Many of this Bundesliga season's standout performers are not who might have been predicted. - © © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA
Many of this Bundesliga season's standout performers are not who might have been predicted. - © © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA

Surprise team of the season so far - Part III: the attack

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No player in Europe’s major leagues has outscored 1.FC Köln's Anthony Modeste as we head into the international break; FC Bayern München’s Joshua Kimmich has gone from stopgap centre-back to goalscoring midfielder; and the champions are undefeated - yet so are RB Leipzig and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim…

It has been a thrilling season in Germany’s top flight so far and, refreshingly, incredibly difficult to predict. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring and Manuel Neuer keeping clean sheets will have raised few eyebrows, but that the following players have also starred is rather more surprising.

Anthony Modeste is the top points scorer in Official Fantasy Bundesliga with 113 points. Snap him up here!

bundesliga.com takes a closer look with Part III of the surprise team of the season so far. Next up, the attack!

Striker:Timo Werner(RB Leipzig)

Expected: Big things, once upon a time. Widely regarded as the natural long-term successor to the recently-retired Miroslav Klose for Germany, Werner’s progress had slowed in recent seasons, and he was relegated with VfB Stuttgart last term having managed only six goals.

Reality: Fast-forward a few months and Werner has already managed five goals - one fewer in 10 games than he managed in 33 last season. The 20-year-old has also added a selfless streak, adding two assists, to help Leipzig to the top of the table.

Watch: Timo Werner played a starring role as RB Leipzig beat 1. FSV Mainz 3-1 on Matchday 10:

Striker:Anthony Modeste(1. FC Köln)

Expected: More of the same. Modeste managed a respectable 15-goal return last term, but few expected heroics from 28-year-old who last passed the 20-goal mark with Angers SCO in France’s second tier back in 2009/10.

Reality: Modeste has lit up the 2016/17 campaign, with his 11-goal haul taking him to the top of the scoring charts in the Bundesliga - and indeed the rest of Europe. A missed penalty against Hamburger SV on Matchday 9 didn’t faze him either - Modeste went on to bag his first Bundesliga hat-trick in a 3-0 win.

Watch: Anthony Modeste's incredible early-season 11-goal haul:

4-4-2: Hradecky - Chandler, Orban, Mavraj, Schmelzer - Demirbay, Kimmich, Keita, Fabian - Werner, Modeste

Click here for Part I: the Defence!

Click here for Part II: the Midfield!