Following on from our article on the FanTeam German Monster GW30, this weekend it’s time for gameweek 30 in the German Bundesliga. Our FISO team below will be entered into this week’s €20 entry (€50k prize pool) German 50k Monster, which has a maximum entry limit of 3,000 participants. The first 555 will partake in the prize pool and for this particular weekend, the winner will take home a cool €7,500 this weekend. Before moving onto our team selection, we want to highlight a couple of FanTeam rules that they apply to their Weekly Monster competition and which apply to this weekend’s German 50k Monster as well. If you’re not sure how to play FanTeam Fantasy Bundesliga then check out our step by step video guide.
Number one is that FanTeam have a rule called the ‘safety net’. The safety net comes into play when a selected player does not start in the Weekly Monster, because the game will then automatically replace this player with the next lowest-priced player from the same position (GK, DEF, MID, FOR) in the same team. This is regardless of whether or not your selected player does take to the field later in the game. This rule helps people who have entered a team into the German 50K Monster not to worry too much about whether their selected players will start or not, particularly if they know there are cheaper players for that same club in that same position who should start instead.
Number two is that FanTeam also have a ‘stacking penalty’ for the German 50K Monster, which penalises teams that have selected more than one defenders/goalkeeper from the same club. The stacking penalty comes into play when you pick more than one defensive player (defenders or goalkeepers) from a particular club and this club records a clean sheet. The points awarded for this clean sheet will decrease by 1 point for each additional defensive player from the same club that you have selected. The stacking penalty has a maximum of minus 3 points. This rule helps stop multi-entrants from gaining an advantage by submitting block defence teams. A reasonable tactic can be to select two players from two different clubs for your Goalie and Defenders, which would see you incur just 2 single-point deductions if you nail both clean sheets correctly.
Finally, a new format is being applied to the upcoming German Monster, called Pursuit. In this game mode, you get more bonus points the cheaper your players are (you gain 1 point for every 2.5 million euros underspent). Your captain will get double points, but he will also cost twice as much. Your vice-captain will get 150% more points, but he will also cost 150% more. You can read about the Pursuit mode in more detail on the FanTeam website.
Don’t forget, the deadline for the upcoming German 50K Monster is set at 2.30PM (UK time) on Saturday, June 13th 2020. You can enter a team earlier and make changes right up to the deadline. This means you have an hour to check the starting line-ups for the 2.30PM (UK time) games, so you can change your selections accordingly up until the 2:30PM deadline, but not after.
German 50K Monster matches in gameweek 31
How did our German 50K Monster team fare in GW30?
Formation: 3-5-2 | Budget used: 157.0m | Finish: 1627 / 2600 | Prize pool: ///
| RETURNS | |
| Baumann (Hoffenheim) away vs Düsseldorf | 2 saves |
| Posch (Hoffenheim) away vs Düsseldorf | 1 assist |
| Skov (Hoffenheim) away vs Düsseldorf | 1 assist |
| Brandt (Dortmund) home vs Hertha | Clean sheet, 1 assist, impact+1 |
| Hazard (Dortmund) home vs Hertha | Clean sheet |
| Sancho (Dortmund) home vs Hertha | Clean sheet, impact+1 |
| Olmo (Leipzig) home vs Paderborn | Clean sheet, impact+1 |
| Werner (Leipzig) home vs Paderborn | 1 assist |
Our team suggestion for the German 50K Monster in gameweek 31
Formation: 3-5-2 | Budget used: 138.1m
General approach
With Pursuit mode active for another round of FanTeam German 50K Monster fun, budget restrictions are lifted. This allows us to load up on some of this weekend’s potential big hitters, as well as on some interesting assets with favourable fixtures. We have gone with three Dortmund players (away against Düsseldorf), three Bayern stars (home versus Gladbach), three Leverkusen assets (away against Schalke), and two picks from Wolfsburg (at home versus Freiburg).
Goalkeeper
The first of our two Wolfsburg assets is goalkeeper Koen Casteels, who has just come off a decent 8-point haul away against Werder Bremen last weekend, courtesy of a clean sheet and 2 recorded saves. Only Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig have conceded less goals than Die Wolfe this season (36 from 30 games), and up next is Freiburg. Die Breisgau-Brasilianer are having a good season and just booked their first post-coronabreak victory last weekend (1-0 vs Gladbach), but they haven’t been very prolific in front of goal (39 goals in 30 games). In fact, just five teams in the league have scored less them.
Defenders
It’s also mainly based on the above mentioned match-up that we decided to add a Wolfsburg defender to our team for gameweek 31. Wing-back Kevin Mbabu has been good to us in the past, so we don’t see why he could not be a profitable pick once again this weekend. The Swiss-Congolese defender is a nailed-on part of Wolfsburg’s four-man defence and he gets plenty of action in the attacking third as well. In 16 Bundesliga games this season, he has already scored twice and provided 2 assists as well. In FanTeam terms, he has been good for 15 points over the past three games, thanks to a clean sheet, a goal, and 2 impact points. Like with Casteels, we’re hoping for a clean sheet here and far as Mbabu goes, maybe a sneaky attacking return as well.
The second member of our three-man defensive setup this weekend is Leverkusen right-back Mitchell Weiser. A lot of focus has been on Leverkusen’s attacking exploits this season, and rightly so, but their defensive displays have been more than decent as well. Overall, only five teams have conceded less than Die Werkself and this weekend it’s time for an away game against Schalke 04, not only one of the most goal-shy outfits in the league (35 goals scored in 30 games) but also a team in full-blown crisis. Die Königsblauen have not won a game since the Bundesliga returned to action and the stats are discouraging: 5 games played, 2 goals scored, 12 goals conceded and 1 point won. Our big Leverkusen guns can be found on the midfield, but Weiser represents our bet on a clean sheet against Schalke.
Our third defensive pick is Bayern Munich revelation Alphonso Davies, who at the tender age of 19 managed to conquer a starting spot in the team of coach Hansi Flick. In 26 Bundesliga games this season, the youngster recorded 11 clean sheets, 3 goals and 4 assists, which has made him the highest-scoring defender on FanTeam (135 points), just 11 points behind teammate and number one Benjamin Pavard. This weekend, Bayern can crown themselves champions with a victory against Gladbach at home (and a Dortmund loss at Düsseldorf) and honestly, we find it hard to imagine a scenario in which they won’t do their duty, especially considering their current form. Since the return from the break, Der Rekordmeister have won all of their 5 games, scoring 17 goals and conceding just 4.
Midfielders
That’s also why we opted for a triple Bayern threat this weekend, so Joshua Kimmich joins Davies in our team. With Müller and Lewandowski suspended for the upcoming game against Gladbach, we shifted our focus partly to Bayern’s midfield. Like the rest of his team, the central midfielder has come out of the coronabreak all engines blazing, which explains how he managed to record a fantastic 36 FanTeam points since then. Over those five games, the 25-year old German managed to return 3 clean sheets, a goal, 3 assists and 5 impact points. As a matter of fact, just last weekend, Kimmich helped Bayern to a 2-4 away victory over Leverkusen with an assist. A big fantasy plus for him is that he is on many set-pieces for Die Roten, which puts him at the heart of a lot of Bayern’s attacking moves and we’re hoping that will be the case on Saturday.
In the middle, the Bayern star is joined by Leverkusen couple Kai Havertz and Kerem Demirbay. Where the former had to miss last weekend’s game against Bayern and the mid-week cup semi-final against Saarbrücken due to injury, the latter played 45 minutes against Bayern and then put in a man-of-the-match performance mid-week with two magnificent assists. For the away game against a Schalke in crisis, Dutch coach Peter Bosz will be happy to be able to count on the both of them as Die Werkselfe are in the middle of an intense battle for a Champions League spot with Gladbach and Leipzig. In that sense, the game in Gelsenkirchen looks like a great opportunity as Gladbach are visiting Bayern and Leipzig are visiting Hoffenheim on Friday.
Before his minor injury, Havertz was probably the most in-form man in the Bundesliga, which is saying a lot when considering the likes of Dortmund’s Sancho, Bayern’s Lewandowski, and Leipzig’s Werner, just to name a few. In the four games he played since the return of the German football, the 21-year old scored an unbelievable 5 goals, often playing as a striker, while also recording 1 clean sheet and 3 impact points.
As far as Demirbay goes, there are no worries about his spot in the starting eleven either. The German-Turkish midfielder is Leverkusen’s number 10 and a main soldier on their midfield. He already has 21 Bundesliga games to his name this season in which scored once and provided 5 assists. As we wrote earlier, he took the spotlights in the semi-final of the DFB Pokal on Tuesday with 2 assists, so we’re hoping he can carry that playmaking form into Sunday’s game.
The remaining two spots on our five-man midfield are taken up by Dortmund duo Thorgan Hazard and Jadon Sancho. Die Schwarzgelben have one of the most favourable fixtures this weekend with an away game against Düsseldorf and we’re expecting some goals, especially from the visitors. After Bayern, Dortmund are the most prolific team in Germany (81 goals in 30 games), while opponents Düsseldorf sit on an average of exactly 2 goals conceded per game this season. This seemingly uneven match-up is the main reason why decided to go big on Dortmund’s attacking assets, but not the only one. That’s because avoiding a loss at the Esprit Arena is also the only way for Dortmund to prevent arch-rivals Bayern from crowning themselves champions coming weekend if they manage to beat Gladbach at home.
Hazard mostly filled in for the injured Erling Haaland up front in the past two games and he did so with success. The Belgian scored a goal, gave an assist, recorded a clean sheet and got 2 impact points for a total of 16 FanTeam points from those two games. Haaland is expected to return to the starting lineup this weekend, but we don’t feel that this diminishes Hazard’s potential at all. His team mate Sancho forms another key cog of the black and yellow goalscoring machine. The talented Englishman has played 28 Bundesliga games so far in which he returned an unbelievable 17 goals and 17 assists. Two of those goals and three of those assists have come since the end of the coronabreak. We’re hoping for another pair of key roles for Sancho and Hazard against Düsseldorf coming Saturday.
Forwards
They are not the only two Dortmund assets we will be crossing our fingers for this weekend, though, because we have also selected the fit-again Erling Haaland. The Norwegian goal machine missed the last two games due to a minor injury, but Dortmund coach Lucien Favre confirmed this week that his star man has been completing full team training without a problem. Considering the devastating impact he has had on Dortmund and the Bundesliga since his arrival from Salzburg during the last January window, there is no doubt that he will start against Düsseldorf on Saturday. In just 11 Bundesliga games so far, the 19-year old scored 10 goals and 3 assists, and to give you an even better idea of the incredible form he is in this season: In the Champions League this season, he has 10 goals and 1 assist to his name after 8 games. In other words, this pick was a no-brainer for us.
In attack, Haaland is joined by Bayern forward Serge Gnabry. In the absence of both Bundesliga topscorer Robert Lewandowski and assist leader Thomas Müller, who are both suspended for this weekend’s home game against Gladbach, many of the eyes will be on Gnabry to deliver. The 24-year old missed the midweek cup game against Frankfurt due to a slight back injury, but he is expected to return for the potential championship decider on Sunday. Should he unexpectedly not be ready to start, FanTeam’s safety net will switch him for either Dutch forward talent Joshua Zirkzee or German striker Jan-Fiete Arp, depending who would start in that case. Our money would be on the Dutchman in that scenario, but like we wrote before, we’re counting on Gnabry to approach the Gladbach game as a great opportunity to work on his current tallies (28 games, 12 games, 11 assists).
As we said this team has been entered into the 20 euro FanTeam Midweek German Monster and we hope to report back next week that we’ve shared part of the 50,000 euros prize pool. You can also follow discussions about FanTeam games on FISO’s FanTeam Forum where we have a FreeRoll for those that want to learn a bit more about the game.