Dream Team

THE international break is over and it’s time for Dream Team bosses to refocus on the task at hand.Transfers won’t be refreshed until October 7th because of how the Game Weeks fall but you should still be aware of the upcoming month’s fixtures.
October is an incredibly busy month, particularly for clubs participating in Europe, so your XI needs to be in tip-top shape.
Let’s take a closer look at the imminent fixtures for the current top eight teams…
Gabriel Jesus will be a busy man in OctoberCredit: getty
ARSENAL

Tottenham (h)
Bodo/Glimt (h)
Liverpool (h)
Bodo/Glimt (a)
Leeds (a)
PSV (h)
Southampton (a)
PSV (a)
Nottingham Forest (h)

The Gunners have a whopping nine fixtures to fulfil before the start of November!
Naturally, the north London derby will be fiercely contested and even an out-of-sorts Liverpool pose a considerable threat but Mikel Arteta’s side have the luxury of home advantage for both crunch match-ups.
As the Premier League’s leaders, trips to Leeds and Southampton shouldn’t be too problematic and Forest’s visit to the Emirates looks ripe for points at the end of the month.
Keep an eye on the team selections on Thursday nights – those four Europa League fixtures shouldn’t be totally ignored.
MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester United (h)
Copenhagen (h)
Southampton (h)
Copenhagen (a)
Liverpool (a)
Brighton (h)
Borussia Dortmund (a)
Leicester (a)

Like Arsenal, City start the month with three consecutive home games, giving Erling Haaland (£8.7m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.5m) significant opportunities to strengthen their positions at the top of their respective position rankings.
Trips to Anfield and Signal Iduna Park will test the character of Pep Guardiola’s side but there’s rarely a bad month to back Etihad assets.
Graham Potter’s departure makes Brighton a more appealing match-up while Leicester are in serious danger of shipping seven or eight goals to City given their current defensive woes.
Haaland and De Bruyne could go to town on Leicester’s defence given the chance
TOTTENHAM

Arsenal (a)
Frankfurt (a)
Brighton (a)
Frankfurt (h)
Everton (h)
Manchester United (a)
Newcastle (h)
Sporting CP (h)
Bournemouth (a)

Five of Spurs’ nine October fixtures come on the road, including three away days back-to-back at the start of the month.
Antonio Conte’s side were gifted a relatively favourable Champions League group but they suffered a disappointing defeat to Sporting CP in Lisbon prior to the international break so perhaps we need to re-evaluate our expectations on that front.
There are a few potential speed bumps on the horizon but Harry Kane (£7.5m) will feel confident of extending his fine start to the campaign while Son Heung-min (£5.8m) will be hopeful of building upon his much-needed hat-trick in Game Week 7.
BRIGHTON

Liverpool (a)
Tottenham (h)
Brentford (a)
Nottingham Forest (h)
Manchester City (a)
Chelsea (h)

The first thing to note is that the Seagulls have just six fixtures to fulfil whereas some other clubs will be in action nine times – that’s a big difference.
Not only that, four of Brighton’s games come against members of the so-called ‘big six’.
Factor in a change of personnel in the dugout and all signs seem to suggest Dream Team managers should stay clear of Amex assets in the coming weeks.
Man United assets have surged up the rankings after a shaky start
MANCHESTER UNITED

Manchester City (a)
Omonia Nicosia (a)
Everton (a)
Omonia Nicosia (h)
Newcastle (h)
Tottenham (h)
Chelsea (a)
Sheriff Tiraspol (h)
West Ham (h)

The Red Devils face a tricky run of domestic fixtures that’s offset by some favourable match-ups in the Europa League that could be fruitful.
After a rocky start, Erik ten Hag has guided his side to four straight wins in the league, a run that has propelled Marcus Rashford (£4m), Jadon Sancho (£3.5m) and Diogo Dalot (£2.6m) up the Dream Team rankings.
The jury is still out on Man United this term but this coming month will go a long way to answering some pressing questions.
FULHAM

Newcastle (h)
West Ham (a)
Bournemouth (h)
Aston Villa (h)
Leeds (a)
Everton (h)

Just the six fixtures for the Cottagers but it’s a relatively friendly batch so Aleksandar Mitrovic (£4.7m) owners may reap more substantial rewards in the near future.
Dream Team’s third-best player overallCredit: getty
CHELSEA

Crystal Palace (a)
Milan (h)
Wolves (h)
Milan (a)
Aston Villa (a)
Brentford (a)
Manchester United (h)
Red Bull Salzburg (a)
Brighton (a)

The Blues are on the road for six fixtures out of nine this coming month.
And having mustered just one point from their first two Champions League games, a double header against the reigning Serie A champions appears a daunting task.
Still, a busy schedule should mean plenty more points for Raheem Sterling (£5m) and if Potter can work some of the magic he performed at Brighton then this could be something of a transformative month for Chelsea.
Surely we’ll see improved returns from Reece James (£5.3m) sooner rather than later?
LIVERPOOL

Brighton (h)
Rangers (h)
Arsenal (a)
Rangers (a)
Manchester City (h)
West Ham (h)
Nottingham Forest (a)
Ajax (a)
Leeds (h)

Three stern tests against Arsenal, City and Ajax await but Jurgen Klopp will be privately confident about his side’s chances elsewhere in October.
Rangers suffered three consecutive heavy defeats before the international break and appear diminished from the force they were last season when they made it to the Europa League final.
The Hammers and Forest are both currently among the bottom three and while Leeds have offered a bit of everything this season, the Reds have scored freely against them in recent meetings so the back end of the month could be very profitable for the likes of Luis Diaz (£5.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£7.7m).
The Hammers are also in action nine times throughout OctoberCredit: getty
WEST HAM

Wolves (h)
Anderlecht (a)
Fulham (h)
Anderlecht (h)
Southampton (a)
Liverpool (a)
Bournemouth (h)
Silkeborg (h)
Manchester United (a)

As just mentioned, the Irons are languishing near the foot of the Premier League table but since their Europa Conference League commitments mean they also have nine fixtures in October we thought it best to include them as well.
It’s worth keeping track of the distribution of minutes between Michail Antonio (£4.1m) and Gianluca Scamacca (£2.9m), both have kept Dream Team gaffers interested so far in 2022/23.

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A QUICK glance at the midfield rankings confirms that many of Dream Team’s usual suspects are thriving at the start of the 2022/23 season.Kevin De Bruyne (£7.5m) leads the field with 49 points while familiar favourites such as Phil Foden (£5.7m), Raheem Sterling (£5m), Luis Diaz (£5.3m) and Bernardo Silva (£4.6m) are all there or thereabouts.
But there’s an impostor present too, none other than Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£3.1m).
Hear us out on this one
Okay, impostor is a harsh word, Tottenham’s No5 has earned his 35 points just as legitimately as any other player after all.
The point is, this feels like a classic test of Dream Team gaffers’ knowledge and experience – do we think Hojbjerg’s returns are sustainable?
The biggest indicator when analysing a midfielder’s long-term viability is their specific role at club level.
Wingers, playmakers and late-arriving No8s all get the thumbs up because, by their very nature, they will be directly contributing to goals on a regular basis if they’re selected and playing well.
However, defensive midfielders and deep-lying playmakers are tasked with other duties and frequently go long spells without registering a goal or assist, mostly because it’s their job to recover the ball and give it to their more attack-minded team-mates.
Hojbjerg very much falls into the second camp.
And that’s not a dig at the Denmark international, every football fan worth their salt knows such players are required to form a balanced midfield.
It’s just that in the world of Dream Team, managers don’t have to worry about a realistic balance of profiles, they just want as many goal involvements as possible.
Kevin De Bruyne’s play style is conducive to consistently brilliant returnsCredit: getty
Hojbjerg has scored two goals and provided two assists already this season which is a commendable effort but the underlying stats suggest it would be naive to expect him to maintain his current rate.
For example, 100 players have registered more shots in the Premier League at this stage.
The 27-year-old has scored two goals from six shots giving him a conversion rate of 33.3%.
While this is to be applauded, history tells us very few players are consistently this efficient, especially not midfield anchors.
For comparison, Aleksandar Mitrovic (£4.7m), who has been described as ‘clinical’ many times over during his prolific opening burst, has a conversion rate of 19.4% in the league this season.
Expected goals (xG) is another helpful metric in scenarios such as this.
Those leading the way in xG are usually the league’s top scorers too and that’s the case currently with Erling Haaland (£8.7m) having amassed the most, followed by Mitrovic and Harry Kane (£7.5m).
146 players have accumulated more xG than Hojbjerg’s 0.3 after seven Game Weeks.
Again, while we need to give the former Southampton man credit for his finishing up to this point, we must also be realistic and expect a drop-off when it comes to shot conversion.
Defensive midfielders rarely excel in Dream TeamCredit: getty
In fairness to Hojbjerg, his creative numbers suggest he may be able to keep chipping in with the odd assist – only 16 players have totalled more expected assists (xA).
However, taking everything into account, he simply isn’t equipped to maintain his current level of returns and the 4.9% of gaffers backing him should brace themselves for a dip in the coming months.
Martin Odegaard (£3.2m) can be snapped up for just £0.1m more and as a more advanced midfielder he’s more likely to provide goal involvements in the long run – Arsenal’s captain is expected to return from injury in Game Week 8.
Hojbjerg owners with a little more budget spare would do well to consider Jadon Sancho (£3.5m), Luis Sinisterra (£3.3m) and Jack Harrison (£3.5m) – only De Bruyne has accumulated more xA than the latter this season.

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Let’s step away from the Gareth Southgate culture war for a moment and refocus on Dream Team.As you probably already know, lowly-owned players often have the greatest impact.
Erling Haaland (£8.7m) is plundering points for fun but since he appears in the vast majority of teams it’s highly likely that the two rivals either side of you in your mini-league will also benefit from his hat-tricks.
With that in mind, these are the seven forwards with the most points among assets that currently have an ownership below 2%.
Julian Alvarez (£3.9m)

18 points
1.7% ownership

One of Man City’s many attacking assets
There’s a good reason the Argentine forward features in so few teams, he’s understudy to Man City’s prolific No9.
Pep Guardiola likes to rotate his squad but let’s be honest, Haaland will start every meaningful game for the foreseeable future and Alvarez will have to make do with substitute appearances an occasional starts on the right flank.
The 22-year-old has looked lively in his 166 minutes of Premier League action so far – he scored a brace against Nottingham Forest in Game Week 4 and banked all of his 18 points in one fell swoop.
His role may increase in importance as the season progresses.
Leandro Trossard (£3.6m)

19 points
0.3% ownership

Just as Brighton are a well-functioning Premier League side, their Belgian No11 has the technical skills to compete and then some in the top flight.
2021/22 was Trossard’s best ever campaign in terms of goals (eight) for the Seagulls and he’s out the gate with two in his first six outings this term, not to mention an assist.
Brighton are currently fourth in the league and Trossard has been a key contributor to their flying start but how will Graham Potter’s departure impact their fortunes after the international break?
The fact Trossard is categorised as a forward rather than a midfielder makes him a less viable option but he’s certainly not an asset to write-off totally.
Bright sparkCredit: getty
Danny Ings (£3.1m)

21 points
0.7% ownership

Aston Villa’s No9 has a respectable total but that’s predominantly because of a 15-point haul against Bolton in the Carabao Cup.
Ings has blanked in three consecutive outings since then and didn’t feature against Man City so it would be a stretch to say he’s worth a transfer.
Banking points in the domestic cups is a perfectly legitimate method but generally speaking you want your players to be providing healthy returns in the league on a weekly basis.
Michail Antonio (£4.1m)

23 points
1.3% ownership

West Ham’s experienced striker is an underrated Dream Team asset.
Injury setbacks have frustrated his owners but he’s often been good value-for-money when fit, as evidenced by his opening salvo this campaign.
It’s two goals and two assists in terms of goal involvements and he pocketed 19 points cross Game Weeks 4 and 5.
Hammer time!Credit: getty
Rodrigo (£2.4m)

28 points
1.6% ownership

The Leeds forward was flying before he popped his shoulder out against Everton in Game Week 4.
Re-energised under Jesse Marsch, Rodrigo filled in for the injury-dogged Patrick Bamford (£2.7m) at centre-forward and did a tremendous job before he was sidelined, scoring four goals and providing an assist in 360 minutes of Premier League action.
The 31-year-old is expected to return shortly after the international break and plenty of Dream Team bosses will be on the look out to see if he picks up where he left off.
Gianluca Scamacca (£2.9m)

30 points
1.9% ownership

Bow down to the master of the Europa Conference League!
The Hammers’ new target man took Viborg and Silkeborg for 31 points by virtue of two goals, an assist and a pair of Star Man awards.
The downside is that the Italy international has mustered minus one point from his league outings so far, mostly cameos off the bench in fairness.
One to keep an eye on but no more at this stage.
Lucky SaintCredit: getty
Che Adams (£2.9m)

31 points
0.8% ownership

Another strange case here as all 31 of the Southampton poacher’s points came in Game Week 3.
Adams came off the bench to score twice against Leicester on the Saturday before helping himself to a brace against Cambridge on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup.
Four goals in 97 minutes is, to put it mildly, good going but the pessimistic view is that a scoring rate of this nature is unsustainable, as evidenced by his blanks elsewhere.

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LET’S not pretend that picking an England team using Dream Team points is the optimum method.The very nature of the methodology means we’re likely to end up with an imbalanced XI because, let’s be honest, fantasy football is very different to the real thing.
Saying that, Dream Team points do generally correlate with individual performances so let’s pick a team anyway and see who makes the cut.
GOALKEEPER: Nick Pope (£3.7m)
Have faith in Pope
Not only is the Newcastle custodian the best goalkeeper among his compatriots at this stage of the season, he’s Dream Team outright best asset in his position among all his peers.
Pope has amassed 39 points, a tally built on a foundation of three Star Man awards which is the joint-most after seven Game Weeks.
It terms of pure shot-stopping, the ex-Burnley keeper is probably the best of the options available to Gareth Southgate but his distribution isn’t up to the same standard as Jordan Pickford (£2.5m) or Aaron Ramsdale (£3.1m), how much that matters is up for debate.
His place on the plan to Qatar is guaranteed if he avoids injury.
DEFENDERS: Kieran Trippier (£3.9m), John Stones (£5.2m), Eric Dier (£4.3m), James Tarkowski (£3.5m)
Trippier’s success goes hand-in-hand with Pope’s as Eddie Howe’s side have conceded just seven goals this season, which is a great effort considering they’ve already played Manchester City and Liverpool.
The 32-year-old full-back is a favourite of Southgate’s and continues to make England squads despite stiff competition for places in his preferred positon.
If Dream Team points are anything to go by then Trippier is actually the best option out of himself, Reece James (£5.3m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.6m) and Kyle Walker (£4m) but whether that aligns with reality is another question.
England’s best right-back?Credit: getty
Stones has been a regular starter for the Three Lions in recent years and his tally of 29 points is only marginally bettered by Eric Dier’s (£4.3m) total of 30 this term.
Given Harry Maguire’s (£2.6m) club form in recent times, many supporters on these shores believe that this combination is most-equipped to start against Iran come late November.
But here’s a spanner in the works: Tarkowski is Dream Team’s outright best English centre-back in 2022/23.
The Everton man’s tally of 37 points (same as Trippier’s) is only dwarfed by Joao Cancelo’s (£7.6m) among all defenders in the game – the Portuguese full-back has racked up 54 points.
Tarkowski earned two caps for England in 2018 but hasn’t featured since – time for a recall?
MIDFIELDERS: Phil Foden (£5.7m), Raheem Sterling (£5m), Jadon Sancho (£3.5m)
This midfield would never work in reality as all three are almost exclusively deployed in attacking positions.
But perhaps the fact that Foden (39 points) and Sterling (35 points) are both among the top four midfield assets indicates that they’re the two players who deserve to start in the wide positions in Southgate’s set-up?
Sancho has looked brighter at the start of this seasonCredit: getty
Sancho just edges out Jack Harrison (£3.5m) to claim third spot – 29 points to 28 – which is interesting because neither winger is included in the current squad.
Manchester United’s No25 has scored three goals at the start of this season and may be able to force himself on the plane to Qatar if he continues to show a marked improvement on last term.
FORWARDS: Harry Kane (£7.5m), Ivan Toney (£4.9m), Marcus Rashford (£4m)
Captain Kane is an automatic selection for Southgate but the issue of who should be first reserve at centre-forward is widely debated.
It’s early days but Toney is actually outperforming Tottenham’s No10 in Dream Team this season, having amassed 52 points thanks predominantly to his impressive hat-trick against Leeds.
Kane’s tally of 47 points is very healthy too – he’s sixth in the overall rankings at this juncture.
Toney should feature in some capacity against Germany this eveningCredit: getty
Two thirds of our hypothetical forward line aligns with Southgate’s most recent squad selection but the 52-year-old omitted Rashford, who fell out of favour on the international scene after Euro 2020.
Man United’s homegrown hero desperately struggled for from last season but he’s set about correcting that well so far in 2022/23 with 35 points from six outings.
Three goals and two assists in 523 minutes of Premier League action is much more encouraging, reminiscent of the Rashford who was a Dream Team gem in 2020/21.
Like Sancho, the 24-year-old has a chance of making the World Cup squad if he continues to score goals under Erik ten Hag – the fact he’s previously been involved under Southgate will help his case.

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FREDDY KRUEGER, Michael Myers, Leatherface… these villains have got nothing on this tale of Dream Team horror.When Kasper Schmeichel left Leicester to join Nice in August it opened the door for Danny Ward (£1m) to take up the mantle and become the Foxes’ first-choice goalkeeper.
Having been a back-up option virtually his whole career, it seemed as if the 29-year-old was to be rewarded for his patience and professionalism.
And this shift in the pecking order at the King Power presented an opportunity to Dream Team gaffers.
Originally priced at £2m, Ward suddenly looked like an enticing bargain upon Schmeichel’s departure.
Leicester may not have had the best 2021/22 but they still finished 8th and, generally speaking, they’ve been one of the league’s better sides under Brendan Rodgers stewardship.
A starting keeper for a top-half team at £2m looked to be a potentially savvy Dream Team strategy that would open up some additional budget to invest elsewhere.
Hindsight is a wonderful thingCredit: getty
Plus, most fans would have been impressed by Ward’s efforts between the sticks for Wales in recent years – he’s earned 26 caps for the Dragons, 14 of those coming in 2021.
However, this punt could not have worked out any worse.
After seven Game Weeks, Ward has -15 points to his name – yes, that’s minus fifteen.
Leicester’s No1 is quite literally the worst player Dream Team has to offer at this stage of the season.
Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi (£0.9m) is the second-worst asset currently but he’s four points better off than Ward on -11.
Some readers may be thinking that this is the nature of being a goalkeeper in the realm of Dream Team since they incur minus points whenever they concede two or more goals in a game.
And yet Ward is the only player in his position on minus points right now.
Dean Henderson (£2.2m) of 19th-placed Nottingham Forest actually has 19 points to his name, a tally bettered by only seven other keepers.
Ward is Dream Team’s worst asset this seasonCredit: getty
Occasionally, assets can be reduced to the doldrums of minus points because their team is performing badly rather than through their own individual form but in this instance it’s a bit of both to be brutally honest.
Leicester’s defence has been embarrassingly porous but Ward has also been at fault for several goals himself.
The Foxes have conceded 22 goals in seven Premier League games this term, giving them the worst defensive record among the 20 teams.
Even Bournemouth have conceded fewer goals and they were thumped 9-0 by Liverpool.
Perhaps most concerning is that Ward’s worst two performances came in his two most recent outings when he conceded five goals to Brighton before shipping six to Spurs.
This disastrous pair of fixtures cost him minus points alone.
Leicester have just one point from seven league fixtures this campaignCredit: getty
Leicester actually have two relatively favourable games first up after the international break in the form of Forest and the Cherries but they’re currently such a mess at the back that further minus points seem more likely than clean sheets.
It goes without saying that Dream Team bosses shouldn’t touch Ward or any Leicester defenders with a barge pole.
In fact, with Halloween coming up it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few a little scamps dressed as the Foxes’ goalkeeper – what a horrifying sight that would be for any self-respecting Dream Team manager!

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SHREWD Dream Team bosses are always on the look out for potential bargain differential options.The likes of Erling Haaland (£8.4m), Gabriel Jesus (£5.6m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.4m) are all thriving but they’re also widely owned so chances are your mini-league rivals will also benefit from their returns.
Lowly-owned players often make the greatest impact and if they’re affordable then all the better.
But identifying such assets is easier said than done.
Overlooked for England?Credit: getty
One such avenue worth considering leads to Elland Road where a pair of wingers have made some ripples throughout the first seven Game Weeks of the campaign.
Leeds have been the definition of a mixed bag so far this season having won two league games, drawn two and lost two.
Jesse Marsch’s side still have their vulnerabilities in defence but they pack a decent punch going forward, led by the industry and ingenuity of Jack Harrison (£3.5m).
The 25-year-old can perhaps count himself as rather unlucky not to have been included in the recent England squad given his form since the turn of the year.
He scored seven goals in the second half of 2021/22 as the Whites just about preserved their top flight status.
In fact it was Harrison (3.4% ownership) who scored in stoppage-time at Brentford on the final day to confirm his side’s relegation escape.
And Leeds’ No11 has picked up where he left off this term with three assists and a goal in six outings so far.
Only Kevin De Bruyne (£7.4m) and Bukayo Saka (£3.9m) have provided more Premier League assists at this early stage of the campaign.
Harrison’s creative stats are among the best in the league so far this seasonCredit: getty
These stats reinforce what many have observed, Harrison looks lively and threatening.
He’s racked up 28 points for his efforts at an average of 4.7 per outing – Martin Odegaard (£3.2m), Alexis Mac Allister (£2.7m), De Bruyne and Pascal Gross (£3m) are the only midfielders who have accumulated their points at a better rate.
However, Harrison is only Leeds’ second most in-form winger as Luis Sinisterra (£3.3m) has plundered 25 points across his last four appearances.
The Colombia international has scored three goals in his last 216 minutes of action and has put his hand up to be considered by Dream Team managers at the very least.
The 23-year-old scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in 30 league appearances for Feyenoord last season and has a style that lends itself to Dream Team returns.
It’s a tough ask to replace Raphinha but Sinisterra has started well at Elland RoadCredit: getty
With that Harrison and Sinisterra’s attacking ability in mind, let’s take a look at Leeds’ October fixtures:

Aston Villa (h)
Crystal Palace (a)
Arsenal (h)
Leicester (a)
Fulham (h)
Liverpool (a)

Naturally, the Gunners and Jurgen Klopp’s mob stick out there but the other four fixtures look ripe with potential – Villa, Palace and Leicester are all currently among the bottom six in the table.
Harrison or Sinisterra (who features in just 0.3% of teams) may be worth a whirl for a short-term gains after the international break.

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WE take no joy in digging out players but Dream Team gaffers need to be just as aware of under-performing assets as they of the successful gems.While the likes of Ivan Toney (£4.6m), James Tarkowski (£3.2m) and Thiago Silva (£5.7m) are racking up plentiful points for a small minority of backers, these five players are all immensely popular but have fewer than 20 points to their name after seven Game Weeks…
Alisson (£3.9m)

13.6% ownership
14 points

Last season’s top keeper has started slowlyCredit: getty
It’s been a mixed bag from Liverpool so far this season.
The thrashing of Bournemouth, late winner against Newcastle and spirited showing against Ajax were all typical of Jurgen Klopp’s reign but the dismal effort in Naples, defeat to Manchester United, and draws to Fulham, Crystal Palace and Everton were uncharacteristic of the Reds under the German tactician’s watch.
Only Brighton have conceded fewer Premier League goals than Liverpool this term but that’s only translated to two clean sheets for Alisson, limiting his returns.
The Brazilian is the third-most popular goalkeeper in Dream Team but just the 12th-most successful at this stage – his compatriot Ederson (£4.7m) has twice as many points.
Reece James (£5.3m)

14% ownership
17 points

Patience could be a virtue wit this one
We’re going to stick our neck out here and say that the Chelsea right-back’s owners should stick by him.
His underlying numbers are healthy and he should be a vital cog for Graham Potter, who utilised wing-backs effectively at Brighton.
Saying that, there’s no getting away from the fact that 17 points is a disappointing total from seven outings given that James averaged over five points-per-game throughout 2021/22.
The 22-year-old burst out the blocks with 13 points from his first two games but his last three appearances (West Ham, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg) have resulted in minus two points.
Pascal Struijk (£1.4m), Rayan Ait-Nouri (£3.1m) and Lloyd Kelly (£2.4m) are just three of the defenders with more points than James right now.
Virgil van Dijk (£5m)

16.4% ownership
17 points

Dropping standards
Much of what applied to Alisson is also relevant for Liverpool’s No4.
Usually an imperious, consistent figure, Van Dijk has looked considerably more vulnerable in recent weeks, as evidenced by the fact he’s given away two penalties.
The Dutchman’s tally would be disastrous had he not cashed in with a 13-point haul against the Cherries during that 9-0 shellacking.
His horror show against Napoli cost him four points (ouch) and he’s dropped a full £1m in price since Game Week 1.
Aaron Ramsdale (£3m)

21.3% ownership
15 points

Arsenal are excelling but Ramsdale is lagging in the rankingsCredit: getty
Perhaps something of a surprise inclusion here given Arsenal are currently top of the table.
The Gunners have undoubtedly started very well but their 3-0 win over Brentford at the weekend was actually their first clean sheet since Game Week 3 when they beat Bournemouth by the same scoreline.
So while the likes of Gabriel Jesus (£5.6m), William Saliba (£2.7m), Gabriel Martinelli (£3.3m) and Martin Odegaard (£3.2m) have all delivered the goods, Ramsdale hasn’t justified his popularity so far.
The England gloveman is comfortably the most-selected asset in his position and yet he’s been outscored by ten of his peers to date.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (£3.7m)

27.3% ownership
17 points

Zinchenko started with a 15-point haulCredit: getty
It’s a similar story for Arsenal’s new Ukrainian although injury setbacks are the main factor here.
Zinchenko has been limited to 345 minutes this season – compare that to Gabriel’s (£3.2m) 720 minutes – which explains why his returns don’t match up to ownership.
Things started very brightly indeed when he banked 15 points on debut for the Gunners but it’s been slim pickings around the injury niggles since then.
Over a quarter of Dream Team gaffers need to evaluate whether the former Manchester City left-back is worth sticking by, especially when Saliba and Gabriel are guaranteed more minutes and are available at cheaper prices.

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