Chris Wood now Dream Team’s most in-form striker having banked 35 points in last three outings

THE resurgence of Chris Wood over the last year has been one of the Premier League’s most surprising narratives.

After hitting double figures in the top flight four seasons in a row for Sean Dyche’s Burnley, the New Zealand international earned a move to Newcastle midway through the 2021/22 season.

However, he mustered just five goals in 39 appearances for the Magpies and was swiftly moved onto Nottingham Forest.

For a while, it seemed as if Wood would have to be content with being a second-string player at the City Ground but the arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo in the east midlands prompted a dramatic upturn.

The experienced target man has scored 18 goals in 25 league games since the Portuguese tactician took charge!

After his brace against Leicester on Friday night, Wood has seven goals from just nine outings this season – only Erling Haaland (£8.9m) and Mohamed Salah (£7.4m) have scored more in all competitions among Dream Team forwards at this stage.

Statistically, Wood is Dream Team’s most in-form striker right now having plundered 35 points from his last three games via four goals.

The 32-year-old is undoubtedly one of Premier League’s sharpest shooters this term but Dream Team bosses will have noted his lack of extracurricular activities.

Forest don’t have European commitments to pad out their schedule and Wood didn’t feature in his side’s only Carabao Cup of the campaign, when they were eliminated on penalties by Newcastle back in August.

As a result, he’s played just 728 minutes in 2024/25.

For comparison, Haaland and Salah, the game’s top two point scorers, have both played over 1,000 minutes already.

Wood’s comparatively low playing time is why he ranks eighth among Dream Team strikers despite his impressive average of 8.1 points-per-game.

As it stands, only Bryan Mbeumo (£4.4m) has taken more points than Wood from Gameweek 9 but the latter may be overhauled in midweek as Forest are among the minority of seven top-flight teams not involved in the Carabao Cup round 16.

Looking further ahead, Gameweeks 10 and 12 feature European fixtures for those involved in the league phases of the continental competitions, meaning more game time for many of Wood’s rivals.

If Forest’s No11 continues his league form heading into Christmas, when all 20 teams will fulfil four fixtures over the space of three Gameweeks, then he may well be a difference-maker for that particular period.

But it will be tough for him to keep pace with assets active in Europe for the next month or so.

That being said, credit where it’s due, Wood has played the best football of his career since he combined with Nuno – long may it continue!

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk