After 11 matchdays in Bundesliga Fantasy, we now have an idea of players who have surpassed our expectations at the start of the season and those who have been disappointing. Tipster Andres shares his thoughts on who they are.
We’re almost at the halfway point of the season in the Bundesliga, and for us, it is enough time to judge the season for some players in fantasy football. Like all the seasons, there are many surprises as well as many disappointments, and this season is no exception.
The only decision to make before the start is that we exclude newcomers because we didn’t have any clue of expectations from the majority of them. And then, we also excluded players like Julian Brandt, Leroy Sané and Jonas Hofmann who are players who already proved that they’re just good players in fantasy football.
Glossary of some words used:
- #/90: average per 90 minutes of the statistic in question
- xA: Expected Assists
- pts: Points
- PPG: Points Per Game
- GK: Goalkeeper
- DF: Defender
- MF: Midfielder
- FW: Forward
Honourable mentions to Jonas Wind (Wolfsburg), Kevin Müller (1. FC Heidenheim), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich), Chris Führich and Enzo Millot (VfB Stuttgart).
Ans dishonourable mentions to Raphael Guerreiro (Bayern Munich), Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund), Ritsu Doan (Freiburg), and Florian Kainz (1. FC Köln).
Surprise: Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)
I know we just said that the newcomers were excluded, but we can’t talk about surprises in the Bundesliga without mentioning Grimnaldo’s name. The left wing-back of Leverkusen has been perfect, to the point of being the second player with the most points in fantasy football so far (164). Set piece specialist, with monstrous statistics like his 3.29 touches in the opposition box/90 minutes, 1.49 chances created/90 min and six goals in 11 starts this season so far. A must-start for the rest of the season and the best value in defense.
Disappointment: Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
The wunderkind is ranked as the 23rd-best midfielder this season for total points, even if he’s averaging nine points per game. And the disappointment comes through the expectations with Musiala before the start of the season. We expected that he would put up numbers like Florian Wirtz or Jonas Hofmann do. Or just average the same amount of numbers as he did last season. We can link this downgrade on his points with some injuries. However, last season he missed just one match in the entire season, in this one, he already missed four matches. We expect a rebound with him because he continues to be productive, but he has to stay healthy at the same time.
Surprise: David Raum (RB Leipzig)
From a disappointing 2022/23 to a magnificent start of this 2023/24 season. Raum has been a point-scoring machine. Being part of the second-best defense in the league, and the one with the most clean sheets explain a little bit of his prolific production. But if he starts every match it’s for a good reason. Registering 2.32 xA (the best among left-backs in Europe), 1.5 chances created/90, 4.3 duels won/90 and 15 points coming from assist to a shot. He’s finally the starter on the left back at Leipzig, and it doesn’t look like this will change for a while. And we see the explosive Raum that we saw two seasons ago at Hoffenheim.
Disappointment: Niclas Füllkrug (Borussia Dortmund)
Now we have the opposite example. The biggest surprise of the last season, being the top scorer in the Bundesliga, to be mid in one of the biggest clubs in the league. The signing of Niclas to Borussia Dortmund seemed to be perfect, it was what they needed. But so far, he only has scored three goals and given two assists. Very far from the expectation we had with him this season.
Surprise: Jan-Niklas Beste (1.FC Heidenheim 1846)
I’m not gonna lie to you, if it is because of Fantasy, I would never listen to Beste. But if you have a minimum of knowledge of fantasy football, you know him well from this season. Even if he plays for a promoted team who seems to be fighting relegation, at least Beste has been putting numbers like he’s fighting for the title. 110 points so far and ranked as the #4 midfielder. He’s the offensive motor of his team and he has become a must-have through the rest of the season.
Disappointment: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
I don’t know if it is a really disappointing season for Kimmich, at least in fantasy terms, but his point production from last season has been disappointing. This season he’s ranked as the 18th best midfielder in fantasy, when he finished the last season as the 8th best one. Even if there is a regression, I also think that he’s no longer a must-have. Bayern’s attacking style is based all around Kane and the interchange of movements with his wingers, so we’re not seeing many Kimmich long shots or arrivals to the opposite box. He has now become a regular defensive midfielder for fantasy football, which means, his value is lower compared to the rest of the midfielders.
Surprise: Serhou Guirassy (VfB Stuttgart)
We finish the list with the obvious one, the greatest, Serhou Guirassy. You already know him and that he’s a must-have if you want to win your league. Even if he missed a month due to an injury, he’s still the 4th best forward in Bundesliga fantasy football with a 37pts gap between him and the forward in 5th. Last season he scored 151 points in 22 matches, this season, he has scored 151 points in just nine matches. Maybe this scoring streak it’s not sustainable throughout the season, but we can’t deny the fact that he has been one of the best players of fantasy football when he’s healthy.
You can find additional Bundesliga Fantasy resources for the 23/24 season here.
