Dream Team

TIME to shine a light on Dream Team’s underrated gems.In reverse order, here are the top seven players (based on total points) who currently feature in less than 5% of teams.

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Everton are on the charge!Credit: Reuters
7 Vitaliy Mykolenko

£3.2m
1.5% ownership
98 points

Every Dream Team manager should be monitoring Everton’s in-form leff-back now the European group stages are drawing to a close.
Mykolenko is currently the fourth-best defender in the game having plundered 26 points from his last three outings.
The Toffees have beaten Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea this month without conceding a goal and only Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City boast a better defensive record in the top flight this season.
The Ukraine international has made 51 tackles, the most among defenders at the time of writing.
6 Abdoulaye Doucoure
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£3m
1.4% ownership
101 points

Another underestimated Goodison Park resident.
The 30-year-old is above the likes of Jeremy Doku (£4.1m), Gabriel Martinelli (£4.7m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£3.5m) in the rankings having brought up his century with an eight-point haul against Chelsea at the weekend.
Playing in a more advanced role where he can crash the box, Doucoure has scored six goals and provided three assists already in 2023/24 – he’s on course for the best season of his career in terms of attacking output.
Quietly brilliantCredit: Getty
5 Matheus Cunha

£3.1m
0.2% ownership
103 points

The Wolves forward has been on a tear of late having amassed 67 points across eight outings since the start of Gameweek 9!
And his most recent performance, a 14-point return against Nottingham Forest, was his best of the campaign to date.
In fact, Cunha is statistically the most in-form striker in Dream Team right now in terms of points-per-game average across the last three fixtures.
The Brazilian 24-year-old has scored five goals and provided three assists and no forward has registered more successful dribbles this season.
4 Bryan Mbeumo

£3.8m
4.7% ownership
104 points

Brentford’s No19 was relatively popular prior to his injury so he doesn’t truly fit among the other underrated gems in this list.
The remaining 4.7% of gaffers with Mbeumo still in their teams either had more pressing issues last week or they’ve simply given up on Dream Team – the Second Shot competition is coming up!
Jarrod Bowen (£5.3m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.7m) are the only midfield assets to have scored more goals than the Cameroon international this season.
Many Dream Team bosses will be eagerly awaiting his return from injury.
The Premier League’s most underrated player?Credit: Reuters
3 Pascal Gross

£3.9m
1.4% ownership
106 points

Brighton’s perennially underrated midfielder was fairly well backed at the start of the campaign and his returns were more than healthy but an injury setback in late September caused his ownership of plummet.
Upon Gross’ return, his points were initially underwhelming and so he never enjoyed a resurgence in popularity but 21 points across his last two outings should have raised a few eyebrows.
The Germany international has actually played as a full-back lately to cover for absentees but, if anything, it’s only improved his attacking returns.

2 Dominic Solanke

£3.6m
0.9% ownership
106 points

Bournemouth’s No9 scored his ninth goal of the season against Manchester United at the weekend.
The Cherries are top of the Premier League form table across the last five games and no team has generated more xG in the same time frame.
Having looked limp throughout the first three months of the campaign, something has clicked for Andoni Iraola’s men in recent weeks.
If they can extend their good form through the Christmas period, Solanke may well prove to be a smart differential option for Dream Team bosses – he’s outscored Mohamed Salah (£6.7m) across his last three games!
The Villains’ heroCredit: Dream Team
1 John McGinn

£3.8m
4% ownership
117 points

Who else but Villa Park’s fan favourite to top this list?
The Scotland international was the Villains’ match-winner against Arsenal on Saturday.
An all-round midfield general, McGinn got through 11 tackles across the victories over the Gunners and Manchester City – an effort that earned him five points.
Remarkably, the 29-year-old has scored six goals from just nine shots on target.
Read more on The Sun
For comparison, Bruno Fernandes (£5.6m) has scored five goals from 20 shots on target.
McGinn is Dream Team’s outright top performer among assets with an ownership below 5%.

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AT the risk of sounding like Rafa Benitez, let’s talk facts.Everton are currently 17th in the Premier League but only because they were slapped with a ten-point deduction for financial indiscretions.
Had they not incurred the punishment, they would reside in the top half of the table.
The Toffees have won seven league games this season, just one fewer than Newcastle and the same number as Brighton and West Ham.
From a purely footballing perspective, they are genuinely rather good right now.
And so the question must be asked: when will Dream Team managers start taking Everton seriously?

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Among the best assets in their respective positionsCredit: Dream Team
Sean Dyche’s side have lost just once in their last eight games in all competitions – a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in which they had more than their fair share of chances.
Consecutive wins over Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea in December have given the Goodison Park faithful reasons to be optimistic.
Notably, Everton are yet to concede a goal this month.
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Naturally, a trio of clean sheets has done wonders for Jordan Pickford (£2.8m) in the realm of Dream Team.
England’s No1 has notched 25 points across his last three outings and now finds himself fourth in the goalkeeper rankings, just one point off the podium behind Robert Sanchez (£2.6m).
That clean sheet feelingCredit: Getty
Similarly, Vitaliy Mykolenko (£3.2m) is now fourth among defenders having plundered 26 points against Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea.
The Ukraine international is just two points shy of a century with only William Saliba (£3.9m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.7m) and Kieran Trippier (£5.3m) above him in the defensive rankings.
However, whereas the few defenders above Mykolenko are among the most-selected players in the game, Everton’s left-back features in just 1.4% of teams.
He’s currently less popular than Willy Boly (£2.1m), Marc Guehi (£2.6m) and Axel Disasi (£3m).
Mykolenko has made 51 tackles this season, the most among defenders at the time of writing.
In fact, he’s earned 11 points through tackles alone since the start of Gameweek 10.
A tackle machine!Credit: Reuters
Pickford is marginally more popular than his team-mate but his ownership remains modest at 2.5%.
Aaron Ramsdale (£3.4m) features in more teams and he’s firmly Arsenal’s second-choice keeper these days.
Dream Team bosses would do well to shake off their false perceptions of Everton and acknowledge the reality that they are one of the most in-form teams in the top flight.
Only neighbours Liverpool have earned more points in their last six Premier League fixtures.

And it’s no coincidence Pickford and Mykolenko are flying high given Dyche’s side have conceded 20 league goals – only Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City boast a better defensive record in 2023/24.
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With the European competitions set to pause for almost two months after this week, there’s no real reason for gaffers to shy away from Everton’s best-performing assets.
Simply put, Dream Team managers would be foolish to overlook the Toffees entirely.

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TOTTENHAM ended their run of five games without win in emphatic style on Sunday.Ange Postecoglou’s side thoroughly outplayed Newcastle in North London to register a 4-1 win.
At the time of writing, Son Heung-min (£4.4m) and Richarlison (£2.4m) are Dream Team’s two best performers of Gameweek 15 having plundered 17 and 15 points respectively.
However, for the purposes of this article the focus is on Pedro Porro (£3.3m).
Selected by 5.9% of Dream Team bossesCredit: Dream Team
The 24-year-old provided the assist for Spurs’ third goal with a glorious lofted pass to find Richarlison in the box and it was his throughball that set Son away for the penalty incident late on.
When all was said and done, Porro banked eight points, which boosted him up to seventh in the defensive rankings for the season.
His overall tally of 94 is particularly impressive given a) his lack of European commitments, and b) Spurs’ inability to keep clean sheets.
Joelinton’s (£3.4m) consolation goal in stoppage time meant Postecoglou’s men have conceded at least one goal in each of their last seven games.
Their last clean sheet came against Fulham on October 23rd.
This is to be expected to some extent as the Australian tactician wants his side to overwhelm the opposition in attack and, consequently, is willing to accept a certain degree of vulnerability at the back to guarantee his preferred swashbuckling style.
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Most defenders rely on a steady stream of clean sheets if they’re to climb the Dream Team rankings and so Porro’s recent success is notable.
Porro caused Newcastle all kinds of problemsCredit: Reuters
The Spanish right-back passes the eye test with flying colours as he’s clearly a key component in Spurs’ attacking game as well as a first-choice defender.
Porro has provided six assists, a tally only bettered by Kieran Trippier (£5.3m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.7m) among defenders and it’s the same two names above him for big chances created.
Defensively, only Vitaliy Mykolenko (£3.2m) and Emerson (£2.4m) have made more tackles (46) than Porro among assets in his position.
He also ranks highly for successful dribbles and accurate crosses, which have contributed to his respectable tally of 13 bonus points.
In fact, eight of his 13 bonus points have come in his last six games, highlighting the impressive nature of his current form.

Postecoglou encourages his full-backs to get forwardCredit: Getty
Essentially, the stats reinforce what many Dream Team bosses have observed – Porro is influential figure at both ends of the pitch for one of the Premier League’s most attacking teams.
A lack of European fixtures has hindered the viability of Spurs assets this season but that won’t be a factor from Gameweek 16 until the knockouts get underway in February.
Simply put, now is as good a time as any to recruit Porro.

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HOW quickly things change in the world of Dream Team.The weekend before last, Kieran Trippier (£5.3m) banked 14 points at Manchester United’s expense to underline his status as the game’s outright best defender.
Many gaffers would have considered him a must-have asset just a few days ago.
Trippier remains the top performer in his position at the time of writing having racked up 129 points this season but the outlook regarding his viability has changed dramatically.
A top-tier asset but his form is a concernCredit: Dream Team
The 33-year-old was at fault for two goals during his side’s 3-0 defeat to Everton last week.
Usually such a reliable performer, Trippier was uncharacteristically sloppy at Goodison Park with fans and pundits alike suggesting fatigue was the interfering factor – the Magpies looked leggy generally.
On Sunday, Eddie Howe’s side produced a similarly laboured performance against Tottenham with Trippier’s lethargy exposed by the brilliant Son Heung-min (£4.4m).
It’s understandable why Newcastle may be fatigued as they’re in the midst of an injury crisis that has stretched the squad thin.
Few would doubt the club have suffered rotten luck in regards to availability of late but Dream Team bosses should always focus on the raw numbers.
However you spin it, the fact is Trippier has produced just two points across his last two outings and, to make matters worse, he incurred a domestic suspension when he received his fifth yellow card of the campaign in North London.
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A tough couple of gamesCredit: Reuters
In the wider scheme of things, this may prove to be a blessing in disguise as he looks as if he could do with a rest – he’ll miss Fulham’s trip to St James’ Park on Saturday.
But there’s no question Trippier’s one-game suspension is a pesky problem for the 32.5% of gaffers currently backing Newcastle’s No2 – he’s the seventh-most popular player in Dream Team right now.
Holding Trippier isn’t untenable because Newcastle are among the eight teams with two fixtures to fulfil in Gameweek 16.
In theory, he could sit out the weekend’s league game then return for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Chelsea in midweek.
Given the majority of players will only have one fixture available to them in Gameweek 16, this is a potentially handy workaround that would negate the impact of his suspension.
However, Howe may see the secondary domestic cup as a low priority and therefore an opportunity to extend Trippier’s rest period with a view to ensuring the defender is back to his best for the Toon’s league games against Luton and Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 17.
Defeats to Everton and Spurs have checked Newcastle’s progressCredit: Getty
Dream Team bosses will probably get another look at Trippier this week as Newcastle host AC Milan in their final Champions League group game with their fate in the competition hanging in the balance.
If he plays and does well then it may the worst is over and there’s no need to use a transfer.
Equally, if he continues to look below par then it may be time to analyse suitable replacements.

Tino Livramento (£2.9m) is an affordable alternative to Trippier but if Newcastle’s malaise proves to be a team-wide issue then such a move may be counterproductive.
Saying that, the Gameweek 17 double of Luton and Forest is appealing on paper.
Some Trippier owners may choose to pivot to Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.7m), who has racked up 44 points across the last two and a half Gameweeks.
Read more on The Sun
Liverpool’s homegrown hero is now just eight points short of Trippier at the top of the defensive rankings.
So what’ll be… stick or twist?

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