Gregor Kobel, Ismail Jakobs, Marcel Hartel, Florian Wirtz and Ermedin Demirovic could be the keys to a fast start in the 2020/21 Fantasy game. - © DFL
Gregor Kobel, Ismail Jakobs, Marcel Hartel, Florian Wirtz and Ermedin Demirovic could be the keys to a fast start in the 2020/21 Fantasy game. - © DFL
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Top 5 secret Fantasy players to start the 2020/21 Bundesliga season

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The vast majority of Fantasy Manager squads might feature Robert Lewandowski or Jadon Sancho, but who are the secret picks who could bust your budget whilst scoring big points at the same time?

>> Click here to pick your Fantasy team! 

bundesliga.com is here to help with the five wily picks ahead of the season opener between Bayern Munich and Schalke...

Gregor Kobel (VfB Stuttgart)

Next opponent: Freiburg (h)
Position:
Goalkeeper
Price:
5m

Stuttgart are back in the Bundesliga and the promoted side are looking to stay put in the 2020/21 season. Any hopes of avoiding relegation begin with a strong backline, with Gregor Kobel providing a young, talented and potentially profitable goalkeeper for Fantasy users. The 22-year-old was on loan at Stuttgart as they clinched automatic promotion back to the German top-flight last term. Kobel played all-but three Bundesliga 2 games, keeping 11 clean sheets and conceding just 37 goals.

You're going to pick Gregor Kobel as your goalkeeper in the Bundesliga Fantasy Manager - the VfB Stuttgart shot-stopper approves. - Alexander Scheuber/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images

Things promise to be more testing in the top flight for the now-permanent signing. However, setting you back just 5m and being a guaranteed starter who has Bundesliga experience, the Swiss shot-stopper is the perfect combination who will provide differential points whilst freeing up more budget for outfield players who you can star for multiplied points.

Ismail Jakobs (Cologne)

Next opponent: Werder Bremen (a)
Position:
Defender
Price: 
7m

Jakobs broke into the Cologne first team last November. The left-back by trade was used in three different positions down the Billy Goats' left flank in his first three games before locking down the attacking left wing position in Markus Gisdol's side, and becoming a must-have for Fantasy players through the rest of the campaign.

Entering the 2020/21 season, Jakobs remains a defender in the Fantasy game while he is likely to remain a starter in the attacking position he made his own over the last 10 months. At 7m, the Cologne-born talent remains a budget buy. If Jakobs starts this coming season the same way he played the last - two goals, two assists and five clean sheets - then having him in your squad from the get-go before his price climbs would be a good idea.

Marcel Hartel (Arminia Bielefeld)

Next opponent: Eintracht Frankfurt (a)
Position:
Midfielder
Price: 
7m

There are always hidden gems lurking in the promoted sides coming into each new Bundesliga season. Arminia Bielefeld could certainly have more than one having romped to the Bundesliga 2 title, but Hartel may well be the star of the show that you can reap the biggest rewards from.

Marcel Hartel could become the Bundesliga's next set-piece king in 2020/21. - DFL

The 24-year-old product of Cologne's academy helped Union Berlin to promotion the season before last, and joined Bielefeld to better continue his development. He was right to do so. Hartel ended the season with a league-high 13 assists as Bielefeld's set-piece taker, a role he should continue in on his return to the top-flight. And as Christopher Trimmel proved last season with Union, set pieces can prove crucial to promoted teams.

Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Next opponent: Wolfsburg (a)
Position:
Midfielder
Price: 
6m

Wirtz has already overtaken Kai Havertz as Leverkusen's youngest ever goalscorer, and he looks set to emulate the Germany star further when the new season gets underway. Despite being just 17, Wirtz forced his way into Peter Bosz's first-team frame last season, racking up seven games in the Rückrunde.

Watch: Wirtz becomes Bundesliga's youngest ever goalscorer

Wirtz won't even turn 18 until next May, but the winger already has a goal against Manuel Neuer and Bayern to his name as well as a Fritz Walter Gold Medal for the U17 age group. He ended last season costing just 3m in Fantasy, and although that has crept up to 6m this season, it still represents serious value for a player who should feature more often this year.

Ermedin Demirovic (Freiburg)

Next opponent: Arminia Bielefeld (h)
Position:
Forward
Price: 
7m

Germany-born Bosnia and Herzegovina international Demirovic is back in the country of his birth for the first time since leaving RB Leipzig's youth academy for Spain 2017. Three years later, and after an impressive season with St. Gallen in Switzerland, the 22-year-old forward has been brought to Freiburg to replace Benfica-cound Luca Waldschmidt.

Ermedin Demirovic is looking add to his two goals in pre-season when Freiburg get the Bundesliga campaign underway against Arminia Bielefeld. - imago images

Demirovic is a natural centre-forward who scored 14 goals in 28 ganes in Switzerland last season, and he looks set to lead the line for Freiburg having impressed in pre-season. Nils Petersen provides healthy competition for the 7m-priced forward, but he costs 3m more in the game and might even find himself on the bench behind Demirovic.