TRANSFERS will be refreshed on Friday morning and that news will come as a mighty relief for many Dream Team managers.
The season has skipped along rapidly in the last few weeks and with the games coming thick and fast until the World Cup, gaffers need to make sure their XI is in tip-top shape, especially with our monthly competition for October set to get underway – there’s another PlayStation 5 for for grabs!
In the spirit of generosity, we’ve thought up three transfer suggestions based on form fluctuations, upcoming fixtures and instinct.
Before we get into the meat of things, a bit of housekeeping: if these specific recommendations don’t apply to your XI you should at least be able to extrapolate the logic.
Also, we’re not going to patronise you by suggesting players like Erling Haaland (£8.7m), Harry Kane (£7.5m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.5m) as there’s nothing we can tell you that you don’t already know about the mainstream options.
OUT: Andy Robertson (£4.6m)/Kyle Walker (£4m), IN: Sergio Gomez (£3.7m)
Walker and Robertson are currently injured and even if the latter were to return this weekend we would still recommend giving him the boot as Liverpool’s defence simply isn’t right at the moment.
The Reds may have kept a clean sheet against Rangers on Tuesday but they shipped three to Brighton last weekend and were fortunate to escape further punishment.
Perfectionist Pep Guardiola will have been annoyed that his side ended up conceding three to Man United given his side’s dominance in the derby but Manchester City defenders have generally been worth the investment.
With Walker expected to be on the sidelines for a few weeks, it’s likely that Joao Cancelo (£7.6m) will play at right-back with Gomez occupying left-back – as seen against Copenhagen on Wednesday night.
The 21-year-old Spaniard helped himself to ten points against the Danish outfit and looks like a smart differential given the circumstances – how often do you see a City player with an ownership of just 0.3%?
The outlook may look different when Walker returns but Gomez could be a brilliant selection for the rest of October.
OUT: Aleksandar Mitrovic (£4.7m), IN: Gabriel Martinelli (£3.3m)/James Maddison (£4.9m)
Fulham’s in-form No9 limped off in the first half against Newcastle last weekend and while the injury is not said to be significant, 13.4% of Dream Team gaffers will need to find a replacement, if only for the short term.
Bringing in Martinelli for Mitrovic has the added benefit of enhancing your budget considerably, possibly facilitating a much-needed upgrade elsewhere.
Financial gains aside, the energetic Brazilian is a fine option in his own right having registered 39 points so far, a tally bettered by only eight other forwards.
Arsenal appear to be the greatest threat to Man City’s league crown with the Gunners having won seven of their eight fixtures so far.
Their No11 has scored three goals and provided an assist in that time and perhaps deserved more given the threat he’s posed on the left flank – no Premier League player has completed more dribbles at this stage.
This weekend Martinelli will be up against Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.6m) who you may have noticed is hardly the most impenetrable defender around right now.
Not only that, Mikel Arteta’s side have plenty of fixtures to fulfil in the coming weeks – point-scoring opportunities galore.
Alternatively, Mitrovic owners could switch formation and recruit Maddison if they have a little extra budget to hand.
Leicester’s No10 banked 19 points on Monday night and while he won’t have the luxury of going up against Nottingham Forest’s porous defence every week, he looks capable of goals and assists every time he steps onto a pitch in current form.
OUT: James Ward-Prowse (£3.9m), IN: Ilkay Gundogan (£3.9m)/Bukayo Saka (£4.1m)/Jarrod Bowen (£4.1m)
Southampton’s skipper has been consistent performer in Dream Team for the last couple of years but 17 points from eight outings this term is an underwhelming return for a midfielder in his price bracket.
When you consider that an additional £0.2m gets you either Saka or Bowen, two wingers with European fixtures to bolster their schedules, it’s a no-brainer.
In regards to West Ham’s No20, he started the season slowly but has looked more like the version of himself that ripped up Dream Team last term in his most recent outings – he pocketed 13 points at the weekend and may add to that against Anderlecht this evening.
Or for no extra investment you could bring in Gundogan who has ten more points than Ward-Prowse at this juncture.
You don’t need us to explain the contrasting fortunes of Man City and Saints this season and as chance would have it, the two teams will meet at the Etihad on Saturday.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
