Fantasy Bundesliga: Must-haves and differentials for Matchday 9
Ahead of Matchday 9, we have highlighted a must-have player (M) and a differential pick (D) from each game that you should consider for your Fantasy Bundesliga team.
VfL Wolfsburg v. SV Werder Bremen:
M: Maxence Lacroix, Defender (WOB, 4.6M, 11%) - A defensive mastermind, Lacroix has made an enormous leap from the French Ligue 2 to the Bundesliga and has cemented himself along the defensive line for Wolfsburg. Averaging almost seven Fantasy points a game, you could do worse for only costing 4.6M.
D: Milot Rashica, Forward (SVW, 12.8M, 2%) - With his minutes ever increasing since coming back from a knee injury, Rashica is starting to show glimpses of the player that was drawing interest from all over Europe before the start of the new Bundesliga campaign. He has yet to notch a goal or an assist this year so it will only be a matter of time before he is on the scoresheet.
RB Leipzig v. DSC Arminia Bielefeld:
M: Marcel Sabitzer, Midfielder (RBL, 13.8M, 10%) - After missing the first five games of the season due to injury, Sabitzer has worked his way back and has played the full 90 in Leipzig’s last three matches including Champions League. Although Leipzig took the 1-0 loss to PSG midweek, Sabitzer had a fine game and should continue to impress this weekend against a lesser opponent.
D: Ibrahima Konaté, Defender (RBL, 11M, 2%) - Leipzig’s defense has done a superb job in their last five matches in all competitions, only giving up four goals in that time. Clean sheets have been somewhat hard to come by, however. Only four all season and three of them coming in the first five games. This weekend against Bielefeld will be a great opportunity to add to that mark.
Borussia Dortmund v. 1. FC Köln:
M: Raphaël Guerreiro, Defender (BVB, 15.3M, 13%) - The same can not be said for his Champions League play, but in Bundesliga play, there have been few better than Guerreiro this year. He has worked his way into the Top 10 Fantasy players for the season and should only get better as Dortmund fight for the title.
D: Ondrej Duda, Midfielder (KOE, 7.3M, 1%) - Duda has started in every match this season and should continue to be an important cog in Bruno Labbadia’s midfield. He has a long way to go to matching his impressive 2018 season stats but should continue to push for goals and assists.
VfB Stuttgart v. FC Bayern München:
M: Leon Goretzka, Midfielder (FCB, 14.7M, 15%) - Bayern have been a tough one to read lately, with multiple players resting or injured. Goretzka has been one of the main stalwarts, starting all but two games he has been available for, and it would be hard to see him miss the start two games in a row.
D: Silas Wamangituka, Forward (VFB, 8M, 2%) - After a five game stretch without a goal, Wamangituka found the back of the net against Hoffenheim after leading his team in shots with five for the match. With Nicolas Gonzalez picking up a knock in the last match, Wamangituka will hope to lead Stuttgart to an upset.
1. FC Union Berlin v. Eintracht Frankfurt:
M: André Silva, Forward (SGE, 15.8M, 4%) - Hop back on the wagon. Silva has never gone more than two games in a row without a goal or an assist this year. Union will be a tough matchup but with Kostic back as well, it’s hard seeing them completely stopping the Frankfurt attack.
D: Sheraldo Becker, Forward (FCU, 3.4M, 2%) - For a miniscule price, Becker will give you a great chance to get in on the action that Union are assuredly going to produce. He has recorded a goal and two assists on 15 shots and 20 crosses and has started every game but one this year.
FC Augsburg v. Sport-Club Freiburg:
M: Daniel Caligiuri, Midfielder (FCA, 10.3M, 5%) - Caligiuri has been Augsburg’s most productive player by a wide margin this year, making the move from Schalke a masterstroke by the Augsburg board. He has three goals and an assist so far and has sent in a staggering 28 crosses as well.
D: Lucas Höler, Forward (SCF, 8.8M, 1%) - With one goal and two assists on the season, Höler has already matched his assist tally last season and is having his best attacking statistical output of his career so far with Freiburg. Starting eight out of eight matches as well, Höler will hope to continue improving his game with every match.
Borussia M’gladbach v. FC Schalke 04:
M: Stefan Lainer, Defender (BMG, 10.4M, 5%) - Lainer is a very attacking minded defender who has sent in an outstanding 26 crosses so far this season, and none of those being taken from a corner kick. That shows the type of attacking returns Lainer has the possibility of obatining if some of his forward counterparts could finish more often.
D: Benito Raman, Forward (S04, 9.8M, 0%) - Raman saw the most minutes he’s seen since October last weekend against Wolfsburg and showed what Schalke have been missing during this tumultuous winless run. He was very active in only 51 minutes with three shots and four crosses for the game.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen v. Hertha BSC:
M: Leon Bailey, Forward (B04, 12.6M, 2%) - This is the Leon Bailey that Bundesliga fans had been waiting to see. Playing some of his best football and actually playing minutes, we can see the raw skill of one of the best players in the league. In his last four starts playing all 90 minutes, Bailey has registered four goals on 14 shots as well as 26 crosses to boot.
D: Vladimír Darida, Midfielder (BSC, 10.3M, 1%) - Darida started the season off hot with two assists in the first game. Since then, he has been unable to get his name on the scoresheet. He has started every game for Hertha, however, and will continue to be an important piece of their midfield.
1. FSV Mainz 05 v. TSG Hoffenheim:
M: Andrej Kramarić, Forward (TSG, 15.3M, 8%) - Back after missing seven games, Kramarić didn't even miss a beat. He has scored in every game he has played this season and there are no signs of stopping him this year.
D: Jean-Paul Boëtius, Midfielder (M05, 9.5M, 1%) - Boëtius has been playing better as the season progresses and was finally able to grab an assist last weekend. That was his first of anything for the season and a player who had four goals and five assists last year, we should start to see the chips start to fall in Boëtius’ favor.
Looking for other Fantasy Bundesliga articles ahead of Matchday 9? Check out our predicted line-ups here and our general Fantasy Bundesliga tips here.