Dream Team

HERE at Dream Team HQ we understand that not everyone has the time to dig through the Stats Centre for hours on end.Fortunately, we’ve done the hard yards and unearthed seven mind-blowing stats from the current season.

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Time to crunch the numbersCredit: Dream Team
1 Jeremy Doku’s insane dribbling
Manchester City’s Belgian winger has taken the Premier League by storm since his summer transfer.
The 21-year-old has proven to be a terror for full-backs everywhere because of his electric-quick feet, which have given him some frankly absurd dribbling statistics.
Most successful dribbles this season (all comps):

JEREMY DOKU – 67
Eberechi Eze – 38
Mohammed Kudus – 36
Kaoru Mitoma – 36
Raheem Sterling – 36
Matheus Cunha – 35
Marcus Rashford – 35
Jordan Ayew – 34
Gabriel Martinelli – 34
Luca Koleosho – 33

To say Doku is in a league of his own is an understatement and the truly remarkable thing is that he’s played just half of City’s minutes so far in 2023/24!
No ordinary right-backCredit: Getty
2 Defender by day, playmaker by night
The secret to Kieran Trippier’s success is that he’s essentially two players for the price of one.
First and foremost, he’s Newcastle’s ultra reliable right-back who has contributed to seven clean sheets.
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What sets him apart from his peers is his unmatched creative output.
Whether it’s from set-pieces or open play, Trippier supplies a steady stream of chances for the Magpies’ attackers.
In fact, he’s created 11 big chances this season when only one other defender, Pedro Porro (6), has registered more than five.
And only three players from all positions have provided more than Trippier’s eight assists at this stage.
Unexpectedly prolificCredit: PA
3 The big three: Haaland, Salah… Pedro?
Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are the only players to have scored more goals than Joao Pedro this season.
That would remarkable enough as it is without the fact the Brighton youngster has played just 62.3% of the available minutes to date.
The ex-Watford Brazilian has bagged ten goals in all competitions with half of them coming in the Europa League.
Granted, he’s benefited from a penalty or two but his conversion rate of ten goals from 14 shots on target is amazing regardless.
Maybe Erik ten Hag was right?Credit: Rex
4 Onana, what’s his name?
Very few right-minded football fans would say that Andre Onana has been among the best goalkeepers this season.
The Cameroon international has rightly been criticised for his performances in several high-profile game since he joined Manchester United.
Onana himself has taken responsibility for a few clanging errors, most notably in the Champions League – the Red Devils are bottom of their group having conceded 14 goals in five games.
And yet, at the time writing, he’s on the brink of becoming Dream Team’s best keeper.
Seemingly against all logic, Onana has racked up 91 points, putting him second in his position behind Nick Pope who now faces at least four months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
And he’s comfortably second too, a full 23 points ahead of Alisson and David Raya – that’s a huge margin in his position.
The main reason for this is that he’s somehow kept seven clean sheets despite Man United’s problems.
Onana has also been forced to make 76 saves, the most among all keepers at this juncture.
RelentlessCredit: Getty
5 Bombardment
It’s hardly surprising that Erling Haaland has registered the most shots on target so far this campaign.
As the focal point of Manchester City’s rampant attack, the prolific poacher is presented with a wealth of chances almost every time he takes to the field.
Even so, the extent of his lead is staggering.
Haaland has registered 45 shots on target, 19 more than current runner-up Salah.
He’s almost doubled the tally of Julian Alvarez (26) which is incredible given the World Cup winner is fourth among all players in this metric.
Remember, each player receives one point for every shot on target this season – it’s no wonder Haaland is once again the game’s top performer.

Nobody is safe in the centre circle at Craven CottageCredit: Getty
6 Portuguese tackling machine
Dream Team assets also earn points for every two tackles they make per fixture this season.
This was mostly designed to recognise the important work of combative midfielders who don’t directly benefit from clean sheets and rarely contribute with goals and assists.
Lucas Paqueta, James Garner and Bruno Fernandes have put themselves about but one man reigns supreme, Joao Palhinha.
Fulham’s No26 is a one-man wrecking ball in the middle of the park having notched 63 tackles.
The Portugal international tops the pile despite being limited to domestic commitments.
As a comparison, his compatriot Fernandes (46 tackles) has already played 609 more minutes this season, the equivalent to six and half games.
Palhinha averages a shade under five tackles per appearance and has earned 28 points via this method.
In fact, 36.8% of his total points have come from tackles.
In Gameweek 10, he registered TEN tackles against Brighton for a five-point return, the equivalent of a scoring goal!
Just West Ham’s fifth-best midfielder right nowCredit: Getty
7 West Ham’s midfield maestros
Experienced Dream Team managers will know that Man City midfielders have dominated the position in Dream Team ever since Guardiola took up residence on these shores.
This season, however, the treble winners have met serious opposition from an unlikely source.
West Ham are currently the only team with three representatives inside the top eight midfielders and the only side with five among the top 20.
Jarrod Bowen, James Ward-Prowse, Lucas Paqueta, Tomas Soucek and Mohammed Kudus have combined for 526 points already!
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By way of a comparison, City’s top five midfielders – Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish – have combined for 460 points.
Anybody who says they predicted such a convincing win for David Moyes’ troops over the reigning European champions in this department is a liar.

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KIERAN TRIPPIER (£5.2m) has been Dream Team’s best defender for a while now.The England international finished the 2022/23 season as the top points scorer in his position and he’s on track to do the same again this campaign.
With 127 points to his name this term, the reliable right-back is 28 clear of his closest rival, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.6m).

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A Dream Team heroCredit: Getty
Trippier has contributed to seven clean sheets, provided eight assists, and earned 27 bonus points.
However you spin it, he’s a top-tier asset.
The only issue is that his quality comes at a high price, meaning some gaffers simply can’t afford to recruit him without accepting severe downgrades elsewhere.
Enter Tino Livramento (£2.8m).
The 21-year-old doesn’t possess the same pedigree as Trippier but he does offer an affordable route into Newcastle’s defence.
In Dan Burn’s (£3.6m) absence, Livramento has taken up the mantle of the Magpies’ first-choice left-back with impressive results.
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A potential bargain?Credit: Dream Team
The ex-Southampton full-back bagged 12 points against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in Gameweek 10 and came away from the 2-0 defeat in Borussia Dortmund with another five points soon after.
More recently, he pouched nine points in Gameweek 13 against Chelsea and PSG – he was cruelly robbed of a clean sheet against the latter by a controversy penalty late on.
On Saturday, Livramento banked ten points against Erik ten Hag’s men via a clean sheet and three bonus points.
In fact, he’s earned six bonus points across his last three outings – an undeniably Trippier-esque trait.
In terms of recent form, only Alexander-Arnold, Trippier and Takehiro Tomiyasu (£2.6m) have averaged more points across their last three appearances than Livramento (among defenders).
A smart signingCredit: PA Wire

Looking forward, it seems reasonable to expect more returns this month.
Burn isn’t scheduled to return until the new year and while Lewis Hall (£2.5m) may get some minutes, the left-back spot in Livramento’s to lose at present – Eddie Howe likes a settled defence.
Newcastle travel to Everton on Thursday before a relatively testing double header in Gameweek 15 in the form of Tottenham and AC Milan.
Once that’s out of the way, the following match-ups appear favourable: Fulham, Chelsea, Luton, Nottingham Forest.
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Let’s be clear, Trippier is the optimum selection for such a run but if such a strategy isn’t possible then gaffers could do a lot worse than taking a punt on Livramento.
Keep an eye on the youngster’s returns.

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WEST HAM’S midfielders have taken Dream Team by storm this season.Jarrod Bowen’s (£5.3m) tally of nine goals in all competitions is the most among all assets in his position and his total of 123 points puts him third in the rankings.
James Ward-Prowse (£4.5m) and Lucas Paqueta (£4.2m) are also among the top eight midfielders with the former leading the way in terms of bonus points (28) among all players.
However, two other Hammers’ midfielders have come to the fore of late in the form of Tomas Soucek (£3.7m) and Mohammed Kudus (£4.2m).

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Talent to burnCredit: Dream Team
The Ghana international was a ray of light in an otherwise dull affair between David Moyes’ side and Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Kudus opened the scoring in what ended a 1-1 draw but what really caught the eye from a Dream Team perspective was the 23-year-old’s haul of five bonus points – the maximum available for a single fixture and a relatively rare achievement.
When all was said and done, the ex-Ajax man banked 14 points – only Enzo Fernandez (£3.1m) has bagged more so far this Gameweek.
More broadly, Kudus has earned 51 points since the start of Gameweek 10, averaging 7.3 points-per-game during this fruitful run.
As for Soucek, Sunday’s fixture was the first in nearly a month in which he didn’t score.
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The Czech workhorse has always been a threat in the opposition’s penalty area, as he exhibited with goals against Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Backa Topola in November.
West Ham’s No28 has produced 31 points across his last four outings.
Hammer blowCredit: Reuters
At the time of writing, Kudus features in 1% of teams while Soucek’s ownership is just 0.6%.
It’s hardly surprising this pair have generally been overlooked as Dream Team bosses are spoiled for choice even if they restrict their hunt for a viable midfielder to the London Stadium.
West Ham are the only team with FIVE representatives inside Dream Team’s top 20 midfielders – a remarkable effort for a club currently ninth in the league table.
The Irons have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League so this theme could extend well into the new year.
Dream Team’s third-best midfielder at this stageCredit: Getty

Now he’s fit again, Bowen has to be considered the optimum selection as he’s essentially a forward – he’s notched 20 shots on target in all competitions.
However, the England international is costly at £5.3m.
Gaffers on a tighter budget would probably be better served by Kudus, arguably the most talented of the midfield crop.
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What’s clear is that Dream Team managers would be foolish to underrate West Ham’s midfield contingent.
Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Soucek and Kudus have 526 points between them already!

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ARSENAL fans would have been very happy with how the weekend played out.The Gunners were among the first sides to play in Gameweek 14 and they got the job done at home to Wolves in the form of a 2-1 win.
Mikel Arteta’s men then watched on as Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham, all rivals at the top end of the table, dropped points.
It was almost the perfect weekend for the red half of North London as Liverpool were 3-2 down in the 80th minute at home to Fulham on Sunday but the Reds pulled off a late comeback to extend their 100% home record in the league this season.
Arsenal are once again well and truly in the Premier League title raceCredit: PA
At the time of writing, Arsenal are two points clear of Jurgen Klopp’s side at the top of the table having earned 33 points from their first 14 league fixtures.
Things are looking rosy in Europe too as they are guaranteed to finish top of their Champions League group no matter what happens against PSV next week.
There’s plenty to admire about Arsenal of late from a Dream Team perspective but Martin Odegaard (£5m) arguably stole the show on Saturday.
The Norway international looked back to his best as he created six chances (three of them ‘big chances’) and scored a goal against Gary O’Neil’s side.
When all was said and done, Arsenal’s captain banked 11 points to continue his impressive form since returning from injury.
Odegaard has returned in sparkling formCredit: Dream Team
Odegaard sat our four games out of five between Gameweeks 10 and 12 but he’s produced 24 points in three outings since coming back into the fold.
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It’s a small sample size but two goals in his last two games (against Lens and Wolves) have gone a long way to removing any doubts about the 24-year-old’s condition – he was clearly hampered a few weeks back.
The former Real Madrid midfielder has generally been a superb Dream Team asset when fully fit since he arrived on English shores.
In fact, he’s now seventh among players in his position having moved onto 111 points for the season – an excellent effort considering he recently skipped a few games.

Arsenal are flying highCredit: Getty
Bukayo Saka (£6.6m) remains the headline act when discussing Arsenal midfielders – he’s top dog in his position with 160 points – but Odegaard should not be overlooked.
The Norwegian playmaker has scored seven goals in all competitions and he ranks fourth among midfielders for shots on target.
At £5m he doesn’t come cheap and for just £0.1m more gaffers could get Phil Foden (£5.1m), who is second only to Saka in the midfield rankings.
Arteta’s side will be heavy favourites against Luton this week but their fixtures turn as of Gameweek 15 – Aston Villa (a), PSV (a), Brighton (h) and Liverpool (a) represents a tricky spell leading up to Christmas.
Still, Odegaard’s returns are worth monitoring closely – he’s the fourth-most popular midfielder currently with an ownership of 22.1%.

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ON Saturday, Nick Pope (£4.2m) became the first goalkeeper to reach 100 Dream Team points this season.However, the celebration was short lived as Newcastle’s custodian dislocated his shoulder late on during his side’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at St James’ Park.
It’s since been reported the England international faces FIVE months on the sidelines.
Pope faces a frustrating spell on the sidelinesCredit: Dream Team
The Magpies have been plagued by injuries of late and this setback comes as a huge blow in what is shaping up to be an ultra competitive Premier League campaign.
Pope has once again been a reliable performer between the sticks this term, as evidenced by his century of Dream Team points.
By way of a comparison, only one other asset in his position, Andre Onana (£4m), has more than 70 points at the time of writing.
Pope is also the second-most popular keeper in the game, leaving 12.9% of gaffers in need of an urgent replacement.
While this is clearly a major headache for Eddie Howe and the Toon faithful, is it possible Dream Team bosses may be able to turn Pope’s unfortunate injury to their advantage?
All eyes on Martin DubravkaCredit: Getty
The 31-year-old’s absence leaves the door open for Martin Dubravka (£1.6m) to step up.
The veteran Slovak came on for Pope in the 86th minute at the weekend and will almost certainly start at Goodison Park on Thursday night and for the foreseeable future.
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Only Arsenal have conceded fewer league goals than Newcastle this season and so Dubravka offers a dirt-cheap route into one of the best defensive units around.
A straight swap from Pope to the 34-year-old would immediately free up an additional £2.6m, which could potentially be invested in improvements elsewhere.
There’s no denying Pope is the superior keeper of the two and Newcastle’s chances of registering further clean sheets are reduced in his absence but many Dream Team managers will feel the price difference offers ample compensation.
Hypothetically, transferring Dubravka in for Pope for would allow enough budget to upgrade Ezri Konsa (£3m) or Thiago Silva (£3m) to the in-form Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.6m) – surely a net-positive for such a team.
Newcastle have had terrible luck with injuries this seasonCredit: Getty
Granted, Gameweek 15 is a tricky one for Newcastle on paper – they travel to Spurs before hosting AC Milan.
But look further ahead and there’s every reason to be hopeful of clean sheets.
Howe’s side face Fulham, Chelsea, Luton and Nottingham Forest before the turn of the year.
Backing a cheap reserve keeper suddenly thrust into the starting line-up can yield healthy returns but gaffers only have to look at Sunday’s result at Anfield to see how such a ploy can backfire.
Caoimhin Kelleher (£1.9m) started for Liverpool against Fulham in Alisson’s (£3.7m) absence but ended up fishing the ball out of his net three times.
The Irish deputy registered just one point in what was a favourable match-up on paper as the game ended 4-3 to the Reds.
Jurgen Klopp’s side travel to Bramall Lane on Wednesday so Kelleher may yet be able to salvage Gameweek 14.
Kelleher conceded three to Fulham on SundayCredit: AP
There’s also the possibility that Dubravka will only get the nod in the short term as Newcastle will be able to sign another keeper to deputise for Pope in January if they wish.
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The club could also pick up a free agent, a certain David de Gea perhaps?
Gaffers will need to keep up with the latest news regarding this situation but, at this stage, Dubravka is an appealing bargain option.

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