Fantasy Bundesliga tips: Defenders to consider for the start of the 2023/24 season
Here are the defenders you should consider when picking your Fantasy Bundesliga team for the start of the 2023/24 season.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
In this article, we take a look at the defenders you should have on your radar when you put together your squad.
Budget options:
Makoto Hasebe (Frankfurt, 3M)
39 years old and still going strong! The Japanese veteran started in central defense ahead of Tuta in Eintracht's 7-0 DFB-Pokal win over Lokomotive Leipzig and should have a good chance of keeping his starting spot against Darmstadt. He's unlikely to work miracles for you, but he's very cheap and should have a fair chance of keeping a clean sheet against a Darmstadt side, who have had a really poor pre-season.
Pascal Stenzel (Stuttgart, 4M)
One of the winners of Stuttgart's pre-season, Stenzel should start for Stuttgart until Josha Vagnoman returns from injury in a month's time. Much like Hasebe, he's unlikely to produce miracles in terms of offensive output, but he's expected to play an important role as a stabilizer for a Stuttgart team, who start the season with a favorable home match against Bochum.
Robin Knoche (Union Berlin, 7M)
Knoche scored seven goals and provided four assists in 46 appearances for Union in all competitions last season - not bad for a centre-back at all. He is nailed down to start for a defensively solid Union side and is their preferred penalty taker, as we saw recently when he scored from the spot in the cup. Considering all this, 7 million seems like a low price.
Mid-range options:
Joakim Mæhle (Wolfsburg, 8M)
After joining Wolfsburg from Atalanta, Mæhle was thrown straight in as Wolfsburg beat Makkabi Berlin 6-0 in the cup. Known as a marauding fullback with an eye for goal, the Danish international has a great run of fixtures on the horizon with games against Heidenheim, FC Köln and Hoffenheim coming up.
Josip Juranovic (Union Berlin, 10M)
The Croatian international edged out captain Christopher Trimmel for the right wing-back spot last season and remains ahead of the veteran in the pecking order. With four goals and three assists in 19 appearances for Union so far, Juranovic has certainly already demonstrated his attacking prowess. Another big plus is that he's their set-piece taker, but given Union's participation in the Champions League, Urs Fischer's rotation policy and the fact that Trimmel has remained captain, he can't be expected to start every game.
David Raum (RB Leipzig, 11M)
After a hugely impressive 2021/22 campaign with Hoffenheim, much was expected of Raum when he joined RB Leipzig last summer. He didn't live up to those expectations in his first season at the Red Bull Arena, but after a very impressive pre-season, he could finally reach his full potential at the club.
Premium options:
Ramy Bensebaini (Dortmund, 13M)
Bensebaini emerged as a Fantasy Bundesliga favorite during his time at Gladbach due to his ability to win duels and score goals, many of which came from the penalty spot. While it's hard to predict whether he'll be able to make a similar mark on Dortmund's attacking game, he remains a good option.
Jeremie Frimpong (Leverkusen, 14M)
Frimpong is coming off a highly impressive campaign in which he scored eight goals and laid on seven assists as a defender, and plays for a Bayer Leverkusen side that is expected to do very well this season.
Alphonso Davies (Bayern, 15M)
Wasn't as productive last season as he has been in the past, but still managed to pick up 229 points. Playing on Bayern's left side, Davies has all the tools to be an outstanding Fantasy asset, and Harry Kane's arrival at the Allianz Arena has only increased his chances of doing well.
For the third season in a row, we have teamed up with Over The Bar to run a joint Fantasy Bundesliga league. As part of the partnership, we will regularly appear on Over The Bar's Bundesliga shows to hand out tips. Want to compete against us? Feel free to join the 'Bulinews and Over The Bar' league here.
