Fantasy Football

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.

Most read in Dream Team More

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.

Most read in Dream Team More

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!

Most read in Dream Team More

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.

Most read in Dream Team More

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.

Most read in Dream Team More

THE international break means Game Week 7 is already wrapped up.It was something of a reduced service at the weekend as just 14 of the 20 Premier League teams were in action due to fixture postponements.
Manchester United fan Stephen Jarvis was the gaffer who mastered the disrupted schedule most impressively as he amassed 116 points.
Let’s take a closer look at the best XI of Game Week 7…

Stephen’s success this week hinged massively on Arsenal’s clean sheet away to Brentford on Sunday.
William Saliba (£2.7m), Ben White (£2.9m) and Gabriel (£3.2m) combined for a whopping 34 points having denied the Bees in west London.
The former cashed in further as it was his header that opened the scoring in the 3-0 victory, his second goal of the season, and the Frenchman’s contributions at both ends of the pitch earned him the Star Man award.
Saliba now has as many points as Ruben Dias (£5.4m) and Thiago Silva (£5.7m) in 2022/23 – the Gunners’ centre-back costs half the price of those two premium options.
Manchester City also enjoyed a straightforward 3-0 victory on the road at the weekend with Ederson (£4.7m) earning a 7+ rating on top of his clean sheet.
Stephen was among the 3.2% of Dream Team gaffers who were rewarded for their loyalty in Jack Grealish (£3.8m) when the Citizens’ No10 scored after just 55 seconds against Wolves.
The England international ended with a match rating of 8.6 which was enough for him to edge out Kevin De Bruyne (£7.4m) and Joao Cancelo (£7.4m) to claim the Star Man award.
Grealish banked 13 points in Game Week 7Credit: getty
Grealish had mustered just six points prior to Game Week 7 and looked relatively ineffective – it will be interesting to see whether his goal at Molineux kickstarts his campaign.
In contrast, Phil Foden (£5.5m) has been productive from the off, his goal on Saturday was his third of the season and he’s registered two assists as well.
The 22-year-old is averaging a goal involvement every 126.6 minutes in 2022/23.
Leicester are in a right pickle currently and their 6-2 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday meant they’ve lost six of their first seven league games, with the other result being a draw.
The Foxes’ problems have predominately been in defence – they’ve conceded 22 league goals already – but they’ve looked threatening enough going forward.
James Maddison (£4.7m) scored his third goal in his sixth league outing to bank eight points despite the ultimately dismal result for his side.
Leicester’s No10 has 24 points overall which is very respectable, especially when compared to goalkeeper Danny Ward (£1.2m) who is currently languishing on -15 points – yes, that’s minus fifteen!
A tried-and-tested partnershipCredit: getty
The most noticeable thing about Stephen’s front line is that it doesn’t include runaway points leader Erling Haaland (£8.4m)!
The Norwegian striker’s omission wasn’t a problem this week, although he did score against Wolves, as Spurs’ familiar double act combined for 38 points.
Son Heung-min (£5.5m) paid the price for his stuttering form when he was dropped to the bench against Leicester but responded with astonishing swiftness when he scored a 13-minute hat-trick after coming off the bench in the second half.
Harry Kane (£7.3m) scored the hosts first goal and set up one of Son’s to pocket his first double-digit haul of the campaign.
Last but not least, Gabriel Jesus (£5.6m) added seven points to Stephen’s total by virtue of a goal and a 7+ rating at Brentford, he was also booked so incurred minus one point.
116 points represents a mightily impressive effort from Stephen, especially as Martin Odegaard (£3.2m) didn’t feature at all, but you wonder how well he’s been doing overall without Haaland in his ranks.
Game Week 8 gets underway after the international break and looks to be a humdinger – there’s the north London derby and Manchester derby to negotiate before a full allotment of European fixtures.
Make sure your XI is in the best shape possible in preparation for that generous serving of football.

Most read in Dream Team More

THE international break is the perfect time to reflect upon the Dream Team season so far.Gaffers will likely be aware of the best performers whose quality comes at a cost: Erling Haaland (£8.4m), Joao Cancelo (£7.4m), Harry Kane (£7.3m), etc.
Here we’re shining a spotlight on those who can still be recruited for under £4m.
These are the ten best performers of 2022/23 so far within the lower price bracket, in reverse order…
Fabian Schar (£2.8m) – 32 points
The first of three Newcastle players to make this listCredit: getty
Newcastle’s Swiss defender has lingered in the upper echelons of the rankings since Game Week 1 when he bagged 18 points against Nottingham Forest.
Schar scored a blistering long-range screamer on top of his clean sheet to claim the Star Man award.
Since then his returns have been fairly modest but clean sheets against Brighton and Crystal Palace means he’s currently the seventh-best asset in his position after seven Game Weeks.
Roberto Firmino (£3.4m) – 32 points
Liverpool’s No9 has blanked in five of his seven outings this season but he thoroughly enjoyed himself in Game Week 4 when he plundered all of his 32 points at the expense of Bournemouth and Newcastle.
The Brazilian forward directly contributed to five of the Reds’ nine goals against the Cherries, assisting three and scoring two for a 24-point haul.
Four days later he scored the equaliser at Anfield against the Magpies in what became a dramatic victory for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
However, Dream Team bosses would do well to avoid Firmino now Darwin Nunez (£4.8m) and Diogo Jota (£4.4m) are available for selection again.
Martin Odegaard (£3.2m) – 33 points
A popular asset in the realm of Dream TeamCredit: getty
Arsenal’s new captain has scored three goals in six league appearances this campaign and would probably be higher on this list had he not struggled with injury in the last fortnight.
Mikel Arteta will be hoping Odegaard is able to regain full fitness during the break, as will the 28.2% of Dream Team managers currently backing him.
The Norwegian playmaker is the fourth-most popular midfielder right now and only five assets in his position have more points.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£3m) – 35 points
Tottenham’s midfield enforcer is the kind of player we would usually advise Dream Team bosses to ignore.
Defensive midfielders simply don’t tend to provide enough points but Hojbjerg has bucked the trend at the start of this season as he’s scored two goals and provided two assists.
Whether the Denmark international is able to maintain this rate of attacking output remains to be seen but he deserves credit for his efforts in the first few Game Weeks.
Gabriel Martinelli (£3.3m) – 35 points
The exuberance of youthCredit: getty
A superb value-for-money asset here.
The 21-year-old’s three goals have been instrumental in ensuring Arsenal top the table come the end of September.
Martinelli has established himself as the first-choice option as the Gunners’ left-sided forward this term and has generally looked lively – he’s been rewarded with five 7+ ratings already.
William Saliba (£2.7m) – 36 points
The third and final Arsenal player to make an appearance in this list.
A standout potential bargain from the get-go, the Frenchman has delivered in spades and now has as many points as Ruben Dias (£5.4m) and Thiago Silva (£5.7m), two centre-backs who cost twice as much as Saliba.
The 21-year-old can still be picked up for £2.7m and has proved himself to be a threat at set-pieces.
Saliba has two goals and an assist on top of his defensive returns.
James Tarkowski (£3.2m) – 37 points
A surprising inclusion here as Everton only just registered their first league win of 2022/23 at the weekend.
Saying that, they’re also undefeated in their last six games in all competitions, a run which includes three clean sheets.
Tarkowski has quickly established himself as an automatic selection at Goodison Park and while the underlying numbers suggest the Toffees will concede their fair share of goals this season, the 2.1% of gaffers backing the ex-Burnley defender have been handsomely rewarded in recent weeks.
Kieran Trippier (£3.9m) – 37 points
Dream Team’s most-selected defenderCredit: getty
Only Cancelo has more points than Newcastle’s right-back at this interlude.
Eddie Howe’s side will be frustrated with just the one league win at this stage but they’ve been difficult to beat, with Fabio Carvalho’s (£2.2m) 98th-minute goal being the only strike that has condemned them to defeat.
Trippier has contributed to three clean sheets while also providing a goal and an assist going forward.
The England international was immensely popular prior to Game Week 1 and he’s living up to the hype at this stage.
Nick Pope (£3.6m) – 39 points
Much of what applied to Schar and Trippier also applies to Newcastle’s new goalkeeper.
However, the real key to Pope’s healthy points tally is the fact he’s earned three Star Man awards, the joint-most among all assets.
The former Burnley man thoroughly deserved his Star Man gongs as well – he’s noticeably been one of the league’s best shot-stoppers in 2022/23.
Pascal Gross (£3m) – 41 points
Gross misconductCredit: getty
Top of the pile is the man who has enjoyed an unusually productive spell at the start of this campaign.
With three goals and two assists, the German midfielder is on course to smash his previous best in terms of goal involvements in one season but history suggest he’ll slow down at some point, especially now Graham Potter has moved onto pastures new.
Still, let’s not worry about that for now.
Gross has played brilliantly in his six outings so far and the fact Kevin De Bruyne (£7.4m) is the only midfielder with more points at this stage is a remarkable achievement.

Most read in Dream Team More

LAST week we published an article highlighting the contrasting fortunes of Richarlison (£4.1m) and Son Heung-min (£5.5m).The gist being, the Brazilian had made the most of limited minutes while the South Korean superstar had been unusually blunt.
And so we’d like to take partial credit for the mother of all turnarounds that took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night – nothing works quite like a jinx.
Son emphatically responded to being dropped from the starting line-up when he came off the bench to score a 13-minute hat-trick and condemn Leicester to a 6-2 humiliation.
We can only assume Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has Son in his Dream Team
Having gone eight games without a goal prior to the Foxes’ visit to north London, last season’s joint Golden Boot winner had mustered just seven Dream Team points, a bitterly disappointing return for the significant chunk of gaffers backing him throughout.
But 13.7% of managers had their faith repaid with a whopping 28-point haul in Game Week 7.
At this early stage of the season, such a performance can propel an asset up the rankings and that’s exactly what has happened with Tottenham’s No7.
Suddenly Son is the joint-seventh best forward in the game – his overall tally of 35 points is matched by Marcus Rashford (£4m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£3.3m).
Harking back to our ill-timed article last week, we did mention that Son’s barren streak was unlikely to be a long one, citing his mightily impressive and consistent record in recent years.
But a 13-minute hat-trick represents a comeback of alarming efficiency and therefore one that changes the Dream Team landscape considerably.
Back in contentionCredit: getty
Those who may have planned to transfer the 30-year-old out of their XI during the international break will surely now think again.
Granted, he won’t have the luxury of facing Leicester’s disorganised defence again for a few months but when in-form he’s capable of taking points off any team.
Let’s not forget his final tally of 243 points last season was only bettered by Harry Kane (£7.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£7.7m) among assets in his position.
Spurs’ first fixture after the international break is a trip to the Emirates for a massive north London derby.
The fixture always feels significant but this edition is specially poised as Antonio Conte’s would go top of the table with a win while the Gunners would only need a draw to retain top spot, though they would then risk being leapfrogged by Manchester City on the Sunday.
Son struggled for form prior to Leicester’s visit to north LondonCredit: getty
Following the trip to their rivals, Spurs play Eintracht Frankfurt (twice), Brighton, Everton, Man United, Newcastle, Sporting CP and Bournemouth in what will be a busy October.
From Conte’s viewpoint, it would be a very helpful time for Son to rediscover the form that has earned him his reputation as a prolific goalscorer.
Dream Team managers may remember from the back end of last season that Son’s points flow very freely once he’s on a hot streak – no player could hang with him in the last two months of 2021/22.

Most read in Dream Team More