Diogo Dalot & Douglas Luiz feature in Gameweek 9’s best XI – one Dream Team manager now £100 richer!

ALL hail Christopher Davey!

Why? Because he racked up 247 points in Gameweek 9 to beat hundreds of thousands of Dream Team managers and claim the £100 weekly prize.

Let’s take a closer look at how he achieved such a mammoth score this past week.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN AN XBOX!

As is usually the case, the best XI of the Gameweek is supercharged by the Park the Bus Booster.

Christopher decided to target Newcastle and Manchester United’s double headers and, despite the fact the former lost to Borussia Dortmund and the latter conceded to Sheffield United, his strategy paid off handsomely.

When the Blades equalised against Erik ten Hag’s side on Saturday it seemed as if Diogo Dalot’s (£3.2m) best chance of points (clean sheet) had gone up in smoke but the Portuguese full-back ended up as the visitors’ match-winner at Bramall Lane via a well-struck goal from 20 yards out.

The 24-year-old pouched a bonus point too to leave the Steel City with nine points, which he increased to 16 with a clean sheet at home to Copenhagen in midweek.

Dalot was the best-performing asset in his position in Gameweek 9.

Similarly, Andre Onana (£3.5m) topped the pile among goalkeepers because of his semi-redemptive penalty save in the Champions League.

Chistopher’s Newcastle contingent combined for 36 points, doubled to 72 with Park the Bus, thanks primarily to the Magpies’ 4-0 win over Crystal Palace in the league.

Kieran Trippier (£5.6m) remains the jewel in the crown; he’s now provided seven assists in 2023/24, only Ollie Watkins (£4.5m) has more among all players.

The ever-reliable right-back has 90 points in total, 22 more than the next-best defender.

Christopher did the right thing in switching to 5-3-2 to make the most of Park the Bus but the one drawback is that such a ploy leaves room for just five midfielders/strikers.

However, this relative lack of attacking assets was countered by an inspirational selection in the form of Douglas Luiz (£3.1m).

The Brazilian was his side’s unlikely hero against West Ham last weekend, bagging a brace and 16 points in the process (he added three more against AZ Alkmaar).

Primarily a combative midfielder, he has the added edge of being the Villains’ first-choice penalty taker and Unai Emery’s attacking tactics allow him to take up advanced positions more often than before.

Luiz’s ownership has doubled this week ahead of Villa’s home game against Luton in Gameweek 10.

Kaoru Mitoma (£3.9m) did well to pocket seven points at the Etihad (three bonus points, two shots on target, maximum appearance points) and he assisted one of Brighton’s two goals against Ajax on Thursday night.

The Japan international is up to seventh in the midfield rankings and his fixtures look rather friendly throughout November.

Seven points across two fixtures represents a below par Gameweek for James Ward-Prowse (£4.3m) but the set-piece specialist continues to collect more than his fair share of bonus points.

The West Ham midfielder has earned 19 bonus points this term, only James Maddison (£4.3m) and Eberechi Eze (£3.6m) boast superior tallies.

Up front, Christopher put his faith in Dream Team’s two biggest names and was justly rewarded.

Erling Haaland (£7.4m) responded to some half-hearted digs at his form with three goals against Brighton and Young Boys for a 26-point return (doubled to 52 with the captain’s armband).

Was there any real doubt about the prolific poacher’s viability?

As for Mohamed Salah (£6.6m), he joined Haaland in the 100 Club on Thursday night when he came off the bench against Toulouse to put the cherry on top of Liverpool’s comfortable Europa League win.

Prior to that, the Egyptian superstar had scored a brace in the Merseyside derby to make it 28 points from his last two league outings – what a player!

Congratulations, Christopher – good luck to you and all gaffers ahead of Gameweek 10!

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk