7 mind-blowing Dream Team stats from this season – from Jeremy Doku’s insane dribbles to Fulham’s tackle machine

HERE at Dream Team HQ we understand that not everyone has the time to dig through the Stats Centre for hours on end.

Fortunately, we’ve done the hard yards and unearthed seven mind-blowing stats from the current season.

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1 Jeremy Doku’s insane dribbling

Manchester City’s Belgian winger has taken the Premier League by storm since his summer transfer.

The 21-year-old has proven to be a terror for full-backs everywhere because of his electric-quick feet, which have given him some frankly absurd dribbling statistics.

Most successful dribbles this season (all comps):

1. JEREMY DOKU – 67
2. Eberechi Eze – 38
3. Mohammed Kudus – 36
4. Kaoru Mitoma – 36
5. Raheem Sterling – 36
6. Matheus Cunha – 35
7. Marcus Rashford – 35
8. Jordan Ayew – 34
9. Gabriel Martinelli – 34
10. Luca Koleosho – 33

To say Doku is in a league of his own is an understatement and the truly remarkable thing is that he’s played just half of City’s minutes so far in 2023/24!

2 Defender by day, playmaker by night

The secret to Kieran Trippier’s success is that he’s essentially two players for the price of one.

First and foremost, he’s Newcastle’s ultra reliable right-back who has contributed to seven clean sheets.

What sets him apart from his peers is his unmatched creative output.

Whether it’s from set-pieces or open play, Trippier supplies a steady stream of chances for the Magpies’ attackers.

In fact, he’s created 11 big chances this season when only one other defender, Pedro Porro (6), has registered more than five.

And only three players from all positions have provided more than Trippier’s eight assists at this stage.

3 The big three: Haaland, Salah… Pedro?

Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are the only players to have scored more goals than Joao Pedro this season.

That would remarkable enough as it is without the fact the Brighton youngster has played just 62.3% of the available minutes to date.

The ex-Watford Brazilian has bagged ten goals in all competitions with half of them coming in the Europa League.

Granted, he’s benefited from a penalty or two but his conversion rate of ten goals from 14 shots on target is amazing regardless.

4 Onana, what’s his name?

Very few right-minded football fans would say that Andre Onana has been among the best goalkeepers this season.

The Cameroon international has rightly been criticised for his performances in several high-profile game since he joined Manchester United.

Onana himself has taken responsibility for a few clanging errors, most notably in the Champions League – the Red Devils are bottom of their group having conceded 14 goals in five games.

And yet, at the time writing, he’s on the brink of becoming Dream Team’s best keeper.

Seemingly against all logic, Onana has racked up 91 points, putting him second in his position behind Nick Pope who now faces at least four months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.

And he’s comfortably second too, a full 23 points ahead of Alisson and David Raya – that’s a huge margin in his position.

The main reason for this is that he’s somehow kept seven clean sheets despite Man United’s problems.

Onana has also been forced to make 76 saves, the most among all keepers at this juncture.

5 Bombardment

It’s hardly surprising that Erling Haaland has registered the most shots on target so far this campaign.

As the focal point of Manchester City’s rampant attack, the prolific poacher is presented with a wealth of chances almost every time he takes to the field.

Even so, the extent of his lead is staggering.

Haaland has registered 45 shots on target, 19 more than current runner-up Salah.

He’s almost doubled the tally of Julian Alvarez (26) which is incredible given the World Cup winner is fourth among all players in this metric.

Remember, each player receives one point for every shot on target this season – it’s no wonder Haaland is once again the game’s top performer.

6 Portuguese tackling machine

Dream Team assets also earn points for every two tackles they make per fixture this season.

This was mostly designed to recognise the important work of combative midfielders who don’t directly benefit from clean sheets and rarely contribute with goals and assists.

Lucas Paqueta, James Garner and Bruno Fernandes have put themselves about but one man reigns supreme, Joao Palhinha.

Fulham’s No26 is a one-man wrecking ball in the middle of the park having notched 63 tackles.

The Portugal international tops the pile despite being limited to domestic commitments.

As a comparison, his compatriot Fernandes (46 tackles) has already played 609 more minutes this season, the equivalent to six and half games.

Palhinha averages a shade under five tackles per appearance and has earned 28 points via this method.

In fact, 36.8% of his total points have come from tackles.

In Gameweek 10, he registered TEN tackles against Brighton for a five-point return, the equivalent of a scoring goal!

7 West Ham’s midfield maestros

Experienced Dream Team managers will know that Man City midfielders have dominated the position in Dream Team ever since Guardiola took up residence on these shores.

This season, however, the treble winners have met serious opposition from an unlikely source.

West Ham are currently the only team with three representatives inside the top eight midfielders and the only side with five among the top 20.

Jarrod Bowen, James Ward-Prowse, Lucas Paqueta, Tomas Soucek and Mohammed Kudus have combined for 526 points already!

By way of a comparison, City’s top five midfielders – Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish – have combined for 460 points.

Anybody who says they predicted such a convincing win for David Moyes’ troops over the reigning European champions in this department is a liar.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk