Bundesliga Fantasy Team of the Season so far: Christopher Nkunku, Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham among the best going into winter break
Christopher Nkunku, Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham are among the top Fantasy performers going into the 2022/23 winter break and an unlimited transfer window...
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Goalkeeper
Koen Casteels
Club: Wolfsburg
Position: Goalkeeper
Points: 104
Value: 11.2M
Casteels and Wolfsburg saw a real uplift in form in the weeks heading into the break, going eight games unbeaten and keeping three clean sheets. The 30-year-old, who will be at the World Cup with Belgium, has now managed five shutouts this season – second only to Mark Flekken, who is only two points behind Casteels but with the same value.
Defenders
Jeremie Frimpong
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Position: Defender
Points: 128
Value: 12.7M
Five goals make Frimpong the joint-top goalscorer among defenders in the Bundesliga, as well as second in the Leverkusen standings. Add in two assists and he’s had a direct hand in seven goals, while he’s also contested the most challenges of any Bayer player. He’s joint third for defenders in the Fantasy stakes but gets in ahead of Christian Günter by costing 1.5M less.
Mitchell Weiser
Club: Werder Bremen
Position: Defender
Points: 140
Value: 5M
Only three players across the Bundesliga have provided more assists this season than Weiser has for promoted Werder, while no defender has as many as the wing-back’s six. He’s also provided 19 passes to a shot from his spot on the right flank. The 28-year-old ranks seventh for Fantasy points, regardless of position, and does so for a paltry 5M. Just three players have a better value rank, but none come remotely close to his points tally.
Ramy Bensebaini
Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Position: Defender
Points: 133
Value: 13M
The other defender alongside Frimpong on five goals is Gladbach’s Bensebaini – rather surprisingly, the only left-back in this top XI so far, given that the position has historically produced the best Fantasy defenders. He’s also second only to striker Marcus Thuram for the most shots by a Borussia player.
Midfielders
Christopher Nkunku
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: Midfielder
Points: 182
Value: 18.2M
The 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Season has raced back to the top of the Fantasy points chart thanks to a division-leading 12 goals. He’s been the scorer for 40 per cent of his club’s goals – the highest proportion of any player – as Leipzig climbed up to third on the back of a 10-game unbeaten run. And with 25 Bundesliga goals in 2022, it’s no surprise he’s the most selected player in Fantasy with 81 per cent of managers picking the France international.
Watch: All of Nkunku’s goals this season
Joshua Kimmich
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Midfielder
Points: 135
Value: 18M
Kimmich scored the first goal of this Bundesliga season and has quietly gone about his business since, notching up another goal and three assists. His 43 passes to a shot are the most of any player in the division. Add in 20 attempts himself and he ranks sixth in the league for direct roles in shots on goal.
Jude Bellingham
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Midfielder
Points: 144
Value: 14.7M
Bellingham is the only Dortmund player to have been on the field for every possible second this season. He’s contested and won the most challenges of any player in the Bundesliga, also scoring three times to equal his personal best in a league campaign. The English teenager has also had more shots than any other BVB player (30) and has been directly involved in the second-most attempts at Dortmund (47).
Watch: A tactical analysis of Bellingham
Vincenzo Grifo
Club: Freiburg
Position: Midfielder
Points: 157
Value: 16M
Grifo was best known previously as a provider (he still has two assists in 2022/23), but he’s emerged as a goalscorer this season for Freiburg, who sit a still remarkable second over the long break. The Italy international is on nine goals for the campaign and bagged his first Bundesliga hat-trick in the final game of the year – inside the first 20 minutes! – as the Black Forest club brushed aside Union Berlin. Two of those were penalties, taking his total from the spot to five this campaign, while he’s also seventh in the division for passes to a shot (31).
Watch: All of Grifo’s goals this season
Forwards
Niclas Füllkrug
Club: Werder Bremen
Position: Forward
Points: 154
Value: 7.8M
Füllkrug and Bremen have simply kept on going after promotion back to the Bundesliga in the summer. The 29-year-old is on 10 goals already – second only to Nkunku in the race for the Torjägerkanone – and has earned himself a place in Germany’s World Cup squad. Five of his goals have put Werder 1-0 ahead, but five goals have also come after the 76th minute of games – both are the most by a player this season.
Watch: All of Füllkrug’s goals this season
Marcus Thuram
Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Position: Forward
Points: 163
Value: 13.7M
Level with Füllkrug on 10 goals and also joining him at the World Cup – only for France – is Thuram. The Gladbach striker has been the most active player in front of goal this season with his 55 shots, 17 clear-cut chances and xG of 10.4 all the highest of any one in the Bundesliga.
Watch: All of Thuram’s goals this season
Jamal Musiala
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: Forward
Points: 164
Value: 15.2M
No player in the Bundesliga has been involved in more goals this season than Musiala with 15. There were doubts about how he’d fare in Fantasy this season after a shift from midfield to forward, but that debate is now long forgotten. Only Nkunku has accumulated more points than the teenager, who is both Bayern’s top scorer (nine goals) and top provider (six assists).
Watch: All of Musiala’s goals and assists this season
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