Bundesliga Fantasy expert second draft

As we plough through pre-season the deadline is almost in view. Because of this we bring in our regular contributor @FPLGunnersaurus to provide his Bundesliga Fantasy expert second draft and find out why he has selected the players he has in his current squad.

Catching up with a Bundesliga Fantasy expert second draft can be extremely beneficial to other managers within the community. @FPLGunnersaurus is one of the best Bundesliga Fantasy managers around so learning from him can be very helpful for the campaign ahead. So lets dive in.

Introduction

With changes to the game as noted in an earlier article I’m taking a new approach to my squad and investing heavily in my starting XI to begin with. We’ll see where that gets me come the first international break of the season!

With auto-subs also playing a part I’m going to be playing with a 4-4-2 formation. This allows me a chance to fully utilise my bench if someone in their position from my starting XI flops and the bench player performs. Part of investing heavily in my starting XI will see me pick premium price points so that I can hop on and off of those top players with great fixtures. My bench will be extremely cheap and I’ll just be looking out for those cheap starting players, who can come in to the starting XI if need be.

Second draft

Goalkeepers – Schuhen (5m – SVD) and Müller (5m – HDH)

I’ll be starting the season off pairing up the cheapest starting goalkeepers available. Both goalkeepers come from the Zweite Bundesliga’s promoted clubs. Their opening runs aren’t great but considering you can’t place a star on a goalkeeper it’s not worth splashing the cash in this department. With the new auto-sub system too whoever scores higher will end up in your final XI. For that reason, I’m happy to go down the ‘cheap and cheerful’ route.

I also have an eye on Müller (5m – SCF) for Freiburg. However, Atubolu (7m – SCF) may get the nod despite playing less pre-season minutes. Freiburg’s DFB Pokal game on 13th August should tell us for sure who their number one will be. If it’s Müller, he’ll replace Darmstadt’s Schuhen. Likewise Blaswich (5m – RBL) at Leipzig could also be a great pick if Gulácsi (10m – RBL) doesn’t make the start of the season due to his long-term injury.

Defenders – Süle (10m – BVB), Davies (15m – FCB), Sosa (13m – VFB), Buta (8m – SGE) and Chiarodia (3m – BMG)

A Dortmund defender is a lock for me for me to start with and Süle sits there as a placeholder for now, but with explosive hauls in his arsenal could well end up being my Dortmund defender of choice. Canadian flying full-back Davies is essential and is well worth his 15m price-tag. He comes in as my second defensive pick with a great run of opening ties against Bremen (A), Augsburg (H) and Mönchengladbach (A).

Stuttgart’s Croatian left-back Sosa starts for me in MD1 against Bochum (H) with his ever present set-piece threat and can then be moved out on MD2 to another premium defender, as Die Schwaben have some tough fixtures thereafter. My budget defender in my 4-4-2 is Frankfurt’s Portuguese right-back Buta. He finished last season strongly and has a good opening run of fixtures this coming season. Sitting on the bench is Mönchengladbach’s new signing from Bremen, Italian teenage centre-back Chiarodia. It looks from pre-season like he’s going to be in The Foal’s starting XI and with another pre-season friendly and a DFB Pokal game to come we have a few more chances to be sure of this.

Midfielders – Brandt (15m – BVB), Musiala (15m – FCB), Grifo (15m – SCF), Lindström (SGE – 13m) and Mbom (2m – SVW)

Brandt and Musiala are the first names on the team sheet. Musiala’s appeal is greatly heightened having been reclassified as a midfielder and with Bellingham gone and Reus no longer a guaranteed starter, expect Brandt to be the main man in Dortmund’s midfield. My third midfield pick is Freiburg’s Italian sensation in Grifo who faces Hoffenheim (A), Bremen (H) and Stuttgart (A) in his first three games and will be looking to beat his career best 15 goals from last season this coming campaign.

Rounding off the midfield four in a 4-4-2 formation is another pick from Die Adler in Dane Lindström. I want expensive price points in midfield to move between premium assets who are known for hauling, and also with a great first game against Darmstadt (H) Lindström provides that launchpad to jump off of and on to another top asset in the matchdays ahead. My midfield bench player as it stands is Bremen’s Mbom who has picked up a goal in preseason – but again he’s a placeholder only and we’ll see what Bremen look like in their DFB Pokal game on 12th August.

Forwards – Kolo Muani (15m – SGE), Malen (14m – BVB) and Vilhelmsson (2m – SVD)

A question mark remains over whether Frankfurt’s leading man will still be there by the end of the transfer window. He has been heavily linked with PSG. However, with fixtures of Darmstadt (H), Mainz (A), Köln (H) and Bochum (A) to start with, the French international striker is an easy lock for me. Likewise for Dortmund’s Dutch forward Malen an opening run of Köln (H), Bochum (A) and Heidenheim (H) cements his place up front for me.

Filling in the forward bench spot for now is the cheapest forward who could end up starting in Darmstadt’s Vilhelmsson. He has played the most pre-season minutes so far of all their forwards, and we should know through Darmstadt’s DFB Pokal game on 14th August whether he’ll be starting or not in their first game away to Frankfurt. The big caveat to this is Harry Kane – if he joins Bayern Munich then it’s time to rip up the whole squad and start again!

MD1 Squad Overview

Goalkeeper – Müller (5m – HDH)
Defence – Süle (10m – BVB), Davies (15m – FCB), Sosa (13m – VFB) and Buta (8m – SGE)
Midfielders – Brandt (15m – BVB), Musiala (15m – FCB), Grifo (15m – SCF) and Lindström (SGE – 13m)
Forwards – Kolo Muani (15m – SGE) and Malen (14m – BVB)
Bench – Schuhen (5m – SVD), Chiarodia (3m – BMG), Mbom (2m – SVW) and Vilhelmsson (2m – SVD)
Star Players: DEF – Davies, MID – Brandt and FOR – Malen 0.0m
0.0m in the bank.