Dream Team to ramp up several notches in Gameweek 5 as European competitions get underway

THE international break may have provided a momentary lull but Dream Team will go up several notches once Gameweek 5 gets underway.

That’s because EIGHT clubs will be in continental action in midweek after a full round of Premier League fixtures at the weekend.

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Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle will begin their Champions League campaigns before Liverpool, Brighton and West Ham get going in the Europa League – with Aston Villa being England’s representative in the Europa Conference League.

Gaffers only have to reflect upon last season, when Pep Guardiola’s side and the Hammers triumphed in their respective quests, to understand the value the European competitions bring to Dream Team.

The formula is simple: more fixtures equals more point-scoring opportunities.

The likes of James Maddison (£4.1m), Raheem Sterling (£3.8m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£3.7m) are justifiably popular after their electric performances across the first few Gameweeks but without European games to bolster their schedules, their rivals are likely to gain ground in the coming weeks.

Saying that, it would be a risky move to ditch an asset like Tottenham’s in-form No10 because his imposing tally of 46 points is evidence of the fact he’s more than capable of making up for his comparatively relaxed schedule with massive domestic hauls – he’s taken Bournemouth and Burnley for 15 points each in his last two league outings.

However, it’s generally advisable for Dream Team bosses to ensure they have ample active players in midweek once the European group stages commence.

Striking this balance can be difficult.

For example, which player will score more points in Gameweek 5: Maddison against Sheffield United or Moussa Diaby (£3.5m) against Crystal Palace and Legia Warsaw?

The latter averages seven points-per-game this season while the former averages 9.2 so in theory the Frenchman should comfortably outscore the England playmaker given he has potentialyl twice as many minutes at his disposal.

However, any gaffer that makes such a transfer could easily be punished if Maddison continues his fine form and Diaby fails to register a goal involvement in either of his fixtures.

It’s also wise to consider which players have favourable continental fixtures and who might be up against it.

For example, Arsenal and Man City were gifted relatively friendly groups in the Champions League while Man United will face Bayern Munich twice and Newcastle have a ‘group of death’ to negotiate.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUPS:

• ARSENAL
• Sevilla
• PSV
• Lens

• MANCHESTER CITY
• RB Leipzig
• Red Star Belgrade
• Young Boys

• MANCHESTER UNITED
• Bayern Munich
• Copenhagen
• Galatasaray

• NEWCASTLE
• AC Milan
• PSG
• Borussia Dortmund

In the Europa League, Liverpool’s group looks ripe for plentiful points assuming Jurgen Klopp plans to take the competition seriously – he is more accustomed to the Champions League these days.

Brighton and West Ham’s groups are harder to gauge but given the former are one of the most dynamic attacking sides in the Premier League the likes of Kaoru Mitoma (£3.7m), Solly March (£3.9m) and Evan Ferguson (£3m) should enjoy themselves on Thursday nights.

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUPS:

• WEST HAM
• Olympiacos
• Freiburg
• TSC

• BRIGHTON
• Marseille
• Ajax
• AEK Athens

• LIVERPOOL
• LASK
• Union Saint-Gilloise
• Toulouse

The story of Villa’s season so far is that they’ve come undone against strong opposition (Newcastle, Liverpool) but swept aside weaker outfits (Everton, Hibs, Burnley) in some style.

If that’s to be a long-term trend then Dream Team managers can expect healthy returns from Unai Emery’s boys in Europe’s tertiary competition.

Last season, David Moyes’ side struggled domestically but the likes of Said Benrahma (£3.3m) and Jarrod Bowen (£4.8m) maintained lofty rankings by milking the Europa Conference League for all it was worth.

Surely Matty Cash (£2.8m), Ollie Watkins (£4.4m) and company will do the same again this term.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE GROUP:

• Aston Villa
• AZ Alkmaar
• Legia Warsaw
• Zrinjski Mostar

The start of the European competitions represents a pivotal turning point in the Dream Team season – don’t get left behind!

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk