After another week of European football (the last before March), the Bundesliga returns for a hectic schedule before Christmas with the start of the ‘Englische Woche’ or English week that refers to weeks that have midweek and weekend games similar to the schedule of English football. It presents a great opportunity to gain ranks with the quick turnarounds, and these are our top 10 Bundesliga Fantasy player picks for the first matchday of the English week!
Forwards
| Rank | Name | Team | Opponent | Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Lewandowski | FCB | vs M05 | 20.2M | With Lewandowski being just a few goals away from breaking Messi's record for the most club goals in a year, I think it is time he puts the foot on the gas with just three games left in 2021. |
| 2 | Taiwo Awoniyi | FCU | @SGF | 9.1M | The template forward line now is Lewandowski, Haaland and a forward that plays Greuther Fürth. This week it is Awoniyi who isn't doing too bad for himself with nine goals this season just behind Lewandowski, Schick and Haaland. |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | BVB | @BOC | 17.7M | Haaland has scored in each of his three games since he returned from injury. Bochum are formidable at home, but he is inevitable. |
| 4 | Patrick Schick | B04 | @SGE | 15M | Frankfurt aren't as good as they used to be, but I can still say they are at least 2x better than Fürth. So I am not expecting four-goal heroics from Schick, but I still expect him to do well regardless, and he adds star flexibility this week if you have Haaland+Lewandowski but not Awoniyi. |
| 5 | Thomas Müller | FCB | vs M05 | 17.9M | The last time Müller scored below 10 points in a game was on matchday seven, but I am not sure that he is essential for this week when there are other great options available as well. |
| 6 | Max Kruse | FCU | @SGF | 12.2M | Playing Fürth is just as good for the secondary striker as it is for the primary one, making Kruse a great one-week punt. |
| 7 | Leroy Sané | FCB | vs M05 | 16.1M | The last time Bayern faced Mainz at home, they scored five goals with Lewandowski, Sané and Müller all being involved in goals. The only worry is that was Siewert's team whereas Bo managed to beat Bayern in the last match. |
| 8 | Anthony Modeste | KOE | vs FCA | 8.5M | I can see Modeste get quite a few shots in this game but he is certainly not a priority transfer this week because of his limited ceiling. |
| 9 | Emil Forsberg | RBL | vs BMG | 11.5M | Borussia will take some time to recover from an embarrassing loss like that, and given their woeful away record, Leipzig could thrash them like a pinata again if Tedesco's defensive minded tactics don't hold them back. |
| 10 | Wout Weghorst | WOB | vs VFB | 15.6M | Just a hunch, but Weghorst could get lots of shots and possibly a goal as well against Stuttgart. |
Midfielders
| Rank | Name | Team | Opponent | Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Nkunku | RBL | vs BMG | 16.6M | |
| 2 | Filip Kostić | SGE | vs B04 | 16.7M | |
| 3 | Dominik Szoboszlai | RBL | vs BMG | 11.9M | "We all know that he is capable of hauling big. Whenever he has started, most often, he has delivered." - Kabeer Singh (Current world #1) |
| 4 | Florian Wirtz | B04 | @SGE | 13.5M | The last seven Bundesliga games between these two sides have seen an average of four goals being scored, most of them coming from Leverkusen. So, an open game could be on the cards. |
| 5 | Vincenzo Grifo | SCF | vs TSG | 14.4M | Hoffenheim have been less than convincing defensively away from home, conceding an average of three goals in their last four away games. Grifo is on a three-game run of double-digit scores, so he could extend his streak in this game. |
| 6 | Jonas Hofmann | BMG | @RBL | 14.7M | Hofmann got an impressive 12 points in the last game despite losing 0-6, so at least his floor is not a worry anymore even if BMG get thrashed. |
| 7 | Ondrej Duda | KOE | vs FCA | 10M | It is either him or Kainz, but Duda gets the edge for me because he will play OOP as a striker. Note: He is one yellow card away from suspension. |
| 8 | Jamal Musiala | FCB | vs M05 | 12.2M | Even though he will play as a midfielder, you know that he will bomb forward in attack just like he did when he scored in the midweek UCL game against Barcelona. |
| 9 | Marco Richter | BSC | vs DSC | 7.4M | |
| 10 | Maximillian Arnold | WOB | vs VFB | 13.1M |
Defenders
| Rank | Name | Team | Opponent | Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raphaël Guerreiro | BVB | @BOC | 14.3M | Bochum have the best defence at home but one of the worst goal-scoring records at home as well. This could bode well on both ends for Guerreiro who has Haaland to assist now. |
| 2 | Alphonso Davies | FCB | vs M05 | 14.9M | If Davies plays as high up as he did against Barcelona, you can expect lots of shots, key passes, duels won, and possibly a goal involvement again. |
| 3 | Niko Gießelmann | FCU | @SGF | 5.2M | The defender with the most goal involvements (6) could go big against Greuther Fürth if he starts of course. However, the 90 minutes he played in the UECL game is a big concern even though he is still in predicted lineups. |
| 4 | Christian Günter | SCF | vs TSG | 13M | |
| 5 | Nico Schlotterbeck | SCF | vs TSG | 8.8M | |
| 6 | Benno Schmitz | KOE | vs FCA | 4.8M | FC Köln are yet to keep a single cleansheet this season so if you are buying Schmitz, it is purely for his attacking potential. |
| 7 | Marvin Plattenhardt | BSC | vs DSC | 6.2M | He is no Mittelstädt, but worth a shout against the worst attack in the league. |
| 8 | Piero Hincapié | B04 | @SGE | 6.8M | |
| 9 | Paulo Otávio | WOB | vs VFB | 10.6M | Wolfsburg have completely forgotten how to defend, but there is always hope against a team they are unbeaten against in 13 home games. |
| 10 | Borna Sosa | VFB | @WOB | 11M | 45% of the goals conceded by Wolfsburg have been from set-pieces so a set-piece specialist like Sosa could have great attacking upside in this game. |
Goalkeepers
| Rank | Name | Team | Opponent | Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Flekken | SCF | vs TSG | 7.5M | |
| 2 | Lukáš Hrádecký | B04 | @SGE | 9.4M | |
| 3 | Manuel Riemann | BOC | vs BVB | 5.9M | He might concede, but the potential saves on offer makes him a viable option this week. |
| 4 | Marvin Schwäbe | KOE | vs FCA | 1M | If you have the luxury to spend a transfer on a keeper, Schwäbe rotates with both Flekken and Riemann this week. |
| 5 | Stefan Ortega | DSC | @BSC | 8M | Hertha is far from a good team, and with a new coach that doesn't exactly have the best record in his previous stints, Arminia could sneak a cleansheet this week. |
Value Rankings
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Opponent | Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amine Adli | MID | B04 | @SGE | 8.3M | |
| 2 | Julian Ryerson | DEF | FCU | @SGF | 3.5M | In case Gießelmann doesn't start. |
| 3 | Georginio Rutter | FWD | TSG | @SCF | 8M | Rutter has been a fantastic replacement for the injured Kramarić with three goals, one assist, and an average of 11 points in his last three games but a game against the best defence in the league currently is a big challenge. |
| 4 | Kevin Schade | FWD | SCF | vs TSG | 1.2M | Initially, he was just a filler at wing-back but might start more consistently on the wing after scoring and assisting against Borussia last week. |
| 5 | Patrick Wimmer | MID | DSC | @BSC | 4.5M | In a game where two teams notorious for conceding shots go up against each other, there could be a lot of shots from both sides. |
| 6 | Genki Haraguchi | MID | FCU | @SGF | 5.9M | The best midfielder from Union, even though I wouldn't expect much from him even against Greuther Fürth. |
| 7 | André Hahn | MID | FCA | @KOE | 8.4M | If you expect Augsburg to win, Hahn could be a differential to consider as he will be playing OOP as a striker. |
| 8 | Jacob Laursen | DEF | DSC | @BSC | 3.7M | Fancy a differential defender? Laursen plays Hertha and Bochum in the next two matchdays. |
| 9 | Joe Scally | DEF | BMG | @RBL | 2.5M | |
| 10 | Gonçalo Paciência | FWD | SGE | vs B04 | 4.2M |
You can find additional Bundesliga Fantasy resources for the 21/22 season here.
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