Bundesliga Fantasy Manager Team of the Season so far
With three quarters of the 2019/20 season gone, the Bundesliga title race is finely poised with Bayern Munich leading Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, so it’s no surprise that those clubs dominate the Bundesliga Fantasy Manager Team of the Season so far.
Goalkeeper
Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Position: Goalkeeper
Points: 173
Price: 11.5M
Gladbach’s Swiss shot-stopper is one of five goalkeepers to play every minute of this Bundesliga season so far. Although his five clean sheets is half as many as Manuel Neuer's, for example, the big Fantasy points come from being busy. Sommer has made the most saves of anyone across the first 25 matchdays (97), while also boasting a save rate of 75.4 per cent. That is the highest in the division among first-choice goalkeepers (minimum 10 games) and explains why the 31-year-old is the number one in Fantasy.
Defenders
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Defender
Points: 278
Price: 15.5M
Hakimi is one of a number of players in Fantasy listed as a defender but who has spent most of the season in a more attacking role, either as a wing-back or outright winger. While the Morocco international’s 841 sprints is by far a league best and demonstrates his work rate down the wing, points aren’t awarded for such statistics. Ten clean sheets have come with three goals and 10 assists, for which defenders receive more points than midfielders and forwards. On top of that there’s the shots and chances created by the Real Madrid loanee that didn’t result in goals, which all add up to big points for a defensive player.
Watch: Hakimi under the tactical microscope
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Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Defender
Points: 273
Price: 19.7M
Although by far the most expensive defender in the game, Kimmich’s points total has shown he is worth the expenditure. The 25-year-old has collected points for nine of Bayern’s 10 clean sheets this term, but he has actually played predominantly in central midfield. That has seen him at the heart of the league leaders’ play, having the most possession of any player in the Bundesliga, winning points for both defensive and offensive challenges. His more central role also sees the Germany international feature prominently in the Munich club’s attacking game, racking up points for passes to a shot. That also comes from his status as one of the team’s set-piece takers.
No one has had more possession in the Bundesliga in 2019/20 than Bayern’s Kimmich.
Club: Freiburg
Position: Defender
Points: 245
Price: 13.3M
Like Freiburg themselves, Günter has proven one of the surprise packages in 2019/20 and is another beneficiary of being a defender in a wing-back position. Until pulling up on Matchday 25 with a thigh injury that is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season, the one-time Germany international had played every minute of the campaign and proven one of the Black Forest club’s most potent outlets, setting up almost two shots per game and posting a club-best five assists, as well as two goals.
Midfielders
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Midfielder
Points: 308
Price: 21.7M
Sancho’s form this season has been, quite frankly, outstanding. Still only 19 until the end of March, the England international has scored 14 goals and provided 15 assists in 23 appearances. It means he has a hand in a goal every 62 minutes. In fact, there have only been four games this season when Sancho has featured and not been involved in a goal, proving why he’s the most popular player in Fantasy with 50 per cent of users buying the Dortmund midfielder.
Watch: A closer look at Dortmund’s deadly attack
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Midfielder
Points: 312
Price: 19.5M
Gnabry has proven himself perhaps the Bundesliga’s best all-round attacker. Only Robert Lewandowski and Timo Werner have had more shots this season, but his nine assists to go with 11 goals show that he’s just as adept at setting up teammates as he is at converting himself. The fact the 24-year-old has completed 90 minutes in just 11 of his 23 Bundesliga appearances may go some way to explaining why just a quarter of managers have picked the game’s top-scoring midfielder, but it does demonstrate how involved Gnabry is and how good he is for points in comparatively few minutes.
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Midfielder
Points: 267
Price: 16.1M
Sabitzer is enjoying the season of his life as a key component of the Leipzig midfield under Julian Nagelsmann. Whether out wide or in a central position, the Austria international drives Die Roten Bullen forward. Featuring in every game so far, he creates over two shots per game, has taken 59 himself, provided five assists and scored eight goals. The 25-year-old’s performances may go under the radar somewhat, but they have proven crucial to Leipzig’s push for the title.
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Midfielder
Points: 246
Price: 13.5M
There’s a strong argument for the Paris Saint-Germain academy product being the Bundesliga’s signing of the season. No player has set up more shots in 2019/20 than the 22-year-old, who hit the ground running with a goal on his debut at Union Berlin. As well as scoring a couple more crucial goals to rescue points against Gladbach and Bayer Leverkusen, Nkunku has stormed the league with 12 assists to sit third in the standings. It includes a Bundesliga-record four in a single half away at Schalke.
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Position: Midfielder
Points: 301
Price: 18.3M
Kostic has proven Mr. Reliable for Fantasy managers this season, as well as his own coach Adi Hütter. No Frankfurt player has spent more minutes on the pitch than the Serbian winger, whose eight assists put him at the top end of the league standings. His 140 crosses from open play is a league best by a country mile, in fact approaching double that of Günter in second place with 84. It’s no surprise then that he’s behind only to Nkunku for chances created with 58, and so no shock that he’s one of the best performers in Fantasy.
Forwards
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Forward
Points: 337
Price: 25.0M
Lewandowski has lived up to his tag as the most expensive player in Fantasy by duly amassing the most points. It’s no surprise considering he has 25 goals from 23 games – a record shared with the great Gerd Müller – prior to a rare injury-enforced absence over the last two matchdays. Part of that is thanks to a new league record by scoring in each of the first 11 games, netting 16 times in that period. His league-high 110 shots alone is enough for over 100 points.
Watch: All of Lewandowski’s goals in 2019/20
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Forward
Points: 308
Price: 20.2M
Only 25 games into the season, Werner has already equalled his personal best for goals in a Bundesliga campaign with 21 to his name, as well as seven assists to boot. The Leipzig forward has remained hot on the trail of Lewandowski. His 95 shots have been a productive source of Fantasy points, finding the back of the net for every 4.5 taken. And lightning tends to strike twice with Werner, scoring more than once in six of the 13 games in which he’s found the target.
Watch: A closer look at how Werner’s scoring his goals
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