Dream Team

GAME WEEK 31 was a high-scoring affair but no gaffer made hay quite like Yousef Abu Khdair.The Liverpool supporter racked up 159 points thanks to some truly inspired selections.
Let’s take a closer look at how he did it…
Yousef’s Newcastle assets came good this past weekCredit: DREAM TEAM
It could be argued that David Raya (£3.2m) has been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season.
Brentford’s custodian, who features in 1.2% of teams, has made 136 saves in the top flight this term, by far and away the most, and his contribution to a clean sheet against Chelsea on Wednesday night helped him edge out his team-mates to claim the Star Man award.
A 13-point haul at Stamford Bridge more than made up for the Spaniard’s blank against Aston Villa last weekend – he’s now the fifth-best asset his position.
It was a fantastic week for Newcastle as they registered emphatic victories over Tottenham and Everton although they weren’t able to keep their sheets clean so Kieran Trippier (£5.4m) had to settle for three points.
Fabian Schar (£3.6m) fared better as he provided two assists during that opening onslaught at St James’ Park on Sunday – the Switzerland international produced seven points to reclaim second place among defenders in the rankings.
Raya has made more saves than any other keeper this season
Kyle Walker (£3.9m) enjoyed his best Game Week of the season, banking eleven points, 19.3% of his season’s total.
The speedy right-back has spent a lot of time on Manchester City’s bench recently but Nathan Ake’s (£4.8m) injury meant he started against Sheffield United and Arsenal.
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He earned 7+ ratings in both fixtures and a clean sheet against the Blades.
Speaking of City’s comfortable FA Cup semi-final win, Riyad Mahrez (£6.2m) was undoubtedly the big winner at Wembley as he scored all three of his side’s goals.
The Algerian winger cashed in to the tune of 28 points to propel himself up to fourth in the midfield rankings.
Arsenal may have endured a disappointing week but Bukayo Saka (£5.4m) ended his mini drought with a ten-point return, taken from last Friday’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Jarrod Bowen (£4.1m) has provided healthy returns throughout April and he added five more to his tally this past week via an assist and 7+ rating at Bournemouth.
1.5%-owned Joelinton (£3.8m) completed Yousef’s midfield with aplomb.
The Magpies’ fan favourite scored a brace against hapless Spurs before helping himself to another at Goodison Park in midweek.
Add in a pair of 7+ ratings and the Brazilian pouched a whopping 21 points when all was said and done in Game Week 31.
403 points and counting
Yousef’s front three was perfect in the sense in that they were the best-performing strikers this past week.
No matter how bleak things get for Spurs, Harry Kane (£8.9m) continues to stack up Dream Team points at a rapid rate.
The England captain scored his side’s consolation goal at St James’ Park and he provided the assist for Son Heung-min’s (£5m) equaliser against Manchester United on Thursday.
An 18-point return meant Kane leapfrogged Mohamed Salah (£8.5m) to reclaim the bronze medal position among Dream Team forwards.
Erling Haaland (£10.2m) let the Blades off the hook last weekend but he produced arguably his best all-round performance of the season yet against Arsenal.
The prolific Norwegian notched two assists before netting his customary goal in stoppage time to edge out Kevin De Bruyne (£8.4m) for the Star Man award.
City’s No9 now has 403 points overall – simply ludicrous.
Clinical
Last but not certainly not least, Yousef’s masterstroke, Callum Wilson (£4.1m).
The 31-year-old, who has an ownership of just 2.7%, has been forced to share his minutes with Alexander Isak (£4.2m) of late but even so he found time to plunder 26 points in Game Week 31!
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Newcastle’s No9 scored his side’s sixth goal against Spurs before helping himself to a brace against Everton.
Superb work, Yousef! Good luck to you and all other gaffers ahead of Game Week 32. More

MANCHESTER CITY vs Arsenal was billed as a climatic title-decider between two top teams.In reality, the contest resembled bottom-half club’s typical visit to the Etihad.
A meeting between title contenders is supposed to feel different but what occurred on Wednesday night was all too familiar; Pep Guardiola’s side dominated, Kevin De Bruyne’s (£8.1m) class shone through, and Erling Haaland (£9.9m) scored.
Same old, same old.
The Gunners still hold a two-point lead over City but the latter have two games in hand and a more favourable set to fixtures to boot.
The Fat Lady isn’t singing just yet but she’s finished her vocal warm-ups and the sound check is complete.
De Bruyne and Haaland ripped Arsenal apart in tandemCredit: GETTY
City’s performance was a monumental one in the context of Dream Team as well.
Their two central protagonists, De Bruyne and Haaland, both made significant moves after ripping through Arsenal’s core time and time again.
The brilliant Belgian scored twice and provided the pinpoint cross for John Stones’ (£5.8m) header while the prolific poacher notched two assists before he bagged his customary goal in stoppage time once he’d let his hair down, quite literally.
That late strike helped Haaland leapfrog his team-mate in the match ratings to claim the Star Man award, his ninth of the season – the joint-highest tally of 2022/23.
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When all was said and done, the 22-year-old added 17 points to his total to take him past an historic milestone.
Haaland is now officially just the second player in Dream Team history to pass 400 points in a single season (403 and counting).
Cristiano Ronaldo was the first quadruple centurion and his all-time record of 477 points is under serious threat with City’s No9 still active in three competitions.
Inevitable
The defending English champions have seven league fixtures remaining, at least two Champions League games, and an FA Cup final to fulfil.
Given that Haaland averages 9.6 points-per-game, the legendary Portuguese forward should fear for his record’s safety.
As for De Bruyne, a 15-point haul at the Gunners’ expense meant he reclaimed the midfield throne from Bruno Fernandes (£6.7m).
Man United’s midfield talisman travels to Spurs this evening but he’ll need seven points to draw level with his cross-town rival on 227.
Dream Team’s top midfielder once againCredit: GETTY
It’s worth noting that De Bruyne’s average of 5.5 points-per-game is in a bracket of its own among assets in his position to have played a substantial number of games – Fernandes’ is 4.4 by comparison.
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Haaland reaching milestones and De Bruyne reigning supreme among midfielders is hardly fresh news but for both of them to stamp their authority on the title race and Dream Team in the same night is quite something.
Good luck to any gaffers trying to make it to the end of the season without both of City’s main men in their XI… you’re going to need it. More

THE Dream Team stock market can be a volatile environment.Take your eye off the ball and all of a sudden one of your under-performing assets has shed £1million in value and you’re therefore limited in terms of potential replacements.
Conversely, pick an underrated gem at the right time and in no time you’ll be “banking reddies” as Danny Dyer would say.
Here we’ve assembled a workable XI of players who have increased in price the most from the start of the season to this point in time.
GOALKEEPER: Nick Pope £2.5m > £4.2m
A bargain ahead of Game Week 1Credit: GETTY
Newcastle’s custodian started the campaign as the most-popular asset in his position as Dream Team gaffers recognised that £2.5m was a generous starting price.
The England international had been relegated with Burnley the previous season but joining Eddie Howe’s organised troops instantly improved his clean sheet prospects.
In fact, only David de Gea (£3.9m) has kept more Premier League clean sheets at this stage and the Spaniard is just one ahead of Pope on 14 in the race for the Golden Glove.
DEFENDERS

Kieran Trippier £3m > £5.6m
Lewis Dunk £2m > £4.1m
Nathan Ake £3m > £4.8m

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Newcastle’s unexpectedly parsimonious defence is evidenced again here but the Magpies’ vice captain has carved out a bracket of his own among defenders because of his contributions at both ends of the pitch.
Set-piece specialist Trippier has provided eight assists and claimed eight Star Man awards en route to 214 points at this stage of the season – his closest rival is 71 points adrift.
Again, with the power of hindsight, a price of £3m prior to Game Week 1 was too good to pass up.
Praise for a consistent performerCredit: GETTY
Brighton’s midfielders have earned plenty of headlines this season – more on them in a moment – so it’s easy to overlook the fact their skipper has more than doubled in price.
An ultra reliable performer, Dunk has contributed to 13 clean sheets in 2022/23 and he’s been on a tear of late, registering 68 points across the last 12 Game Weeks.
Completing the back three is Manchester City’s Dutchman, who deserves plenty of credit for his efforts in recent months.
Having been a peripheral figure in his first two seasons at the Etihad, Ake has been a regular starter this term and a key contributor to a side still chasing a historic treble.
The 28-year-old certainly won’t start as cheap next season.
MIDFIELDERS

Solly March £1m > £4.6m
Kaoru Mitoma £1.5m > £4.8m
Miguel Almiron £1.5m > £3.6m
Mathias Jensen £1m > £2.8m

Brighton’s long-serving midfielder is the player who has increased in price the most this season!
March was not much more than a useful utility player under Graham Potter while Mitoma was virtually unknown just a few months ago but the pair have thrived and enthralled under Roberto De Zerbi.
With 17 goals and 16 assists between them in all competitions, the Seagulls’ assets have to be considered among the standout performers of the Dream Team season based on their performances against pre-season expectations.
Full credit to any gaffers who picked either of them up for cheaper than £2.5m.
One of many underrated gems at BrentfordCredit: GETTY
Nobody can criticise us for giving Almiron a modest starting price.
The Paraguayan winger works his socks off but he didn’t make much of a splash in the world of Dream Team during his first four years at Newcastle.
With 11 to his name this season, he’s bagged more Premier League goals in 2022/23 than his first four seasons combined.
Brentford may be on the beach now but a comfortable mid-table position is evidence of yet another campaign in which they have performed above the level expected of a club with their resources.
In this hypothetical XI, Jensen symbolises the Bees as a whole – a consistent performer who rarely grabs headlines but who opponents underestimate at their peril.
The Danish midfielder started among the joint-cheapest players in the game but he’s notched ten goal involvements in the league and plenty of 7+ ratings.
FORWARDS

Marcus Rashford £3.5m > £7m
Ollie Watkins £3.5m > £6.4m
Erling Haaland £7m > £9.9m

It’s easy to forget that Manchester United’s No10 endured a torrid 2021/22.
Rashford mustered just five goals in 32 appearances last season with many pundits wondering whether a transfer was needed to reinvigorate his career.
As it turned out, a change of head coach at Old Trafford did the trick as the 25-year-old has reached a new peak under the guidance of Erik ten Hag – his season tally of 28 goals is a career best already.
The contrast between where he was a year ago and now is the reason he’s increased £3.5m in price since Game Week 1.
Rashford’s form this season compared to 2021/22 is night and day
Aston Villa’s top scorer has scored 11 goals in his last 13 games, a prosperous streak that has catapulted his price upwards.
Many gaffers will feel £6.4m is too pricey for Watkins but it’s simply a reflection of the undeniable fact that’s been one of the league’s best players in recent months.
Last but not least, it’s Man City’s ominous poacher.

Haaland started the season among the game’s most-expensive players but his game-breaking exploits have pushed every boundary that exists in Dream Team.
The prolific Norway international has plundered 386 points with plenty more fixtures yet to fulfil. More

SUNDAY’S game at St James’ Park was billed as a tense contest between two top-four hopefuls but what actually materialised was a one-sided demolition job.Newcastle were 3-0 up on Tottenham within nine minutes and 5-0 up within 22 minutes.
The final result was 6-1 but the game was decided during the opening exchanges as the visitors pathetically crumbled amid a Geordie cauldron of noise.
Naturally, many pundits have focused on Spurs’ embarrassing shortcomings but here at Dream Team HQ we feel it’s worth highlighting Alexander Isak’s (£4.2m) merits.
A precise finisherCredit: GETTY
The Sweden international scored a brace on Sunday, latching onto Joe Willock’s (£2m) supreme pass before he slotted past Hugo Lloris (£3.3m) only to again beat the beleaguered Frenchman from a tight angle moments later.
The 23-year-old has now scored ten Premier League goals in 15 appearances (eleven starts).
This impressive strike rate boils down further to a goal every 97.3 minutes in the top flight.
By way of a comparison, Harry Kane (£8.6m), who scored his 24th league goal of the season by way of a consolation strike in the second half, averages a goal every 119.5 minutes in the league this term.
Isak’s first season with Newcastle has been disrupted by injuries but he’s been ruthlessly efficient in front of goal when available.
And his Dream Team stats make for impressive reading too.
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His overall tally of 82 points looks modest but that’s only because of his limited involvement this campaign.
What’s telling is his average of 4.1 points-per-game when selected, a rate bettered by only seven other forwards in 2022/23.
Gabriel Martinelli (£4.8m), who has 174 points overall and is the sixth-best asset in his position, also averages 4.1 points-per-game.
Isak couldn’t believe Spurs’ defending in the first halfCredit: GETTY
Dream Team gaffers should certainly be thinking about Isak’s viability for next season as it looks highly likely he’ll have European fixtures to bolster his schedule but is he also an option for the remainder of the current campaign?
Generally, Newcastle defenders have been the ones to provide regular healthy returns but Howe’s side have scored 15 goals in five games this month so far with their attack-minded players coming to the fore.
A 13-point haul at Spurs’ expense means Isak has plundered 56 in his last seven outings.
And there could be more returns to come as the Magpies face Everton and Southampton in their next two games, two teams currently in the relegation zone.
Isak’s ownership currently sits at 1.7% so he’s a viable differential for those who need an out-of-the-box option. More