Bundesliga Fantasy Team of the Season so far
One might have expected Harry Kane to be in the Bundesliga Fantasy team of the season so far by the second international break of the season, but who joins the Bayern Munich striker and how did they get there?
With unlimited transfers during the international break, now is as good a time as any to take a look at the top performing players in Bundesliga Fantasy. How many can you fit in?
Goalkeeper
Nikola Vasilj
Team: St. Pauli
Value: 7m
Points: 1639
Nikola Vasilj may be Bosnia and Herzegovina's No.1 goalkeeper, but he was a relative unknown in Bundesliga terms - until now. The hulking 6'4" shot-stopper conceded a league-fewest 36 goals as St. Pauli were promoted last season, and has followed that up with 40 saves (a league third-best), as well as racking up Fantasy points for his distribution and cross collection. Not bad for 7m.
Defenders
Maximilian Mittelstädt
Team: VfB Stuttgart
Value: 17m
Points: 2216
Maximilian Mittelstädt emerged as Germany's first-choice left-back at UEFA Euro 2024 and now casual followers have had a chance to see why. Mittelstädt is an asset at either end of the pitch, with his three assists for Stuttgart this season complemented by the bulk of his points (1212 of them) actually coming from won duels.
Dayot Upamecano
Team: Bayern Munich
Value: 12m
Points: 2488
Dayot Upamecano has seen off competition from Eric Dier and Matthijs de Ligt - the latter now of Manchester United - to cement his place alongside Minjae Kim at the heart of Bayern Munich's defence. Vincent Kompany's faith in him has been justified, with the Frenchman scoring well for duels (1320 points) as well as his build-up play (833 points) so far.
Diogo Leite
Team: Union Berlin
Value: 9m
Points: 2310
Diogo Leite may only have one assist from 10 games for Union Berlin this season, but the Portuguese's presence in this ensemble is testament to the fact Fantasy players need to look deeper than just goal contributions in this season's scoring. Has won more duels than any other defender, with 130 in the real world that have translated into 1608 points in-game.
Álex Grimaldo
Team: Bayer Leverkusen
Value: 20m
Points: 2601
Álex Grimaldo hit the ground running in his maiden Bundesliga season, helping Bayer Leverkusen to maiden league title with 10 goals and 14 assists as a nominal left-back and playing himself into the Spain squad. Club and player have slowed down somewhat in the current campaign, but Grimaldo has still hit a league-high 41 crosses as well as 22 goal attempts and 34 passes to a shot, so more returns are coming.
Midfielders
Michael Olise
Team: Bayern Munich
Value: 16m
Points: 2341
Another who has adapted quickly to life in the Bundesliga, Michael Olise has been Bayern's next most potent attacking asset after Harry Kane since arriving from Crystal Palace, with five goals and two assists. Jamal Musiala, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané are all capable of occupying wide attacking positions at the Allianz Arena, but Olise has played more minutes than all of them, and made good use of that time.
Granit Xhaka
Team: Bayer Leverkusen
Value: 15m
Points: 2328
Leverkusen's string-pulling captain Granit Xhaka has attempted some 512 passes into the final third for Xabi Alonso's side, and also boasts four direct goal-involvements, making him an all-round Fantasy asset as well as a relative snip at 15m. At 32, the Swiss has gone up a gear since leaving Arsenal.
Florian Wirtz
Team: Bayer Leverkusen
Value: 20m
Points: 3041
Xhaka's teammate Florian Wirtz should still have another few levels to move through at 21, making his current performances quite remarkable. Four goals and two assists might be expected from the prodigal youngster, but his 134 duels won are also a league high - and four more than centre-back Leite.
Watch: The best of Florian Wirtz
Vincenzo Grifo
Team: Freiburg
Value: 12m
Points: 2398
Duels, as you may have noticed by now, have been upgraded in importance for Fantasy points scoring this season, but Vincenzo Grifo still trades in the old money of goals and assists - three and five of each so far for Freiburg this season. At 12m, the nine-time Italy international is also significant value for money.
Forwards
Harry Kane
Team: Bayern Munich
Value: 20m
Points: 2595
Speaking of goals, Kane has scored 11 of them in the Bundesliga this season, and added another five assists, giving him a goal contribution of one every 53 minutes he has played. It is little wonder, then, that he has the second-most points among Fantasy forwards, behind the final player in this line-up.
Omar Marmoush
Team: Eintracht Frankfurt
Value: 11m
Points: 2995
That Omar Marmoush has outgunned even Kane this season is remarkable in its own right - Eintracht's Egyptian prince has 11 goals and seven assists to his name, which are both league-highs, and 47 mins per goal contribution. And, handily for Fantasy players, he costs 9m less than Bayern's star man - not bad!
Watch: Omar Marmoush's dead-ball delight
Related news
Bundesliga 2, Matchday 15 overview
Leaders Paderborn get the action under way against Schalke, before Hamburg take on Florian Kohfeldt's resurgent Darmstadt...
Bundesliga Matchday 13 probable teams
Bayern are without Harry Kane for their meeting with out-of-form Heidenheim. Who will start in the England striker's stead?
Bayern and Dortmund at FIFA Club World Cup 2025: possible opponents
The Bundesliga duo will find who they'll face in the group stage of next summer's new tournament at a draw ceremony in Miami on Thursday...