WITH fixture postponements, European drama, and everything else that’s happened in the world of football recently, you’d be forgiven for not being aware of the impending international break.
After this weekend’s fixtures (those that are still set to go ahead) there will be a break for the Nations League before the Premier League resumes in October.
Given that Brighton v Crystal Palace, Leeds v Manchester United and Chelsea and Liverpool have all been postponed, Dream Team gaffers need to make sure their XI is relatively active in Game Week 7.
If your team is stacked full of players with an unforeseen break this coming weekend then you should use any available transfers to target short-term gains.
For example, Pascal Gross (£3m) is currently Dream Team’s outright best midfielder having racked up 41 points so far this season, putting him marginally ahead of Kevin De Bruyne (£7.5m).
As a result, the Seagulls midfielder has been a popular recruit in the early weeks of the season with his ownership rising from less than 1% to 10.5%.
However, since Brighton don’t play again until their trip to Anfield at the start of next month, those who own the German might as well use a transfer to bring in a replacement who is set to compete this weekend.
And given the situation it might be worth targeting the specific fixtures as you could always bring Gross (or other such players) back in ahead of Game Week 9.
Be aware that Game Week 8 gets underway on September 30th which means transfers won’t be refreshed until October 7th.
Pablo Fornals (£3.1m) is one such option, he plays against a winless Everton on Sunday and has a home game against Wolves first up after the international break.
The West Ham man has 23 points to his name at the time of writing, putting him within striking distance of the top ten midfielders overall.
Alternatively, Martin Odegaard (£3.2m) is in a similar price range to Gross and the Arsenal skipper has 33 points to his name with Brentford to face this weekend.
Naturally, several Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool players are popular assets among Dream Team bosses.
It’s likely that there are thousands of teams out there that will head into the weekend with less than half of the players active in the Game Week.
Tragically, some may not have any transfers at their disposal to improve the situation.
If this group includes the rivals in your mini-league then Game Week 7 represents a massive opportunity to gain ground or extend your lead and partially tailoring your XI to the weekend’s fixtures could help maximise the advantage.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES CURRENTLY SCHEDULED FOR GAME WEEK 7:
- Aston Villa v Southampton
- Nottingham Forest v Fulham
- Wolves v Manchester City
- Newcastle v Bournemouth
- Tottenham v Leicester
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Everton v West Ham
With Forest having conceded 14 goals in six league games so far, now could be a opportune time for Dream Team managers to dip their toe into the realm of Aleksandar Mitrovic (£4.5m) ownership.
Similarly, Nick Pope (£3.6m) and Kieran Trippier (£3.9m) will be confident of adding to their impressive returns – a clean sheet for Newcastle at home to the Cherries looks promising.
And given Leicester’s defensive woes, Harry Kane (£7.4m) and Richarlison (£3.9m) will be hopeful of cashing in before the international break, though Spurs looked timid against Sporting CP in midweek.
Whatever the case, make sure your XI is in the best place possible ahead of Game Week 7.
Most read in Dream Team
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
