The international break is over and Fantasy Bundesliga is back with Matchday 28 (MD28).
Some of the game’s biggest hitters are injury doubts this week, with Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland both questionable.
Here are our Scout Picks ahead of tonight’s deadline.
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Goalkeepers
Mark Flekken (8.3m), Tobias Sippel (1.0m)
Freiburg host Bayern Munich, which means Mark Flekken will be facing a lot of shots. It’s not a shock to see that Bayern have taken 155 more shots that the second-ranked team (which is, more surprisingly, Gladbach). Fresh from making his Netherlands debut, Flekken is set for a busy Saturday afternoon against the league leaders but that could mean big points.
With Swiss stalwart Yann Sommer a doubt for Sunday evening’s game, budget-buster Tobias Sippel looks set to start in goal for Gladbach. Adi Hütter’s team had kept just two clean sheets before Matchday 26 but consecutive 2-0 wins shows they are moving in the right direction. Opponents Mainz haven’t won a league game on the road since the end of October, making Sippel an appealing one-week pick.
Defenders
Evan Ndicka (11.5m), Ramy Bensebaini (10.8m), Niko Giesselmann (5.3m), Pavel Kaderabek (9.8m), Makoto Hasebe (1.9m)
It’s true that Greuther Fürth have improved since the start of the season but it’s also true that they’re still poor. Frankfurt are unbeaten in their last five in all competitions and Evan Ndicka is the best pick from their defence, having already grabbed three goals and three assists this season. Ndicka also picked up 14 points in the reverse fixture.
After the season they’ve had, picking both a keeper and a defender from Gladbach feels wrong. But since his return from injury, Ramy Bensebaini has been a bright spark from left wing-back, registering three double-digit hauls from six starts (and that -7 against Dortmund).
For a large part of this season, Niko Giesselmann was usually one of the first names in this line-up. Priced low and scoring high, the wing-back has three goals and five assists to his name from 19 league starts. He’s become slightly less of a sure starter of late but we’ll see Union’s line-up before the deadline. Not that they have been in great form of late but they’ll be confident knowing they have never lost to Cologne before in the Bundesliga.
Hoffenheim’s 3-0 loss to Hertha in Matchday 27 (MD27) felt more like ‘one of those days’ than a sign that the Sinsheim side were going off the boil. Unbeaten in five before that, Hoffenheim have lost just twice at home all season. Pavel Kaderabek has struggled with injury but still averages over six points per game from right wing-back. Hoffenheim host a Bochum side who have been devoid of attacking ideas in recent games.
For one week only, Makoto Hasebe looks set to return to Frankfurt’s starting 11 due to Martin Hinteregger’s suspension. Luckily for Hasebe, that game is against hapless Fürth. At that price, it is a safe, one-week punt against the worst team in the league.
Midfielders
Christopher Nkunku (19.2m), Patrick Wimmer (6.7m), Jesper Lindstrom (9.7m), David Raum (12.4m), Filip Kostic (18.1m)
Christopher Nkunku is the second-highest scorer in Bundesliga Fantasy, the talisman of a resurgent Leipzig side and facing a Dortmund that has a tendency to leak goals. He averages 13 points-per-game under Domenico Tedesco. Buy him.
It’s not surprising that Patrick Wimmer’s insane productivity has calmed over the past few Matchdays but the Austrian starlet is still a top pick for his price. Bielefeld’s recent form means they risk tumbling into the 2. Bundesliga and Wimmer is their best hope of turning that around. With three goals and seven assists from just 18 starts, Wimmer should get plenty of opportunities against a Stuttgart defence with just one clean sheet in 2022.
Jesper Lindstrom has been consistently solid for Frankfurt during most of this season, becoming their best outlet going forward. The young Dane got double-digit hauls during Matchdays 25 and 26 and will get plenty of opportunities against Fürth. Teammate Filip Kostic might not have hit the heights of last season, yet he is still a great Fantasy asset against this opponent. Everyone knows what he can do on his day and, despite the hefty price tag, the Serbian can add to his three goals and eight assists on MD28.
With Bochum out of form and Hoffenheim mostly in form, David Raum should be afforded plenty of chances to rack up points. The wing-back starred for Germany over the international break and has become Hoffenheim’s chief creator. A set-piece specialist with a wand of a left foot, Raum is one of the best midfield picks in the game.
Forwards
Alassane Plea (15.4m), Taiwo Awoniyi (9.0m), Omar Marmoush (4.3m)
Four consecutive double-digit hauls puts Alassane Plea right towards the top of the form charts. The Frenchman has become Gladbach’s talisman in the absence of Jonas Hofmann, with three goals and three assists in his last four. I’ve already discussed Mainz’s woes away from home, so Plea will be the main man to take advantage of this for Gladbach.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s form has dropped off a cliff since the turn of the year but he has two goals from four games. Awoniyi is on penalties and looks to be rediscovering his form ahead of this clash with Cologne.
With two wins and a draw from their last three games, Stuttgart are finally starting to hit form and have moved out of the relegation spots. Tiago Tomas, Omar Marmoush and Sasa Kaladjzic work well together as a front three, with Marmoush’s 23-point haul of MD27 showing what the budget forward is capable of.
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