Dream Team

FOR many years, Casemiro (£3.1m) had a Fernandinho-esque talent for avoiding red cards.Much like his compatriot, the five-time Champions League winner has always picked up more than his fair share of yellows through enforcing challenges but somehow stayed on the tightrope when it seemed for all the world he would be dismissed.
Real Madrid fans became happily accustomed to the sight of the midfielder grinning apologetically as the referee gave him a warning instead of marching orders.
However, that magical power seems to have deserted Casemiro in recent weeks.
The 31-year-old saw red for the second time this season at the weekend when a VAR review resulted in an early bath during Southampton’s visit to Old Trafford.
He now faces a four-game suspension in domestic football, something Dream Team managers can’t afford to stomach.
Manchester United will miss their midfield general in the coming weeksCredit: GETTY
All things considered, Casemiro has excelled in his debut Dream Team campaign, he’s one of just eleven players in his position on 100+ points at this stage – a superb effort for a defensive anchor.
As a result, he’s among the top ten most-popular midfielders but his ownership will now nosedive as gaffers seek a replacement.
Here we’ve identified three potential candidates in the same price range.
Alexis Mac Allister (£3.2m) is 13 points shy of a century after his goal at Elland Road.
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The World Cup winner has been playing as a No10 in recent weeks, hence an increase in attacking contributions.
Most importantly, the Argentina international is currently Brighton’s penalty taker, something Dream Team bosses should always note.
Brighton midfielders have performed very well in Dream Team this season
The Seagulls are one of the better teams in the Premier League going forward, only Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool have scored more goals and Roberto De Zerbi’s side have games in hand over those four teams.
Mac Allister and company also have the luxury of a favourable FA Cup match-up against Grimsby this coming weekend.
Kaoru Mitoma (£3.9m) and Solly March (£3.5m) are similarly strong options though they’ll require some extra budget.
Alternatively, Miguel Almiron (£3.3m) may fit the bill for those in need of a Casemiro replacement.
The Paraguayan winger is enjoying the best season of his Newcastle career, emphasised by his winner against Wolves on Sunday.
That strike was his 11th league goal of the season, only five players have more to their name at the time of writing.
Almiron is having the season of his lifeCredit: GETTY
The 29-year-old is one of those midfielders into triple figures for Dream Team points in 2022/23.
One possible blockade here is that Almiron was benched at the weekend but Eddie Howe has every reason to reinstate him into the starting line-up following his match-winning exploits.
Our third recommendation is Brenann Johnson (£2.8m) who is generously categorised as a midfielder.
In reality, the Welshman leads the line for Nottingham Forest and his performances since the World Cup have given Steve Cooper’s side every chance of staying up.
Johnson has scored seven goals and provided two assists since the restart, not to mention three Star Man awards.
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Forest’s fixtures during the duration of Casemiro’s suspension don’t look too bad either: Newcastle, Wolves, Leeds, Aston Villa.
Whatever you decided, remember to replace Man United’s No18 before his stint in the stands. More

Game Week 25 belonged to one Dream Team gaffer, James Taylor.The Liverpool fan, who we assume isn’t the Grammy-winning musician or the former England cricketer, amassed 132 points this past week despite blanks from two of his most-expensive assets.
Let’s take a closer look at how he did it.
That Chelsea defenceCredit: DREAM TEAM
The first thing to note is that Harry Kane (£7.5m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) returned zero points between them – it’s rare that the Team of the Week features two goose eggs.
Clearly, a dominant performance by Chelsea’s defensive unit was key to James’ success.
The Blues have struggled in the final third but they’ve been relatively solid in defence this season and they registered back-to-back clean sheets in Game Week 25 against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund.
More than that, Ben Chilwell (£5m) whipped in the corner headed home by Wesley Fofana (£3.5m) in the only goal of the game at Stamford Bridge last weekend, with the latter also picking up the Star Man award.
Speaking of defenders providing attacking contributions, Andy Robertson (£4.1m) provided the assist for Cody Gakpo’s (£3.9m) first goal against Man United, opening the floodgates in the process.
Scotland’s captain earned a 7+ rating on top of a clean sheet to register just his second double-digit haul of the campaign.
It was a great week for Chelsea defenders
Jordan Henderson (£1.3m) features in just 0.9% of teams but James was among the tiny slither of gaffers who backed Liverpool’s captain and benefited from an assist and a 7+ rating.
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Game Week 25’s top gaffer is a fan of the Reds so perhaps his natural bias was a factor here and while Henderson has mustered just 11 points all season, his selection paid off last weekend at least.
Phil Foden (£5.2m) has suddenly exploded back into life after a lean spell.
Manchester City’s resident wonderkid earned his third consecutive Star Man award when he topped the match ratings against Newcastle having got on the scoresheet again.
A 13-point return means the England international has racked up 45 points across the last two Game Weeks!
Up front, it was all about the 7-0 at Anfield.
Several Liverpool players cashed in against Man United
Mohamed Salah (£8.9m) was the chief architect of Manchester United’s demise with two goals and two assists.
A 21-point haul meant the Egyptian hero became just the third Dream Team asset to become a double centurion in 2022/23.
Finally, Darwin Nunez (£5.5m) helped himself to a brace as well.
The Uruguay international has set about correcting his conversion rate in recent weeks and looks notably more confident in front of goal compared to the first half of the season.
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He’s now the sixth-best player in his position – not bad for somebody labelled a ‘flop’, eh?
Well played, James, good luck to you and all gaffers for Game Week 26. More

MOHAMED SALAH (£8.6m) has set an immense standard for himself.Since joining Liverpool, the Egypt international has averaged 31 goals per season in all competitions.
Naturally, this relentlessness has translated into Dream Team success on an almost unprecedented level – no player has produced more points since his return to the game in 2017.
And it’s because Salah has set such a high bar that he has occasionally faced criticism even when his output has been rather good.
A Dream Team legend
The 30-year-old has copped more flak this season than in any other since he signed for the Reds with several high-profile pundits accusing him of falling off after agreeing to a lucrative new contract.
In some sense, the accusations have been valid.
With eleven goals in 25 appearances, 2022/23 looks set to be Salah’s least fruitful Premier League campaign in a Liverpool shirt yet.
However, it would be a stretch to describe him as anything close to average when considering the wider context, especially in the realm of Dream Team.
While Salah’s league tally may be no more than decent, he’s been positively prolific in the other competitions.
He’s scored eight goals in 534 minutes of Champions League action – no player has more in the competition at this stage – and he also bagged in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup before Liverpool’s relatively quick eliminations.
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Outside of the Premier League, Salah has scored ten goals in eleven games at a rate of one every 74.3 minutes.
This season’s top scorer in the Champions League
Combine all the competitions and the Reds’ No11 boasts a tally of 21 goals in 36 outings, a record most forwards would take a pay cut to guarantee.
And the Dream Team rankings make for even better reading.
At the time of writing, Erling Haaland (£9m) and Marcus Rashford (£6.5m) are the only assets with more points than Salah – and the former pair are arguably amid the best individual campaigns of their respective careers.
DREAM TEAM POINTS

Haaland – 278 pts
Rashford – 240 pts
Salah – 211 pts

Liverpool have been under par but Salah has provided plentiful returns once againCredit: GETTY
It’s possible that some critics have had their view of Salah skewed by Liverpool’s season as a whole, which has undoubtedly been underwhelming.
Bar an astonishing comeback against Real Madrid in the Champions League, the only thing Jurgen Klopp’s side will have to play for as the campaign reaches its climax is fourth place.
However, Dream Team managers know better than most to separate individuals from the teams they represent.
Salah sent out a potent reminder of his pedigree at the weekend as he banked 21 points at Man United’s expense – he was the lead architect of the 7-0 thrashing at Anfield.
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More broadly, he’s taken 60 points from his last six games spread over four Game Weeks.
It appears reports of Salah’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. More

LET’S not forget that the Dream Team gaffer who tops the leaderboard come the end of the season banks £75,000.Right now, Mark Okrasa is in pole position to win the jackpot.
The Sheffield United fan’s XI ‘Marky 8′ has amassed 1949 points at the time of writing.
Let’s take a look at the current make-up of his team.
The current Game Week isn’t much to talk about but let’s look at the bigger pictureCredit: DREAM TEAM
Mark is praying for Manchester City clean sheets with this strategy.
Block-picking an entire defence from one team is a classic Dream Team tactic but it’s quite interesting that Pep Guardiola’s troops are the chosen ones here.
The defending Premier League champions played seven times in February and their only clean sheet in that time came against Bristol City.
However, it’s entirely possible (probable even) that Mark has only switched to an all-City back four and keeper since transfers were refreshed.
The Etihad residents repelled Newcastle on Saturday to register a 2-0 win, meaning the selected crop banked 30 points in one fell swoop.
Naturally, this provided a huge swing against gaffers with teams stacked full of Manchester United defenders.
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David de Gea (£3.9m), Luke Shaw (£4.1m), Diogo Dalot (£3.9m), Raphael Varane (£3.5m) and Tyrell Malacia (£3.5m) all incurred minus six points each – whereas Lisandro Martinez (£4.4m) picked up a booking to suffer a seven-point deduction.
Dozens of gaffers in contention for this season’s top prize were dealt a hammer blow by the Red Devils’ capitulation at Anfield, but not Mark.
Manuel Akanji appears in just 2.8% of teamsCredit: GETTY
Prior to Game Week 25, Mark’s midfield trio were the top three performers in their position but Phil Foden (£4.9m) has now jumped above Bukayo Saka (£5.1m).
Still, the Gunners’ No7 has combined with Bruno Fernandes (£6m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) for 469 points this season.
Interestingly, the England winger is the only Arsenal player in Dream Team’s best XI right now – extraordinary given the state of the league table.
Not only that, Mikel Arteta’s side will be plenty busy this month thanks to two Europa League knockout legs – perhaps Mark has some changes planned.
Mark’s only Arsenal assetCredit: GETTY
Erling Haaland (£9m) and Marcus Rashford (£6.5m) are essentially must-haves and they’re the two most-popular forwards in the game.
Harry Kane (£7.8m) is the third-most selected forward but Mohamed Salah (£8.6m) isn’t far behind and the Egyptian has been on a tear on late, racking up 60 points in his last five outings.
Mark will be hoping Tottenham’s premium marksman can make up some ground before the international break.
Kane faces Milan this evening before taking on Nottingham Forest and Southampton in the league.
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There’s still a long way to go yet and plenty of points to be claimed but Mark has put himself in a great position to potentially land a life-changing sum of money through Dream Team.
Good luck to all those in the mix at the top! More

IT should go without saying that Dream Team assets who collect regular Star Man awards are worth their weight in gold.Coming out on top of the match ratings earns a player an additional five points, equivalent to a goal.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at which individuals have been named Star Man most often so far this season.
5 – Ruben Neves (£2.9m), Marcus Rashford (£6.5m), Mohamed Salah (£8.6m), Riyad Mahrez (£6.1m), Nick Pope (£4.7m), Martin Odegaard (£3.6m), Thiago Silva (£5.7m)
Neves has quietly collected five Star Man awardsCredit: GETTY
Seven players are level on five Star Man awards right now with Neves being the most surprising inclusion as the only one among them yet to breach the 100-point mark.
In fact, 35.3% of the Wolves midfielder’s 85-point total have come from Star Man bonuses.
Three of Rashford’s five Star Man gongs have come in the last eight Game Weeks, coinciding with his most prosperous form of the campaign.
Salah makes the cut having produced a 10/10 performance against Man United on Sunday.
The Egypt international banked 21 points at Manchester United’s expense and, more broadly, he’s amassed 60 points in his last six outings.
Mahrez registered three Star Man awards in as many Game Weeks from late January to mid-February.
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Manchester City’s Algerian winger didn’t notch his first point until October but he’s made up for his slow start and is now the fifth-best asset in his position.
A man in form
Newcastle’s clean sheets may have dried up recently but Pope remains in pole position for the Golden Glove.
The Magpies have conceded just 17 league goals in 2022/23, eight fewer than the next-best defence, and their first-choice goalkeeper has been key to their impressive campaign.
Pope’s third Star Man award came in Game Week 5 and for a while he topped the metric among all assets.
Odegaard claimed three Star Man gongs in three consecutive games separated by the World Cup break.
Arsenal’s captain has nine goals and six assists in the Premier League this term.
Lastly of this crop, it’s Chelsea’s crocked Brazilian centre-back.
The Brazilian defender actually produced a streak of four Star Man awards in a row between Game Weeks 4 and 8.
Silva has been a class act despite the Blues’ problems in the final third.
6 – Bruno Fernandes (£6m), Erling Haaland (£9m)
A laughing matter
The main reason Rashford isn’t higher in this list is that he’s had to share Star Man awards with his Portuguese team-mate since the restart.
Fernandes may not have plundered as many goals as the England international but his all-round performances have been instrumental to the Red Devils’ uplift under Erik ten Hag in recent weeks… the 7-0 defeat aside.
The 28-year-old briefly jumped ahead of a certain Belgian playmaker to take the crown of Dream Team’s best midfielder this season but he’s since dropped back down to second, though the gap is just four points.
Fernandes has earned 7+ match ratings 28 times in 2022/23, more than any other player.
Many Dream Team bosses would have expected Man City’s No9 to have claimed more than six Star Man awards given his mountainous points tally of 278.
However, it’s worth remembering that many of Haaland’s best performances have been characterised by ruthless efficiency – he rarely registers many touches.
The fact he is frequently quiet outside of one or two key moments in the penalty box has sometimes hindered him in the match ratings, where City’s all-action midfielders tend to do well.
Haaland’s last Star Man award came back in Game Week 19 – he’s due one.
7 – Kieran Trippier (£6.3m)
Dream Team’s outright best defenderCredit: GETTY
We’ve written so much about Newcastle’s right-back this season but it’s going over the key points.
Trippier’s ginormous total of 190 points owes plenty to his Star Man tally, achieved through his dual purpose in Eddie Howe’s set-up.
Not only has the England international contributed to the aforementioned defensive record, he has also been a force to be reckoned with in terms of chance creation.
His crossing, both from open play and set-pieces, has been superb and, truth be told, his team-mates should have converted his service into more goals than they have in reality.
But WhoScored’s sophisticated system takes into account Trippier’s attacking output and so he has been duly rewarded.
8 – Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m)
Who else?Credit: GETTY
No prizes for guessing who tops the pile, it’s the man who so frequently looks like the best player on the pitch.
When De Bruyne is on song he’s pretty much unplayable and therefore unbeatable in the match ratings.
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Man City’s chief creator has provided 17 assists in all competitions and is leading every underlying metric related to playmaking imaginable.
After a relative lean patch between Game Weeks 16 and 21, De Bruyne has responded with 31 points in five appearances since. More

FOR a Dream Team gaffer, there are few better feelings than backing a bargain and selling them a few months later for a massive profit.Conversely, watching a beloved player’s price decrease over the course of a campaign can be devastating.
With regret, here are the players who have depreciated in the value the most this season.
Son Heung-min – £6.5m to £5.1m
Off the boil
If you didn’t know anything about this season and you checked the Dream Team Stats Centre to gauge the South Korean forward’s performances, you would probably assume he’s been enjoying himself.
Tottenham’s No7 has 104 points to his name, making him one of just eight centurions in his position currently, but that doesn’t tell the full story.
The truth is that 64 of Son’s points came in three games: 28 against a Leicester side that were a defensive shambles at the time, 18 against Frankfurt, and 18 against against mid-table Championship outfit Preston.
Those big cash-ins shouldn’t be ignored but the fact is he’s not been at his best for the vast majority of the campaign – he’s blanked 23 times and counting.
Conor Gallagher – £3m to £1.6m
Looked better in a Crystal Palace shirtCredit: GETTY
The England international was one of the standout breakout stars of last season while on loan at Crystal Palace.
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Gallagher scored eight goals, provided three assists, and pocketed his fair share of Star Man awards at Selhurst Park, prompting hope among the Chelsea faithful that he would spearhead their midfield in 2022/23.
However, the 23-year-old has been more of a peripheral figure for the Blues and has just two goal involvements to show for his efforts so far.
Gallagher was fully deserving of his £3m price tag prior to Game Week 1 but given that he’s mustered just 14 points to date, it’s no surprise to see him drop £1.4m.
Jamie Vardy – £4.5m to £3.1m
The party’s winding downCredit: GETTY
Now firmly at the back end of his storybook career, Leicester’s No9 has to deal with frequent injury niggles and the realities of a subsidiary role.
Vardy scored 15 league goals last season but he’s celebrated just one in 25 appearances this term and not even some profitable outings in the Carabao Cup can mitigate that from a Dream Team perspective.
The 36-year-old hasn’t registered a point since Game Week 17 and a string of second-half substitute appearances are likely to force his price lower and lower.
Still, what a gem he’s been for Dream Team gaffers over the years.
Fabinho – £3m to £1.4m
Not so fab this seasonCredit: GETTY
The Brazilian midfielder personifies Liverpool’s season in many ways.
In 2021/22 he was absolutely magnificent and supplemented his impressive performances at the base of the Reds’ midfield with the odd goal.
This campaign, he’s looked a shadow of his former self, hence why Jurgen Klopp’s side only have the possibility of sneaking fourth left in terms of realistic achievements.
Fabinho has scraped together just seven points after 25 Game Weeks – no wonder his value has more than halved.
Lucas Digne – £3m to £1.4m
Villain by name and natureCredit: GETTY
Experienced Dream Team bosses will remember a time when the French defender was a savvy value-for-money option.
Sadly, those days are in the past.
Previously a creative force from left-back, Digne has failed to provide a single assist for Aston Villa this season and clean sheets haven’t been easy to come by either.
Granted, he can’t be blamed for missed games through injury but even when available he’s averaging 0.7 points-per-game.
Andy Robertson – £5.5m to £3.8m
Credit in the bankCredit: GETTY
Scotland’s skipper was fully deserving of his lofty price at the start of the season having finished 2021/22 as the fourth-best asset in his position.
Like Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.2m), Robertson has been hugely successful in Dream Team by contributing to more goals than most midfielders while also collecting regular clean sheets.
With eight assists to his name, the 28-year-old is still making a difference in the final third but Jurgen Klopp’s side have struggled defensively for months on end now – see Real Madrid’s 5-2 win at Anfield for a recent example.
Robertson sailed past 200 points last term but he’ll do well to muster half that total this time around.
Bernardo Silva – £4.5m to £2.6m
Manchester City’s sixth-best midfielder
Last season was arguably the Portuguese playmaker’s best-ever campaign in a Manchester City shirt.
Having earned his place in the PFA Team of the Year, some Dream Team bosses may have even felt that he was great value at £4.5m prior to Game Week 1.
It’s not that he’s been poor this season – four goals and five assists in the league is a respectable return at this stage – but he’s certainly not meeting 2021/22’s standard, hence his significant price drop.
Bernardo has blanked 25 times already this season – comparatively, Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) has blanked in eight games.
Mason Mount – £5m to £3m
A mountain to climb
Here’s a stat: Chelsea have scored 24 league goals this season, the same number as 20th-placed Bournemouth.
The Blues’ problems in the final third have been well-documented and while no individual player is to blame, Mount’s drop-off encapsulates his side’s recent fortunes.
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The England international, who was one of a handful of players to reach double figures for league goals and assists last season, has just six goal involvements to his name in all competitions at this stage of the current campaign.
A popular choice ahead of Game Week 1, the Cobham graduate has cobbled together just 50 points and the 4% of gaffers still sticking by him would do well to Google the term: sunk-cost fallacy. More