RADIO
Hey, RotoBallers! With soccer returning in Europe, I am making my return to giving you my DFS soccer picks. For those that don't know me, my name is Vince Dray. I've been covering DFS soccer for a few years now, and I'm becoming a DFS journeyman of sorts with RotoBaller being my fifth site. I'm extremely excited to be here with you sharing my soccer DFS knowledge.
In this article, I will be providing you with my Bundesliga daily fantasy soccer lineup picks for FanDuel on 5/23/20 for the slate that locks at 9:30 am ET. Be sure to also check out our other DFS lineup picks for other active sports.
The main FanDuel DFS slate this week is five games, and below I'll give a quick preview of each of them (so you know what to expect) and then move onto some names to consider for your lineups. You can always find me on Twitter @vdray5 if you have any questions. Good luck RotoBallers!
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Bundesliga DFS Lineup Picks - Overview
Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt
The slate’s largest favorite is Bayern Munich at -2.5. They will play their first home game since the Bundesliga resumed play as they host Frankfurt on Saturday. Frankfurt sits in the lower half of the table right now, but they have been the league’s worst away team this season. I fully expect Bayern to dominate all aspects of this game.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen
Another enticing game for fantasy purposes on this slate features Bayer Leverkusen traveling to take on Monchengladbach (-0.5). The latter might be a slight home favorite here, but this game is full of fantasy potential on both ends with a goal total over/under of 3.5. Both teams are top 5 in goals scored this season, and I will get to more of the specific plays later in this breakdown.
Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund
The slate’s second-largest favorite is Dortmund (-1.0) on the road against Wolfsburg a week after rolling over Schalke 4-0. While another performance like this is much less likely, Dortmund is averaging 2.77 goals per game this season in the league (2.08 on the road, even). Wolfsburg will pose more of a challenge, plus Dortmund will garner some decent ownership, which means you either go all in or you completely fade them.
Paderborn vs TSG Hoffenheim
Paderborn currently sits near the bottom of the table, and Hoffenheim (-0.5) are slight favorites on the road. This game will likely not have much scoring. It is going to be best to limit your exposure to this game to defenders or value players.
Freiburg vs Werder Bremen
Freiburg is only slight home favorites on Saturday. Werder Bremen look dismal lately including a 4-1 loss to Leverkusen on Monday. They have struggled especially on defense. Freiburg attackers are not expensive on this slate and can provide your lineup with some much-needed value if you want to jam in Bayern/Dortmund studs.
Now let's take a look at some of my top FanDuel DFS selections for the week!
FanDuel DFS Forwards / Midfielders
Robert Lewandowski (Frankfurt @ Bayern, $23) – This one should be obvious. Lewandowski has the best anytime scoring odds on the entire slate.
He has a great home matchup against Frankfurt who allows 2.1 goals on average in their away games. He has definite brace upside as Bayern has the highest implied goal total on the slate.
The biggest question here will be who to pair him with. Serge Gnabry ($20) will almost surely start and will be another top priority on the slate with 0.55xG/90 (expected goals per 90 minutes). It would be tremendous to see Kingsley Coman ($14) start, but it will likely be Thomas Muller ($18). That is a hefty price to pay for Muller on a site like FanDuel where goals are king, but with 16 assists this season he can be useful as a second Bayern attacker if you can’t find the extra $2 for Gnabry. The same line of thinking applies to Joshua Kimmich ($17).
Erling Haaland (Dortmund @ Wolfsburg, $22) – If you are going to fade Lewandowski/Bayern and hope they flop (viable strategy), it is going to be to roster Haaland. The matchup is not the greatest for him this week against a respectable Wolfsburg defense (1.0 goals allowed) on the road.
However, everyone knows by now that this kid continues to defy the odds making it difficult to bet against him. It is worth noting that he is *just maybe* starting to cool off with only three goals and two assists in his last six Bundesliga starts.
It will be interesting to see if Jadon Sancho ($20) starts after coming on as a substitute for only 11 minutes last weekend. It makes more sense to save $3 and opt for Thorgan Hazard ($17) instead against a good defensive team.
Alassane Plea (Leverkusen @ Monchengladbach, $19) – Plea had a great game last weekend with 39.4 fantasy points. He scored and added four shots on target. He will be facing a better team this weekend in Leverkusen, but this game has a good deal of fantasy potential. It will not take long for this game to open up, which is great for Plea’s upside.
Plea is in a good spot to continue his post-isolation goal run. He will also likely come with lower ownership than he should with the masses focused on Bayern and Dortmund.
Kai Havertz (Leverkusen @ Monchengladbach, $17) – It makes sense to run it right back with the striker opposite of Plea in Havertz. This game has the second-highest over/under on the slate at 3.5, so these goal scorers will be a priority on a site like FanDuel. Havertz scored twice in a great matchup against Werder Bremen on Monday.
The 20-year-old now has eight goals this season. Like I mentioned above, this game should open up quickly which will allow for plenty of fantasy action. Like Plea, Havertz could also go overlooked with everyone focusing on Bayern and Dortmund.
Moussa Diaby ($15), Karim Bellarabi ($14), and Kerem Demirbay ($11) will also all be viable here for Leverkusen.
Nils Peterson (Werder Bremen @ Freiburg, $14) – A little further down the list you can find some great plays in the mid-tier. Freiburg has a great matchup this weekend at home against a slumping Werder Bremen side.
Bremen allow 2.23 goals per game on the road, and they looked horrid defensively on Monday as they allowed four to Leverkusen. Peterson is the leading goal scorer for Freiburg this season, and you can get him for cheap this week. He will also likely not come with much ownership either after his dud last week.
Luca Waldschmidt ($13) will be my secondary Freiburg piece.
FanDuel DFS Defenders
On FanDuel, punting defenders continues to be the go-to strategy when building lineups. Every week there are a handful of expensive defenders to target, however. This week that includes Benjamin Pavard ($16) or Alphonso Davies ($14) if you are looking to add a Bayern “attacker.” Jerome Boateng ($11) is a cheap path to a probable clean sheet bonus (5 points) and some solid defensive stats. If you are fading Bayern, Robert Skov ($15) and Christian Gunter ($13) are pay-up options.
While Frankfurt defenders have not racked up a ton of defensive stats this season, they have an elite matchup this weekend against Bayern who will force them into a ton of defensive action.
Martin Hinteregger ($13) is the top peripheral guy on their backline, but he carries a high price tag here. Obite Evan N’dicka ($11) is second in line but opting for David Abraham ($8) for even cheaper is viable given the matchup.
There are a decent number of good value defenders on this slate that remain cheap on FanDuel even after successful fantasy games last weekend. The list includes Dominique Heintz ($8), Edmond Tapsoba ($6), and Milos Veljkovic ($9).
FanDuel DFS Goalkeepers
There are a handful of ways to go about choosing your goalkeeper on this slate. Manuel Neuer ($15) stands out despite what he will cost you. He is as close to a lock as you can get for both bonuses, and he should eclipse 20 fantasy points with a save or two.
Koen Casteels ($8) is an intriguing pick. You should only roster him if you are completely fading Dortmund. Wolfsburg will pose a challenge for Dortmund’s attacking group, and he should make a ton of saves in this game. There’s the risk that Dortmund bags multiple goals here, but there’s also huge ceiling potential. It is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward play.
Oliver Schwolow ($11) will likely be a somewhat popular option on Saturday. He draws a matchup with a bottom-feeder team in Werder Bremen who have scored the second-fewest goals so far this season. Both bonuses are in play here, and with a few saves he will be well into the 20s.
Thanks for reading and good luck, RotoBallers!
