Bundesliga Fantasy Matchday 8 Expert Picks and Team

With a new round ahead, we take a look at Bundesliga Fantasy Matchday 8 expert picks and team thoughts. @FPLGunnersaurus (Jay) joins us to give his top picks for the Matchday ahead whilst also sharing his squad going into the new round with his general thoughts.

Twitter is full of the most experienced fantasy football players around. Those managers can be some of the best people to look to when trying to gain clarity when making decisions within our teams. Checking out the Bundesliga Fantasy Matchday 8 expert picks and team reveal can help hugely for the round ahead.

Top Picks – Defenders – Alejandro Grimaldo (11.6m / 45% TSB / B04)

Leverkusen face one of the trickiest ties of their season so far coming up against Wolfsburg in MD8. The Wolves have a 100% record at home this season. This makes this game a tough one to navigate for those on multiple Leverkusen assets.

I still think it’s worthwhile owning one Leverkusen defender, purely for potential attacking returns. Grimaldo is that guy. He’s the most in-form fantasy defender and averages a whopping 18.7pts per away game, the best away average by any player. Frimpong by comparison doesn’t even make the top 10 players for average points per away game which is why it’s the Spaniard who gets the nod.

Alphonso Davies (16m / 44% TSB / FCB)

Unlike the midfield top defenders with top games are hard to come by in MD8. In doubt, go for the tried and tested route. With Raphaël Guerreiro picking up a fresh injury there is no competition for Davies at left-back. He should also be safe from any Tuchel tinkering. Away from home Phonzie has picked up an average of 15 points per away game, the second best defender away from home behind Grimaldo.

With Grimaldo having that tricky away tie however it’s the roadrunner that many managers may flock towards to stick the star on at the back. Bayern travel to second bottom and winless Mainz in the Saturday evening kick-off.

Julian Ryerson (9.6m / 7% TSB / BVB)

Ryerson is on a roll at the moment. He is experiencing a purple patch in front of goal, with two goals in two consecutive games. That included a sensational solo goal versus Hoffenheim you simply have to stop and go watch.

In those last two games Juli has been as attacking as we’ve ever seen him in a black and yellow shirt with 4 points per game for goal attempts too. The Norwegian international is at that great price where he could easily be your bench warmer too. Against Bremen at home he could return well once more.

Midfielders – Vincenzo Grifo (15.9m / 7% TSB / SCF)

Managers are spoilt for choice when it comes to MD8 midfield options with plenty of assets from the middle of the park with great fixtures this coming weekend. One of those is Freiburg’s stand-in captain Grifo. The Italian hasn’t been at his best this season. However in his last home game against Augsburg he showed a glimpse of how good he could be. He picked up both a goal and an assist in a 15 points fantasy return.

Freiburg host Bochum on Saturday afternoon who themselves have been the recipients of a few away thrashings this season. Grifo, averaging 15.3 points per home game, could make for a great differential on MD8 considering his still low ownership.

Jan-Niklas Beste (7.3m ON SALE / 23% TSB / HDH)

By far, and pardon the pun, Beste is the best on-sale option this matchday. I would expect his ownership to soar before Heidenheim kick off the last match of MD8 at home to Augsburg. Beste is at his best on home turf at the Voith-Arena with all bar one of his six attacking returns coming there.

In his three home games so far Beste has picked up 50 points. He also has three goals and two assists to his name. Opposition Augsburg have lost all three of their away ties to date and whilst Heidenheim are the new boys it’s they who are odds on favourites to win. Beste is simply a must have for MD8.

Marco Reus (13.7m / 5% TSB / BVB)

With a break over the international period Reus is rested and will be raring to go again in the Friday night fixture against Werder Bremen. With a number of the squad returning back late from international duty Reus should be one of the first names on Terzić’s team sheet.

After an assist in Dortmund’s 4-2 win over Union Berlin Reus has now recorded four attacking returns in his last four games. This should be a tie where managers can target Dortmund’s attacking assets and I’m considering a potential Dortmund midfield double-up, also featuring their best player this season in Brandt (16.6m – 31% TSB).

Forwards – Loïs Openda (14.8m / 10% TSB / RBL)

It’s fair to say that, like other Leipzig assets, Openda was a huge disappointment for managers who picked him ahead of a 0-0 MD7 draw at home to Bochum. Leipzig travel to Darmstadt on MD8 who are conceding on average three goals per home game and sit fourth worst for expected goals against at home with a 1.69xGA.

Leipzig haven’t been prolific on their travels this season. However if there’s any game for them to demonstrate how good the attacking talent they have at their disposal is, and for the Belgian to finally justify his club record price tag, it’s this one.

Niclas Füllkrug (14.5m / 3% TSB / BVB)

I’m hesitant to recommend German national side players this matchday considering an odd excursion stateside over the international break, and even more hesitant recommending those who also play for Dortmund considering they are bizarrely in action in the Friday night fixture.

That said with two goals in his last two Bundesliga games Füllkrug is returning to the kind of form that caused him to be called up to the national side to begin with. Die Schwarzgelben host a Werder Bremen side who have lost all three away ties so far. They have also leaked four goals in each of their last two away defeats.

Alassane Pléa (11.3m / 2% TSB / BMG)

With Kane and Guirassy likely locked in most squads the third forward spot is wide open given Boniface’s and Leverkusen’s tricky away trip to Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon. Borussia Mönchengladbach have scored 10 goals in their last three away games and sit only behind Bayern for best xG away from home.

In his last away game Pléa hauled with 27 points, which included two goals and an assist. The Foals travel to rock bottom Köln on Sunday who have only picked up a single point this campaign courtesy of an away draw. Will Pléa have played his way into your MD8 squads as a one-week punt?

Team reveal for Matchday 8 (subject to change)

Notes

Transfers OUT – Stenzel, Frimpong, Carvalho, Brandt and Wirtz.
Transfers IN – Ryerson, Raum, Beste, Reus and Grifo.
Formation: 3-4-3.
Goalkeeper – Blaswich (5.4m – RBL).
Defenders – Raum (12.2m – RBL), Grimaldo (11.6m – B04) and Davies (16m – FCB).
Midfielders – Reus (13.7m – BVB), Grifo (15.9m – SCF), Hofmann (17.1m – B04) amd Simons (15.4m – RBL).
Forwards – Kane (16.9m – FCB), Guirassy (14.5m – VFB) and Boniface (14.1m – B04).
BENCH – Nicolas (1.2m – BMG), Ryerson (9.3m – BVB), Traoré (1m – HDH) and Beste (7.3m ON SALE – HDH).
1.9m in the bank.