We received our sixth wildcard of the Fantasy Bundesliga season for the International Break but with Robert Lewandowski missing in action, find out how the template team shapes up without him for matchday 27.

Forwards

Andre Silva

If the most prolific striker in the league is ruled out for a month, then the player who is second to him on the goal-scoring charts becomes an easy recommendation. Silva had a couple of quiet weeks but showed us glimpses against Union Berlin on matchday 26 with two goals and assists in a 5-2 rout. With most premium forwards struggling with form or having difficult fixtures, he could be the forward to splurge your excess cash on even though he plays against Dortmund and Wolfsburg in his next two games.

Saša Kalajdžić

It feels almost criminal to buy one of the cheapest strikers in the game when you could afford the most expensive forwards in the game and still have money left over but Saša has justified his worth with his performances. Only Lewandowski was in better goal-scoring form than him with 12 goals over the last eight matchdays compared to the Austrian target man’s eight goals in the same period. He is giving the premium players a run for their money and you couldn’t ask for a better bargain at 7.3M.

Midfielders

Christopher Nkunku

When Nkunku starts, it is hard to keep him out of your fantasy team for too long. He is one of the most consistent players in the league but has received tough competition from teammate Dani Olmo over the last few weeks with both players consistently involved in the attack and notching up double-digit scores on a regular basis.

Filip Kostić

Kostić is in the form of his life and his recent fantasy scores are a reflection of that. Since matchday 13, he has failed to score above 10 points just twice and has averaged 15 points per game in the same time frame. There is no doubt that Filip Kostić is the most essential player in the game after Robert Lewandowski.

Florian Wirtz

Marco Richter

Richter has spent most of the season coming off the bench for Augsburg but in his last two starts, he has shown glimpses of being a high floor-high ceiling player with scores of 10 without any involvement in goals and 23 with a goal and an assist against Borussia. Augsburg have some favourable fixtures coming up with Hoffenheim, Schalke and Arminia facing them next and each game is well suited for Richter whose bulk points consists of shots at goal and creating them.

Defenders

Borna Sosa

Sosa is still a relative newcomer to the Bundesliga but has already drawn comparisons to legendary players such as David Beckham and Roberto Carlos in his short time playing in the German top-flight. He is another gift from this year’s Stuttgart team which is full of budget busters and leads the league in most goal involvements amongst defenders with eight assists thanks to his pinpoint accuracy from set-pieces and crosses.

Raphaël Guerreiro

If you are worried that Guerreiro won’t start because he is red-flagged then do not fret. He is in full training and his return will be a big boost for Dortmund against Eintracht Frankfurt as he leads the team in key passes per game (2.3) after Jadon Sancho (2.8). Especially with few sub >10M defenders to select from, it is worth shelling out the premium for one of the best defenders in Bundesliga Fantasy.

Kevin Mbabu

Since 27th January, only Chelsea have conceded fewer goals (2) in UEFA’s ‘Top 5’ leagues across all competitions compared to Wolfsburg (5). The Wolves have conceded in just two games out of their last 12 in the Bundesliga and Pokal so a defender from the team is a must-have. With Otavio suspended and LaCroix playing CB, Mbabu stands out as the best defensive option from Wolfsburg.

Phillip Mwene

Mainz have made massive improvements in defence against Svensson and among the teams that have conceded the fewest goals since January, the Zerofivers are part of the list with just seven goals conceded. With consecutive games against Arminia, Koln, Hertha and Bremen who are at the bottom for goals scored, there is a strong possibility that Mainz keep a clean sheet in most of the games.

Goalkeeper

Stefan Ortega

In a game where saves have more value than clean sheets, it only seems right that the keeper with the most saves has the most points. He might be getting a bit pricy now at 6.9M but budget is the last concern of every Fantasy Bundesliga manager right now and Ortega forms a great partnership with Müller who just scored 18 points his last game against Augsburg.

The Template XI

Bench and other alternatives: Florian Müller/Gregor Kobel/Robin Zentner (GK), Christopher Trimmel/Jeremie Frimpong/Deyovaisio Zeefuik (DEF), Leroy Sané/Maximilian Arnold/Christoph Baumgartner (MID), Erling Haaland/Wout Weghorst/Thomas Müller (FWD)

Total team value: 182.4M

Note: The bench isn’t necessarily a template and you could replace those spots with differentials instead.

Borussia have struggled recently but have a great opportunity to bounce back against Schalke so their players are ones to watch out for in our Bundesliga Fantasy player rankings for matchday 26.

Forwards

Midfielders

Defenders

Goalkeepers

You can find additional Bundesliga Fantasy resources for the 20/21 season here.

Injuries to certain fantasy favourites have opened the door to include differentials in your team and we look at some of the best ones in our Fantasy Bundesliga differential picks for matchday 25

Forward

Breel Embolo Vs FC Augsburg (A)

There are few worthy differential forwards to choose from this week but Embolo stands out because of the early fixture and his ability to generate bonus points for shots. Only Schalke and Freiburg have conceded more shots than Augsburg so he is bound to have some chances in a game that Borussia will be desperate to win to end their winless streak.

Midfielders

Leon Goretzka Vs SV Werder Bremen (A)

He might not exactly be a differential with 13% ownership but I expect few owners of him amongst “sharks”. Goretzka followed up his hattrick of assists for 22 points against Koln with a 19 pointer against Dortmund last week and his form is reminiscent of the period last season when he was the best Bayern Munich asset to have with six goals and eight assists in just 12 matchdays. Kimmich + Sané has been a popular double-up option from Bayern’s midfield but Kimmich + Goretzka could be a winning combo despite both being deep-lying midfielders.

Ridle Baku Vs Schalke 04 (H)

It might’ve gone unnoticed because Baku is a defender that is listed as a midfielder who plays OOP on the wing but he has been one of the highest-scoring midfielders in Fantasy Bundesliga this season with 158 points in total to his name. Wolfsburg might be short on creativity with Steffen ruled out and their #10 Gerhardt possibly filling in at left-back so it might be an opportunity for Baku to be more involved in attack against the worst defence in the league.

Maximillian Arnold Vs Schalke 04 (H)

Another midfielder from Wolfsburg, he has been in stellar form with double-digit scores in each of his last four games. One of Wolfsburg’s tactics against low block teams is to let Arnold shoot from a distance and it has been an effective strategy with almost all of his goals and assists this season coming against those teams. He is also an addtional threat from set-pieces and Schalke have conceded the most goals from them.

Defender

Jeremie Frimpong Vs Arminia Bielefeld (H)

Frimpong might be the Leverkusen defender with an attacking threat that Bundesliga Fantasy managers have been waiting for but he is yet to prove himself. He is still worth a punt with games against Arminia, Hertha and Schalke in the next three weeks.

Goalkeeper

Frederik Rønnow Vs Wolfsburg (A)

Rønnow was the best keeper in the game before he lost his spot but he gets a second life under new coach Dimitrios Grammozis and he still averages the highest points among all starting keepers with seven points per game (tied with Ortega). Rønnow still costs just 1.1M and is a more than worthy second-keeper.

Differential XI Matchday 25