Dream Team

DREAM TEAM managers will be rewarded for gritting their teeth through the international break with a Premier League clash between Manchester City and Liverpool this Saturday lunchtime.What better way to preview this mouthwatering match-up between the top flight’s two best sides than a combined XI determined by Dream Team points?

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Brazil’s No1Credit: Alamy
Goalkeeper: Alisson (£3.7m)
The Reds’ No1 has 64 points to his name after 12 Gameweeks, eight more than his compatriot at this stage.
This is notable because Ederson (£3.7m) is more than twice as popular as his fellow Brazilian, perhaps unjustly?
Alisson is Dream Team’s third-best custodian right now.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.5m), Kyle Walker (£3.7m), Manuel Akanji (£4.4m)
Liverpool’s homegrown right-back is a reliable performer in the realm of Dream Team and while he’s yet to activate his superhuman mode this season, only Kieran Trippier (£5.4m) has provided more assists among defenders.
Alexander-Arnold has also contributed to five clean sheets and he’s also earned a respectable ten bonus points.
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The England international has amassed 77 points in total at an average of 5.5 per game.
Akanji has scored in his last three gamesCredit: Rex
City defenders have under performed against expectations this season with no representative in the top ten currently – unusual for a team top of the Premier League and a 100% record in the Champions League.
Walker has 70 points while Akanji has reached 67 having scored in each of his last three appearances.
Guardiola’s rotation policy has somewhat limited the returns of his defenders but there’s no doubt the treble-winners have not kept as many clean sheets as they would have liked.
Midfielders: Phil Foden (£4.7m), Jeremy Doku (£4.2m), Rodri (£4m), Dominik Szoboszlai (£3.9m)
It’s an all-City podium in midfield led by Foden who is among a select quartet of players in his position to have celebrated a century of points in 2023/24.
Only three players have earned more bonus points than the England starlet, who has scored five goals and provided four assists in all competitions.
A midfield stacked with talentCredit: Dream Team
Doku is arguably the most-exciting asset in Dream Team right now with sky-high potential.
The tricky Belgian has raced to 86 points despite the fact he’s played less than half the minutes available to him – if Guardiola increases his playing time his returns will go through the roof.
Rodri is almost the polar opposite to his team-mate; he’s a consistent player who replicates almost the same excellent performance every week for a steady stream of points rather than a mismatch of blanks and double-digit hauls.
The classy Spaniard has produced 80 points to date.
Szoboszlai ensures some Merseyside representation in the middle of the park.
The Hungary captain has looked right at home at Anfield since his Liverpool debut, although his returns have dropped off a tad lately.
His tally of two goals and four assists only tells half the story as he’s contributed defensively as well as in possession – he’s earned 16 bonus points and has 80 in total.
Strikers: Erling Haaland (£7.7m), Mohamed Salah (£6.6m), Julian Alvarez (£4.3m)
Dream Team’s cream of the cropCredit: AFP
Given that Haaland and Salah are Dream Team’s two top points scorers overall their presence in this XI virtually goes without saying.
The prolific Norwegian has racked up 164 points while Liverpool’s No11 has cruised to 132.
This top-tier pair have scored 29 goals between them already this season!

It was a close contest for the third spot in the forward line, with Alvarez edging out Darwin Nunez (£4.5m) by five points.
The World Cup winner is on 108 points to the Uruguayan’s 103, though the latter is marginally ahead in terms of goal involvements.
Both have scored seven goals but Nunez has eight assists to Alvarez’s seven and the duo are also level on 22 shots on target each – the only reason for the Argentine’s superiority is his tally of six bonus points.
From a Dream Team perspective, it’s seven Man City players to four Liverpool assets in this combined XI.
Does that give an indication of how Saturday’s fixture will play out? Only time will tell…

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CLUB football comes thick and fast for Dream Team managers once the current international break is complete.At least four clubs are set to pull double duty every Gameweek until the turn of the year.
The festive period is always a crucial juncture in the Dream Team calendar and so it’s imperative gaffers get their strategy right over the next two months.

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Let’s take it one step at a time, starting with some transfer recommendations for Gameweek 13.
Not to be underestimatedCredit: Dream Team
Dominic Solanke (£3.2m)
We start with an outside-the-box, short-term punt in the form of Bournemouth’s No9.
Solanke has scored or assisted 63.6% of the Cherries’ league goals so far this season and has 82 Dream Team points to his name as a result.
The ex-Liverpool striker’s striker form may have gone unnoticed by Dream Team bosses because Andoni Iraola’s side had generally underwhelmed prior to their 2-0 win over Newcastle just before the international break.
Solanke scored both his side’s goals in that win to bank 15 points in one fell swoop – only Erling Haaland (£7.7m) notched more all players in Gameweek 12.
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This Saturday, Bournemouth travel to Bramall Lane to face a Sheffield United side that have scraped together five points since promotion.
Gaffers who like to tailor their team to the fixtures could do a lot worse than backing Solanke, who features in just 0.5% of teams and is level with Darwin Nunez (£4.5m) and Julian Alvarez (£4.3m) in terms of goals scored this term, in hope of some short-term gains.
The main drawback is that Bournemouth will obviously not be action midweek when the European competitions resume.
It all depends how vulnerable the Blades will be this weekend – they have the worst defence in the league right now.
Simon Adingra (£2.8m)
Bright sparkCredit: Getty
Another huge differential here as the Brighton winger appears in only 0.6% of teams.
The Seagulls face Nottingham Forest on Saturday before a trip to AEK Athens on Thursday night and while they have struggled of late as a collective, Adingra’s individual form has caught the eye.
The 21-year-old has plundered 26 points across the last two Gameweeks with his show-stealing display against Ajax in Amsterdam being the crown jewel of his campaign to date.
With Kaoru Mitoma (£3.9m) having seemingly joined Solly March (£3.6m) in the treatment room, Adingra is expected to be a central figure for Brighton this coming Gameweek and recent form suggests he’s capable of providing healthy returns.
Gameweek 13 is the first of four consecutive double Gameweeks for De Zerbi’s side.
William Saliba (£3.7m) and/or Gabriel (£4.2m)
Arsenal have kept it tight at the backCredit: Getty
A more mainstream suggestion now.
No top-flight team has kept more clean sheets than Arsenal in 2023/24 and so backing their defenders is a logical ploy generally.
Saliba is the optimum option but with an ownership of 36.2% he seemingly falls under the category: too obvious to mention.
Ben White (£4.4m) is actually the Gunners’ top-scoring defender and second only to Kieran Trippier (£5.4m) among all assets in his position but the Englishman is an injury doubt – Mikel Arteta should provide an update later this week.
As things stand, pairing Gabriel with Saliba could be a profitable tactic for the coming weeks.
Arsenal play Brentford this weekend, who pack a punch going forward, but a Champions League home game against Lens in midweek has to be considered a favourable match-up as the French outfit have scored just 13 goals in 12 league games this term – although Arteta’s men did lose in the reverse fixture.
Looking ahead, Arsenal play Wolves and Luton in Gameweek 14.
Eberechi Eze (£3.6m)
Bonus ballerCredit: Rex
A similar logic to the Solanke recommendation also applies to this suggestion.
Crystal Palace’s No10 is a passionate hoarder of bonus points and he has the luxury of a fixture against Luton this weekend – the Hatters have only recently escaped the relegation zone via Everton’s points deduction.
Eze has banked 15 points in 122 minutes of action since he returned from injury and, more broadly, he averages 7.1 points-per-game this season.
Bukayo Saka (£6.5m), James Maddison (£4.2m) and Jarrod Bowen (£5.2m) are the only midfielders with better averages at this stage and the latter pair are both injured.
Again, the Eagles don’t have European commitments to bolster their schedule but Eze is perfectly capable of a double-digit haul in his only outing of Gameweek 13.

Pretty much any West Ham midfielder
Bowen may be unavailable but James Ward-Prowse (£4.2m), Lucas Paqueta (£3.9m) and Mohammed Kudus (£4.2m) are all perfectly viable options.
The Hammers face 20th-placed Burnley on Saturday and Backa Topola on Thursday – a double-header ripe for returns, surely?

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MIDFIELDERS from Manchester City have tended to dominate Dream Team in recent years.At this moment in time, however, it’s West Ham who boast the best assets in the all-important position.
After 12 Gameweeks, three of David Moyes’ troops are among the top six midfielders – no other team has more than one representative in the top ten!

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Ward-Prowse and friends are thriving this seasonCredit: Dream Team
Bukayo Saka (£6.5m) remains top dog on 130 points but Jarrod Bowen (£5.2m) is just 11 points behind in second place on 119.
The Hammers’ No20 is somewhat generously categorised as a midfielder as a fair share of his minutes have come as a centre-forward in recent weeks.
Even when he plays from the right flank, Bowen is usually his side’s primary attacking threat – he’s scored nine goals in all competitions already this term.
For comparison, no other midfielder has scored more than six goals at this stage.
The 26-year-old is level with Bruno Fernandes (£5.7m) on 18 shots on target, the joint-most among assets in his position.
Bowen is a fantastic selection despite his lofty price of £5.2m but many Dream Team gaffers have potentially had their plans scuppered ahead of Gameweek 13 by an availability concern.
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Bowen withdrew from the England squad with a knee injury and while West Ham are said to be hopeful the issue isn’t as significant as first feared, he may be unavailable this coming Gameweek.
Moyes should provide an update during his press conference later this week.
Nine goals and countingCredit: PA
James Ward-Prowse (£4.2m) completes an all-English podium of Dream Team midfielders having amassed 106 points.
The set-piece specialist is the game’s joint-top assist provider with nine to his name in all competition, alongside Saka.
However, the true secret of the former Southampton captain’s success is his ability to earn plentiful bonus points.
Ward-Prowse has earned 25 bonus points to date, the most among all players – that’s almost a quarter of his overall tally.
Lucas Paqueta (£3.9m) is currently joint-sixth in his position alongside the injured James Maddison (£4.2m) on 94 points.
The Brazil international has scored five goals this season with three of them coming in his last five outings.
A talented playmaker in possession, the 26-year-old is also an excellent defensive asset high up the pitch.
Paqueta has made 45 tackles already in 2023/24, the third-highest total among all players, an output that has earned him 19 points.
Two midfielders in one!Credit: Getty

West Ham’s midfield success is particularly relevant at this juncture as their double header this coming Gameweek appears favourable – Burnley in the Premier League followed by Backa Topola in the Europa League.
If Bowen, who features in 23.3% of teams, is indeed sidelined with injury then Dream Team bosses could hope to earn healthy returns from either Ward-Prowse or Paqueta instead.
Backing multiple Hammers may even be a profitable strategy!

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Kaoru Mitoma (£3.9m) is the ninth-most popular midfielder in Dream Team at the time of writing.But the Japanese winger is likely to be among the most transferred-out players ahead of Gameweek 13 because of availability concerns.
Roberto De Zerbi should provide an update later in the week but at this stage it’s thought Mitoma will not travel with the Brighton squad to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Gaffers seeking a replacement might be wise to include Simon Adingra (£2.8m) on their shortlist.

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Sparkling formCredit: Dream Team
The 21-year-old was the Seagulls’ best performer just prior to the international break.
He banked 15 points in Gameweek 11 thanks mostly to his decisive display in Amsterdam in the form of a goal and an assist against Ajax in the Europa League.
Adingra then followed up with an 11-point haul in Gameweek 12 despite Brighton’s underwhelming draw with Sheffield United at the Amex.
The Ivory Coast international scored the hosts’ only goal and earned three bonus points in the process to continue his impressive individual form.
Statistically, Adingra is one of Dream Team most in-form midfielders as he’s averaged 8.7 points-per-game across his last three outings.
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Only Cole Palmer (£3m), Phil Foden (£4.7m), Bukayo Saka (£6.5m) and Raheem Sterling (£3.8m) have registered more points in their last three fixtures.
Adingra produced an impressive performance against AjaxCredit: Rex
Mitoma remains Brighton’s top performer in Dream Team with 83 points to his name but Adingra has closed the gap in recent weeks – he’s now just 11 shy of his team-mate on 72.
However, the ex-Nordsjaelland winger is currently £1.1m cheaper than his team-mate and he’s also scored more goals than Mitoma this season.
Individual performance is what really matters but some Dream Team bosses may be concerned about Brighton’s collective form.
De Zerbi’s side are well placed to progress to the Europa League knockouts but they’re without a win in their last seven domestic fixtures.
Still, Gameweek 13 should be considered a favourable one for Adingra and company with an away trip to AEK Athens hot on the heels of their meeting with Forest.
Mitoma is expected to miss Brighton’s visit to Nottingham ForestCredit: Alamy

Looking further ahead, Gameweek 15 appears ripe for returns too with the Seagulls set to face Burnley and Marseille in consecutive home games.
In conclusion, Adingra is a cheap, in-form option with relatively favourable fixtures ahead who should be guaranteed plenty of minutes.
Right now he features in just 0.6% of teams, making him something of a hidden gem.

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Crystal Palace are not a “one-man team” by any stretch of the imagination.Such a moniker was perhaps appropriate for the Eagles at times during Wilfried Zaha’s tenure in South London but these days it’s very much a team effort at Selhurst Park.
That being said, there’s no doubt Eberechi Eze (£3.6m) is a key player for the current crop.

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A natural footballerCredit: Dream Team
Dream Team managers know this as well as the Palace fans as the 25-year-old was among the very best assets in his position up until Gameweek 7, at which point a hamstring injury sidelined him for the duration of October.
In the 132 minutes he’s played since returning to full fitness, Eze has banked 15 points.
Palace’s No10 came off the bench to provide an assist against Burnley in Gameweek 11 and he scored against Everton just prior to the international break.
Essentially, he’s picked up where he left off.

It will be interesting to see how many Dream Team gaffers transfer Eze into their teams ahead of Gameweek 13.
Hodgson’s side aren’t among the eight teams set to pull double duty via the European competitions but their Premier League fixture is a favourable one in the form of a trip to Luton.
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The Hatters mustered an impressive draw against Liverpool last time out at Kenilworth Road but the fact remains they have registered just one win since promotion (away to Everton) and they’re only above the relegation zone right now because of the Toffees’ recent points deduction.
Eze hopes to make Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024Credit: Willie Vass
Without being harsh on Rob Edwards’ men, they represent a friendly match-up in the world of Dream Team.
And given that Eze averages 7.1 points-per-game this season, it seems reasonable to expect a decent haul.
For context, Jarrod Bowen (£5.2m), James Maddison (£4.2m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.5m) are the only midfielders who average more points-per-game in 2023/24.
This isn’t a short-term punt either as every Premier League team will play twice in Gameweek 14 and Eze’s double of West Ham and Bournemouth looks relatively favourable on paper.
No discussion of Eze’s Dream Team viability would be complete without a mention of bonus points.
The England international has earned 23 bonus points this campaign.
James Ward-Prowse (£4.2m) is the only player with more to his name and that’s largely because he’s played five games more than Eze, who boasts impressive dribbling statistics.
Eze currently features in 4.4% of teams – making him a potentially brilliant differential option.

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