Fantasy Bundesliga tips: Budget players for the 2024/25 season

DEFENDERS:

Bruno Ogbus* (2M) – SC Freiburg
The 18-year-old was afforded a shock debut in Freiburg’s DfB Pokal clash with Osnabruck last Saturday afternoon where he supplied a brilliant assist for Lucas Holer’s goal. It came as a surprise to many, but the debutant might try to force his way into new head coach Julian Schuster’s plans going forward. The Breisgauers are no strangers to giving youth a chance, and although Lukas Kubler is tipped to start the opener against Stuttgart, Ogbus might have other plans as the season progresses. 

Max Rosenfelder (4M) – SC Freiburg
From one Freiburg defender to the next, as Max Rosenfelder features as a starter in a lot of predicted lineups for this weekend’s action. The 21-year-old has progressed through the Breisgauers’ youth academy and looks set to partner Philipp Lienhart in defence. Clean sheets and attacking opportunities might be hard to come by for the youngster as Freiburg face Stuttgart and Bayern in their first two fixtures, but there should be duel winning points aplenty on top of his passing bonuses. 

Fin Stevens (4M) – St.Pauli
Stevens signed for St.Pauli this summer for a €600k fee from parent club Brentford. The 24-year-old spent the 23/24 campaign on loan at Oxford United where he scored once and made 5 assists for the League One club. Although the young Welshman faces some stiff competition for the right wing-back spot with Manolis Saliakas (8M), he is being tipped to start against Heidenheim by numerous reliable sources.

Nathaniel Brown* (5M) – Eintracht Frankfurt
Born to an American father and German mother, Brown arrived at Eintracht Frankfurt in last winter but returned on loan to Nurnberg for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign. Having provided 6 assist in 29 appearances for the 2.Bundesliga last season, the 21-year-old returns with added experience and a drive to break into the first team. Niels Nkounkou is tipped to start this weekend for Die Adler but keep a watchful eye on Brown if the Frenchman falls out of favour.

Omar Traore (6M) – FC Heidenheim
The joint-cheapest route into the Heidenheim defence, Traore presents value on both sides of the ball with his ability to get forward and tenacious tackling. He tagged on 5 assists in 31 outings for Roger Schmidt’s side who finished in 8th-place last season and looks set to be a mainstay in the Heidenheim rearguard once more. Can he better his 3778 points tally in 2024-25?

Tim Drexler (6M) – TSG Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim have been a fans’ favourite in the Fantasy Bundesliga game for a multitude of reasons over the years, and one such reason is their defensive assets. Tim Drexler broke onto the scene in March for Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side last season and has been present since. Although the 19-year-old is a centre-back by trade, the overhauled scoring system should benefit the German talent who contest duels and seek to pass out from the back each game. 

MIDFIELDERS:

Luca Kerber (4M) – FC Heidenheim
Kerber joined Heidenheim from Saarbrucken this summer when his contract expired at the 3.Liga team where he bagged 7 goals and 4 assists in 34 appearances last season. He made a 16-minute cameo for Roger Schmidt’s side in the Pokal last weekend, and many reliable sources have the 22-year-old starting against St.Pauli in midfield alongside Lennard Maloney and Paul Wanner.

Lewis Holtby (6M) – Holstein Kiel
The fulcrum of Kiel, Lewis Holtby will anchor the Bundesliga newbies from the heart of their midfield as they visit Hoffenheim to kick-start their campaign. The 33-year-old provided 5 goals and 10 assists in 31 outings to finish second in the 2.Bundesliga last year. Holtby’s impressive underlying data which placed him as one of the top passers, dribblers, shot taking, and shot creation players last season is an added bonus. Set-piece responsibilities also favour his inclusion in your teams. 

Tymoteusz Puchacz (6M) – Holstein Kiel
The Polish wing-back played for Kaiserslautern last year and has shifted to Kiel since. In the most recent 2.Bundesliga campaign, Puchacz was top for duel success of any promoted player with impressive dribbling and shot creation data too. The only downside is that the 25-year-old is classified as a midfielder rather than a defender in the fantasy game. 

Lukas Daschner (6M) – VfL Bochum
A Kevin Stoger sized void needs filling in the Bochum lineup, and it appears that Lukas Daschner has been tasked with that attacking midfield role for the 2024-25 season. The 25-year-old was largely reduced to substitute minutes last year, but the time has arrived for the former St.Pauli player to take centre stage if Bochum are to allay relegation fears after a close shave in 2023-24. 

Jakub Kaminski (6M) – VfL Wolfsburg
The 22-year-old appears to be first choice in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans for the left wing in Wolfsburg’s 3-5-2 formation. Die Wolfe endured a difficult Monday evening as they scraped by TuS Koblenz in the Pokal, but Kaminski provided the assist for Wimmer’s all-important goal in the 1-0 win. It is worth mentioning that Wolfsburg open their Bundesliga campaign with a nightmare home fixture against Bayern Munich, but the young Polish winger might be an option further down the line. 

Paul Nebel* (6M) – Mainz 05
With Brajan Gruda moving to pastures new for a whopping €30million fee coughed up by Brighton, a door may have opened in the Carnival City for Paul Nebel. The versatile midfielder spent last season on loan with 2.Bundesliga outfit Karlsruhe where he amassed 5 goals and 9 assists in 33 matches. There is a slight chance the German slips in on the left flank, but sources suggest Phillipp Mwene will start the season opener against Union Berlin. Nebel managed an assist in the Pokal last weekend, but rather he is one to watch as Mainz’s season unfolds. 

FORWARDS:

Maximilian Breunig (1M) – FC Heidenheim
Behold the cheapest asset predicted to start on Matchday 1 of the Bundesliga. Did I mention he scored a hattrick against Villingen in the DfB Pokal last Saturday too!? The 24-year-old notched 11 goals and a solitary assist in the 3.Liga last season for Freiburg’s U23 team before penning paper with Heidenheim. Let’s get things straight – if you choose to play any formation other than the 3-4-3 or 4-3-3, Breunig should probably be in your squad as a substitute. Low price, low points expectancy, but in good form! 

Max Moerstedt* (4M) – TSG Hoffenheim
Max for Max – Maximilian Beier’s departure for Borussia Dortmund paves the path for the next TSG sensation in Max Moerstedt. The young star is a proven goal scorer at underage level with a return of 19 goals and 4 assists in 21 outings for Hoffenheim’s U19 side in 2023-24. He managed 58 minutes in the Pokal last weekend, but it must be noted that the recent record signing of Adam Hlozek has pushed the 19-year-old out of multiple predicted lineup sources. Perhaps he’ll get his chance later in the season.

Leo Scienza (6M) – FC Heidenheim
Heidenheim are the gift that keeps on giving as Leo Scienza arrived from SSV Ulm in July of this summer. The Brazilian was simply untouchable in the 3.Liga where he racked up 12 goals and a further 15 assists in 34 games, and has already contributed an assist for Heidenheim on his competitive debut. He will undoubtedly start the opening game, however slight caveat is that the 25-year-old is registered as a forward in the Fantasy game whereas he usually plays in a left midfield role. 

Junior Adamu (6M) – SC Freiburg
Not wanting to be outdone, Freiburg have a third candidate worth considering as a bargain buy. Freiburg paid €8million for his services in 2023 which proved to be a quiet season in the end for the Austrian but talk around Breisgau is that the 23-year-old is reborn and primed to start the Bundesliga opener against Stuttgart up top. A brace against Osnabruck last Saturday in the German cup and a 90-minute performance will boost his confidence tenfold.
 

*indicates players who are not expected to start for their respective teams according to reliable sources at the time of writing.