfielder playing OOP, Jeong is a risk that’s worth taking.
Despite interest from Bayern, Jonas Hofmann is still at Gladbach and, along with Scally, has been among their best performers in a terrible start to the season. His last-minute goal in their loss to Union last time out gave him 16 points in Matchday 3 and he’s managed seven shots in just two starts. A visit to Arminia Bielefeld will give Adi Hütter’s new side a much-needed opportunity to get three points.
Leon Goretzka has managed 10 shots without a goal so far this season and looks set for an explosion at some point. He’s clearly working well under Julian Nagelsmann and is a great option for this week’s visit to an underperforming RBL side.
Jens Petter Hauge has been arguably the only shining light in a poor Eintracht Frankfurt side so far under Oliver Glasner. The young Norwegian has scored two of his side’s three goals this season and has also managed seven shots. Hosting a defensively-poor Stuttgart side presents a great opportunity for him to add to that tally.
With Giovanni Reyna (12.5m) out injured, Jude Bellingham should have even more license to go forward and continue his brilliant start to the season for Dortmund. He’s fresh from back-to-back double-digit hauls ahead of the visit to Bayer Leverkusen, and his six shots so far this season show he’s becoming a more and more important part of this Dortmund attack.
FORWARDS
Robert Lewandowski (18.1m), Erling Haaland (17.0m), Wout Weghorst (14.7m)
Three premium forwards make it into the squad this week.
Wout Weghorst scored in the opening day win over Bochum, is on penalties and has managed 11 shots across the first three Matchdays. A visit to Fürth should give him plenty of opportunities to build on a decent start to the 2021/22 season.
The next two forwards are Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland.
They’ve scored nearly 20 points more than any other player this season and have also taken the most shots (16 and 18 respectively). It doesn’t matter who they’re playing. Just buy them.
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