Dream Team

AT this stage of the season, the 100 Club™ is a sociable place to hang out.And yet it’s still relatively exclusive club as just 30 players have registered 100+ points at the time of writing.
Here we’ve broken down 2022/23’s centurions by club for your perusal.
Before we get into it, it’s worth noting that Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, West Ham and Wolves are all still waiting for their first player to breach three figures this term.
ARSENAL
Champions elect?Credit: GETTY

Bukayo Saka (£5.1m) – 141 points
Martin Odegaard (£3.6m) – 120 points
Gabriel Martinelli (£3.7m) – 118 points
Ben White (£4.4m) – 116 points
Gabriel (£3.9m) – 113 points

Naturally, the league leaders are well represented in the 100 Club™ with five members at present – only one club has more at this stage.
Had Gabriel Jesus (£5.3m) not picked up an injury he would certainly be into three figures by now too as he raced to 88 after 14 Game Weeks.
Saka and Odegaard are the fourth and sixth best midfielders respectively this season.
The former needs just one more assist in the Premier League to reach double figures having already reached that landmark for goals – what a season he’s having.
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BRENTFORD

Ivan Toney (£5.8m) – 141 points

The Bees’ top scorer is flying the flag solo for his team and doing a mighty fine job.
A penalty specialist but so much more than that, only four forwards have more points than Toney right now which is a great effort considering he doesn’t have European commitments to bolster his schedule.
Obviously the threat of a long-term suspension looms over the 26-year-old but he’s proved to be a superb Dream Team performer when available since Brentford’s promotion to the top flight.
CHELSEA
Silva lining

Thiago Silva (£5.7m) – 105 points

Doesn’t this just tell the story of the Blues’ season?
The veteran centre-back has been a class act and will be missed while he’s sidelined with injury until after the international break.
It may come as a surprise to some Dream Team gaffers to learn that only Newcastle have conceded fewer league goals than Graham Potter’s men – the problem is that Chelsea have scored the same amount of goals as 20th-placed Bournemouth.
LIVERPOOL

Mohamed Salah (£8.6m) – 211 points
Darwin Nunez (£5.2m) – 125 points
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.2m) – 113 points
Alisson (£3.8m) – 100 points

Like Chelsea, the Reds have performed below expectations this season but their top players have still pulled their weight in Dream Team.
Salah is one of only three double centurions having scored 21 goals and provided nine assists in all competitions – it says a lot about the standards the Egyptian has set for himself that he’s been subjected to criticism this campaign.
Nunez has notched 34 points in his last five outings having partially corrected his under performance in front of goal in recent weeks.
MANCHESTER CITY
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Erling Haaland (£9m) – 278 points
Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) – 166 points
Phil Foden (£4.9m) – 144 points
Riyad Mahrez (£6.1m) – 131 points

The prolific Norwegian No9 is Dream Team’s leading points scorer and has been relentless since the get-go.
Haaland is nine goals clear of his closest rival for the Premier League Golden Boot and he’s averaging a goal every 68.4 minutes in the Champions League as well.
At this point it’s a tradition for Man City midfielders to be the best in their field in the world of Dream Team.
Collectively, De Bruyne and company have comprehensively outscored their rivals since Pep Guardiola took charge and 2022/23 is no different with Foden and Mahrez joining the Belgian in the top five midfielders.
Rodri (£3.8m), Ruben Dias (£5.7m) and Nathan Ake (£4.2m) are all in the nervous nineties so will probably become centurions before the end of the month.
MANCHESTER UNITED

Marcus Rashford (£6.5m) – 240 points
Bruno Fernandes (£6m) – 162 points
Luke Shaw (£4.1m) – 111 points
Diogo Dalot (£3.9m) – 106 points
Lisandro Martinez (£4.4m) – 104 points
David de Gea (£3.9m) – 103 points
Casemiro (£3.3m) – 103 points

The 7-0 thrashing at Anfield was a bitter pill to swallow but the broader picture still looks rosy for the Red Devils.
At the time of writing, no club boasts more centurions than Man United, who have representatives in every position.
For a long time it seemed a formality that Haaland would finish as Dream Team’s top points scorer but Rashford has been chipping away at the deficit since the post-World Cup restart.
Erik ten Hag’s side remain active in the FA Cup and the Europa League having already won the Carabao Cup – Dream Team gaffers will have learned from Liverpool last season that teams who go deep in all competitions are worth their weight in gold.
You’re still thinking about the 7-0, aren’t you?Credit: GETTY
NEWCASTLE

Kieran Trippier (£6.3m) – 190 points
Fabian Schar (£4m) – 126 points
Nick Pope (£4.7m) – 121 points
Dan Burn (£4.7m) – 110 points
Sven Botman (£3.9m) – 101 points

A perfect illustration of the Magpies’ defensive superiority.
Pope and Trippier are the best assets in their respective positions with Eddie Howe’s side having conceded just 17 league goals – eight fewer than Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City.
At one stage, Newcastle’s first-choice back four were the leading quartet among defenders and while Arsenal and Man United assets have crashed the party in recent weeks, there’s no doubt they remain the standout unit in the context of the whole season.
TOTTENHAM

Harry Kane (£7.8m) – 179 points
Son Heung-min (£5.1m) – 104 points
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£3.6m) – 102 points

It’s something of a mystery how the South Korean superstar has mustered a century of points given he’s been under par for long spells this term.
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The secret to Son’s tally is his ability to cash in against frail opposition when he has been in the mood – 64 of his points came in three games against Leicester (horribly out of form at the time), Frankfurt and Preston.
As for Kane, he’s Kane… what more can you say? More

WHILE many neutrals would have enjoyed the perverse entertainment provided by Liverpool’s 7-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, plenty of Dream Team gaffers would have been wincing as they goals flew in.Erik ten Hag’s troops are popular men in the world of Dream Team and with good reason.
Prior to Game Week 25, the Red Devils were the highest scoring team in the game having plundered one more point than neighbours Man City collectively.
However, the massacre of Anfield has taken its toll.
A rough weekendCredit: GETTY
David de Gea (£3.9m) is the second-most popular goalkeeper with an ownership of 16.1% and the second-best performer overall but he incurred minus six points when all was said and done this weekend.
It was a similar story for Raphael Varane (£3.5m), Tyrell Malacia (£3.5m), Diogo Dalot (£3.9m) and Luke Shaw (£4.1m), the latter being the seventh-most selected defender currently.
Lisandro Martinez (£4.4m) suffered the most damage having been booked before he was substituted in the 76th minute.
The Argentine World Cup winner endured minus seven points and, needless to say, he is Game Week 25’s worst performer so far.
It’s a crucial blow for the sizeable chunk of Dream Team bosses backing Man United assets, particularly those who used some of their March transfers to bring in a Red Devil or two prior to this weekend’s match-up.
The heavy defeat on Merseyside will be the ultimate test of whether tailoring one’s team to the schedule is the best approach.
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Can Shaw and company make up the ground in the coming Game Weeks?
Ten Hag’s side face Real Betis over two legs in the Europa League, host Southampton in the Premier League, and welcome to Fulham to Old Trafford in the FA Cup quarter-finals before the international break.
In contrast, Liverpool have just two fixtures to fulfil in the same time frame and one of those is a trip to Real Madrid.
On paper, Man United assets should outscore their rivals this month but Sunday’s result has thrown a spanner in the works.
While the visiting defenders suffered badly, pretty much every player involved for the hosts cashed in to some degree.
Mohamed Salah (£8.6m) was predictably the big winner with a 21-point haul with Cody Gakpo (£3.6m) and Darwin Nunez (£5.2m) following up with 13 points each.
A relentless Dream Team asset
Dream Team gaffers with De Gea, Shaw and Martinez in their team would probably be wise to trust the process and check back on their net returns in a fortnight.
If the 7-0 thrashing at Anfield proves to be something of a one-off then it can be stomached.
If it’s a sign of things to come then that’s a different story but managers should resisting overreacting now as the outlook should be brighter in two weeks’ time. More

ALL hail John Ilic, Game Week 24’s top Dream Team gaffer!The West Brom supporter amassed 167 points in what was a high-scoring week.
Let’s take a closer look at his inspired XI to see how he reached that imposing total…
Featuring now fewer than five Arsenal playersCredit: DREAM TEAM
John backed Arsenal to prosper in Game Week 24 and the Gunners repaid him with two wins and back-to-back clean sheets.
Aaron Ramsdale (£3.9m), Ben White (£4.4m) and Gabriel (£3.9m) all contributed to the defensive shut outs against Leicester and Everton, combining for 45 points.
Elsewhere, Ruben Dias (£5.7m) benefited from a favourable match-up in the FA Cup as he took Bristol City for eight points to add to the three he earned against Bournemouth.
Luke Shaw (£4.1m) was rested against West Ham in midweek but he filled his boots at Wembley with an assist on top of Manchester United’s clean sheet in the Carabao Cup final.
The England left-back was booked against Newcastle but a nine-point haul continued his good form.
Dream Team’s third-best defenderCredit: GETTY
John’s defensive assets averaged 13.4 points each in Game Week 24 – a gaffer can’t ask much more than that.
Bukayo Saka (£5.1m) missed out against the Foxes but he was superb at home to the Toffees, sparking his side’s rout with a wonderful goal before he assisted another for a return of ten points.
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With 128 points to his name in total, the Gunners’ No7 is the third-best asset in his position right now.
Phil Foden (£4.9m) was by far the most successful player of the Game Week with an explosive return of 32 points after a lean period.
Man City’s resident wonderkid produced a “10/10 performance” against the Cherries according to Match of the Day’s Micah Richards to register 15 points and he capitalised on his momentum to take Bristol City for a further 17 points via a brace on Tuesday.
No doubt the 22-year-old will be a popular recruit ahead of Game Week 25 now transfers have been refreshed.
Statement made
Jarrod Bowen (£3.8m) completes the midfield and he managed to take Nottingham Forest for ten points despite not getting on the scoresheet in West Ham’s comfortable 4-0 win in east London.
The ex-Hull winger assisted one goal and edged out his team-mates to claim the Star Man gong.
John’s decisive masterstroke in Game Week 24 was backing Julian Alvarez (£3.8m).
The World Cup winner scored City’s opener at the Vitality Stadium and provided an assist at Ashton Gate to add 15 points to his total, seven more than Erling Haaland (£9m) mustered this past week.
Gabriel Martinelli (£3.7m) blanked in five consecutive outings prior to his goal against Aston Villa and he emphatically built on that reprise with 22 points in Game Week 24, with 18 of them coming against Everton via a brace.
The Brazil international is one of just eight forwards with 100+ points to their name at this stage of the season.
Back with a bangCredit: GETTY
And finally, no Dream Team is complete without Marcus Rashford (£6.5m) right now.
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Man United’s No10 produced 13 points to take his overall total to 240 – he’s chipping away at Haaland’s lead every week.
Great work, John, good luck to you and all gaffers ahead of Game Week 25! More

MARCH’S transfers will be available from Friday and Dream Team gaffers will therefore be debating which players are well placed to bank loads of points this month.Having trawled through the fixtures as they stand currently, we’ve identified four players we think could enjoy a fruitful few Game Weeks.
We’ve deliberately overlooked assets who fall under the category of blindingly obvious: Erling Haaland (£8.9m), Marcus Rashford (£6.5m), etc.
Gabriel (£3.6m)
An omnipresent figure for ArsenalCredit: GETTY
William Saliba (£2.7m) may be the most-popular Arsenal defender but the Frenchman’s centre-back partner is the top performer in his position among the squad.
Gabriel has 106 points to Saliba’s 71 and is an ever-present for Mikel Arteta in the league this season.
The Gunners host Bournemouth and Crystal Palace this month, two teams unlikely to cause the league leaders many problems on current form.
A trip to Craven Cottage isn’t a straightforward task given Fulham’s lofty position upon their return to the top flight but two legs against Sporting CP in the Europa League ensures Arsenal will be one of the busier teams in the coming weeks, something Dream Team bosses should always note.
Premier League glory remains the primary goal and so it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see some rotation against the Portuguese outfit but given that Gabriel is seen as the leader of the back four he may well feature in every available fixture in March.
It should go without saying that Bukayo Saka (£4.8m) is a great option this month for similar reasons – the Emirates’ resident ‘starboy’ is already super popular.
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Solly March (£3.4m)
Suggesting March in March? A bit on the nose…Credit: GETTY
A kind FA Cup quarter-final draw would give Brighton a very favourable month indeed.
The Seagulls face West Ham, Leeds and Crystal Palace in the league, two teams threatened by relegation and one mid-table outfit without a win since December.
In terms of Dream Team points, it’s all about Roberto De Zerbi’s attack-minded midfielders and, truth be told, there’s a cigarette paper between March and Kaoru Mitoma (£3.5m), who are separated by just one point.
Without wanting to bore you with spreadsheets, the underlying numbers suggest the Englishman has been the marginally more threatening option in recent outings.
This possibility would increase in viability if Brighton were handed lower-league opposition in the FA Cup last eight.
Emerson Royal (£4m)
Hear us out
Okay, so this is a deliberately rogue selection.
Naturally, if you want back Tottenham this month then Harry Kane (£8m) is your man.
However, it may surprise you to learn that the club’s widely-criticised right-back has plundered 30 points in his last two games thanks to back-to-back Star Man awards.
And if that’s too small a sample size for you then how does 66 points in his last ten outings sound?
The arrival of Pedro Porro (£2.3m) seems to have given Royal a boot up the backside.
Looking ahead, Spurs face Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Southampton (all in the bottom half) around a Champions League round of 16 second leg against Milan.
Bruno Fernandes (6.1m)
160 points richCredit: GETTY
Possibly too obvious a proposition here but we need something to balance out Emerson Royal, don’t we?
Manchester United’s No8 has amassed 79 points in the last seven Game Weeks (with a game still to play this evening) which is a massive influx, one cruelly overshadowed by Rashford’s rampant form.
If the Red Devils edge out West Ham tonight then they’ll have five fixtures to fulfil in March: Liverpool, Real Betis (x2), Southampton, FA Cup quarter-final (TBC).
Fernandes and company will be licking their lips at the thought of a visit to Anfield this Sunday given the up-and-down results of Jurgen Klopp’s mob this term and Saints look destined for the drop.
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The Portugal international is back to his best under Erik ten Hag as evidenced by his healthy tally of 16 goal involvements.
For what it’s worth, Man United have racked up more points collectively than any other team at the time of writing. More