Dream Team

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

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
Popular choices

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