Fantasy Football

SHOTS on target are worth one point each again in Dream Team this coming season.One point may not seem like much but they soon add up and it goes without saying that shots on target correlate with goals so gaffers should monitor this metric as the campaign progresses.With that in mind, let’s recap which players registered the most shots on target in all competitions last season.PLAY DREAM TEAM FOR FREE NOW AHEAD OF THE 2024/25 SEASON – £50,000 TOP PRIZE PLUS WEEKLY CASH WINNERS!Only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah registered more shots on target than Darwin Nunez last seasonCredit: Dream TeamMOST SHOTS ON TARGET 2023/24:Erling Haaland – 88Mohamed Salah – 72Darwin Nunez – 69Phil Foden – 65Cole Palmer – 65Ollie Watkins – 58Bruno Fernandes – 55Julian Alvarez – 55Alexander Isak – 51Nicolas Jackson – 49As is often the case with attacking statistics, Haaland and Salah lead the field – there’s a reason they are the two most-expensive players in the game ahead of 2024/25.Both Manchester City’s No9 and Liverpool’s Egyptian hero missed a portion of last season through injury (the latter also had AFCON commitments) but they’re such potent threats in the final third that still nobody overhauled them.Nunez scored 18 goals in 2023/24 which is a more than useful tally but the Anfield faithful will be the first to admit he squandered more than his fair share of chances too.The enigmatic Uruguayan can be a frustrating Dream Team asset to own as he’s equally capable of the sublime as the ridiculous.Most read in FootballIf he can improve his efficiency in front of goal even a fraction, as he has done in international football of late, his returns will skyrocket.So much more than just penaltiesCredit: PANothing separates Foden and Palmer, the first two midfielders in the list.The latter is particularly notable as he racked up his total without European fixtures to bolster his schedule.If Chelsea qualify for the Europa Conference League group stage as expected, Palmer could feast in the coming months.Speaking of the Blues, Jackson is a somewhat surprising inclusion in tenth.The Senegal international is similar to Nunez in that he can look out of his depth one moment and a real handful the next.After a slow start, the ex-Villarreal forward ended his first campaign on English shores with 17 goals to his name.It will be interesting to see how Jackson fares this coming season under Enzo Maresca.Jackson found his scoring touch at the back end of 2023/24Credit: GettyDream Team’s Fantasy Football GamePLAY DREAM TEAM AHEAD OF THE NEW SEASON!Free to play£50,000 jackpot for overall winner plus weekly prizesPlayers score points in Premier League games, European competitions and both domestic cupsPlay in Mini Leagues against your mates£5,000 prize for Gameweek 1Play via Dream Team’s app or website today!Gaffers should constantly be on the look out for defenders who provide a threat in the final third with shots on target being a strong indicator.MOST SHOTS ON TARGET AMONG DEFENDERS 2023/24:Matty Cash – 18Virgil van Dijk – 17Josko Gvardiol – 15Lewis Dunk – 14Pedro Porro – 13Fabian Schar – 13Trent Alexander-Arnold – 11Ruben Dias – 11Gabriel – 11Aston Villa’s attack-minded right-back topped the pile but it’s worth noting that he slipped down the pecking order as the campaign progressed – he’s by no means a guaranteed starter at this stage.READ MORE SUN STORIESIt’s no surprise to see the likes of Gvardiol, Alexander-Arnold and Porro present – all three are excellent options ahead of the new season.Van Dijk, Dunk, Schar, Dias and Gabriel were persistent aerial threats at set-pieces – always a nice bonus for Dream Team gaffers.Dream Team New Season Explainer 2024-25 More

MANCHESTER CITY players have provided more Dream Team points than any other team over the last five years.However, Pep Guardiola’s starting line-ups are difficult to predict and so it’s not always that easy for gaffers to capitalise.With the Citizens aiming to win a fourth consecutive Premier League title, let’s analyse their top stars, bargain options and players to avoid ahead of the new campaign.PLAY DREAM TEAM FOR FREE NOW AHEAD OF THE 2024/25 SEASON – £50,000 TOP PRIZE PLUS WEEKLY CASH WINNERS!Gvardiol averaged 5.7 points-per-game last seasonCredit: Dream TeamTOP STARSErling Haaland (£8.5m) is the most-expensive player in the game for a reason.The Norwegian poacher has plundered 90 goals in 98 games in all competitions since joining City – including NINE hat-tricks!In defence, Josko Gvardiol (£4.5m) is the standout option having finished last season in sparkling form.Previously seen as a resolute centre-back, the Croatia international is in the process of developing into a left-back capable of playing a decisive hand in the final third.He enjoyed a rare scoring streak during the run-in to help secure City another league crown and, more recently, he produced a De Bruyne-esque assist against Barcelona in pre-season.Most read in FootballThe joint most-expensive midfielders in the gameCredit: GettyElsewhere, Phil Foden (£6.5m) amassed 392 points to top the rankings last season and so he has to be considered a top-tier option.The 24-year-old notched 26 goals and 13 assists in 2023/24 but Dream Team bosses should be aware that his workload may be managed across the first few Gameweeks following the Euros.Kevin De Bruyne (£6.5m) has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League but it now appears he’ll stick around for another season.The brilliant Belgian playmaker has long been a phenomenal Dream Team asset – last season he registered more assists than any other player despite the fact he missed approximately half of the campaign through injury.BARGAIN OPTIONSGiven that Man City are the team to beat, it stands to reason that their players come at a significant cost.But while there are no outright bargains, there are some assets who could offer value-for-money in the mid range.Grealish is a game-changer on his dayCredit: AlamyTake Jack Grealish (£3.5m) for example.The 28-year-old played a subsidiary role last season, partly because he suffered a succession of ill-timed injury niggles.However, if he gets the nod from Guardiola then his price could look rather generous come September.Gaffers know what Grealish is capable of when everything clicks.We wouldn’t recommend backing Rico Lewis (£3m) from the get-go but there’s every chance the 19-year-old improves his place in the pecking order this season.Meanwhile, Oscar Bobb (£2m) has looked lively in pre-season and it would be classic Guardiola to suddenly install the young Norway international as a regular starter in the front three.But again, gaffers should be patient.Dream Team’s Fantasy Football GamePLAY DREAM TEAM AHEAD OF THE NEW SEASON!Free to play£50,000 jackpot for overall winner plus weekly prizesPlayers score points in Premier League games, European competitions and both domestic cupsPlay in Mini Leagues against your mates£5,000 prize for Gameweek 1Play via Dream Team’s app or website today!PLAYERS TO AVOIDNot only did Julian Alvarez (£4.5m) go the distance with Argentina at Copa America, he’s representing his country at the Olympics in Paris.He won’t have had much of a break at all by the time the new Premier League campaign gets underway, which isn’t ideal.Plus, his minutes are limited when both Haaland and De Bruyne are fit.Alvarez has been a busy man this summerCredit: GettyFinally, Dream Team bosses should be wary of City defenders not named Gvardiol.READ MORE SUN STORIESThere’s not much between Ruben Dias (£4.5m), John Stones (£4.5m), Manuel Akanji (£4.5m), Nathan Ake (£4.5m) and Kyle Walker (£4m) and some will inevitably start on the bench.It’s generally wise to wait for a clearer indication of Guardiola’s pecking order.Watch moment Donkey from Shrek admires Jack Grealish’s calves before telling him he looks like film character More

MANY Dream Team managers are making use of their unlimited transfer allotment to experiment with various line-ups during pre-season.Gameweek 1 gets underway at 8pm on Friday August 16th, when Manchester United v Fulham kicks offs at Old Trafford, and so there’s plenty of time for tinkering yet.However, now is a good time to examine the state of play.PLAY DREAM TEAM FOR FREE NOW AHEAD OF THE 2024/25 SEASON – £50,000 TOP PRIZE PLUS WEEKLY CASH WINNERS!Play Dream Team now!Credit: Dream TeamWe’ve identified three players who are perhaps being overhyped ahead of the new season and three underrated players who probably deserve to be more popular.OVERHYPED PLAYERSKobbie Mainoo (£3m) is a natural talent coming off the back of an impressive European Championship campaign in England colours but his ownership of 17.9% is rather curious.At the time of writing, only five midfielders are more popular in the world of Dream Team and the list of players below the Manchester United youngster in the metric features Eberechi Eze (£4m), Bruno Fernandes (£6m), Kevin De Bruyne (£6.5m), Mohammed Kudus (£5m) and other assets who racked up plentiful points last season.Mainoo mustered 135 points in 2023/24 at an average of 4.2 per game.Granted, he’s affordable at £3m and likely to improve this campaign but gaffers would be wise to consider more attack-minded alternatives.Most read in Dream TeamGaffers evidently remember the FA Cup final clearlyCredit: GettyMicky van de Ven (£3.5m) is currently the sixth-most selected defender in the game with an ownership of 12.1%.This doesn’t align with his average of 3.8 points-per-game last season.The Dutchman started the campaign in imperious form and his recovery speed is truly remarkable but it’s simply a fact that Tottenham conceded 61 league goals last season, more than twice as many as Arsenal.Ange Postecoglou will hope to tighten up at the back this coming season and a fully-fit Van de Ven should help but Dream Team bosses might be better off waiting for signs of defensive improvement before piling in.The rapid 23-year-old passes the eye test but at the end of the day, the points column is what really matters.England’s Euros players have carried their popularity into the new season gameCredit: Dream TeamMarc Guehi (£3.5m) was arguably England’s best player this summer and Crystal Palace’s impressive upturn under Oliver Glasner is certainly a positive factor.However, with Joachim Andersen (£3m), Daniel Munoz (£3m) and Tyrick Mitchell (£3m) all more affordable, there are cheaper routes into the Eagles’ defence for gaffers that way inclined.William Saliba (£5m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.5m) and Josko Gvardiol (£4.5m) are the only defenders who feature in more teams than Palace’s No6 at present – those three are all top-tier options.To be clear, we’re not saying that Mainoo, Van de Ven or Guehi are bad selections by any means, it’s just that their popularity doesn’t seem to match their point-scoring ability in our humble opinion.Dream Team’s Fantasy Football GamePLAY DREAM TEAM AHEAD OF THE NEW SEASON!Free to play£50,000 jackpot for overall winner plus weekly prizesPlayers score points in Premier League games, European competitions and both domestic cupsPlay in Mini Leagues against your mates£5,000 prize for Gameweek 1Play via Dream Team’s app or website today!UNDERRATED PLAYERSOn the flip side, we think the following assets are being unfairly overlooked by too many managers.Take Bruno Guimaraes (£4.5m) for example.Newcastle’s all-action midfielder was one of just six players in his position who achieved 300+ points last season, thanks in no small part to his unmatched tally of 83 bonus points.And a flurry of attacking returns at the back end of the campaign saw the Brazil international finish with 18 goal involvements in all competitions.Guimaraes is a solid pick and his ownership should be higher than 5.2% – Anthony Gordon (£4.5m) features in 27% of teams for comparison.Bowen has scored 51 goals across the last three seasonsCredit: RexJarrod Bowen (£5m) has been categorised as a forward for the 2024/25 and that change has seemingly perturbed many gaffers as he currently appears in just 3.4% of teams.West Ham’s talisman finished on exactly 300 points last season via 20 goals and 11 assists.For comparison, Ollie Watkins (£6m), Mohamed Salah (£7m) and Erling Haaland (£8.5m) were the only strikers who notched triple centuries last term.Granted, Bowen won’t have European fixtures to pad out his schedule this season but he’s been a consistent performer since 2021.Gross misconductCredit: GETTYPascal Gross (£4m) is destined to be underrated in the world of Dream Team for eternity.Only two midfielders collected more bonus points than the Brighton stalwart last season and only five provided more assists.The experienced German is a set-piece threat and makes plenty of tackles too.READ MORE SUN STORIESGross amassed 260 points in 2023/24 and the Seagulls fixtures look relatively favourable until mid-September (barring a trip to Arsenal) and yet only 1.2% of gaffers are taking a punt on him at this stage.Pick your Dream Team XI today! 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DREAM TEAM’S hugely popular fantasy football offering is just one of several games available to users this season.Score Predictor has returned ahead of the new campaign and we’re offering up plenty of cash for those with the sharpest foresight.The overall season winner will bank £3,500, with £1,000 for the runner-up and £500 for third.But that’s not all, we’re giving away £250 to every Matchweek winner – so there’s every reason to keep playing throughout the season.PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR NOW – £5,000 SEASON PRIZE POT PLUS WEEKLY CASH WINNERS!Score Predictor has returned ahead of the new Premier League seasonCredit: DREAM TEAMSCORE PREDICTOR: HOW TO PLAYEach Matchweek, users are asked to submit their score predictions for five selected Premier League fixtures.Users earn points based on the accuracy of their predictions as follows:Correct Outcome +4 ptsCorrect Score Bonus +3 ptsCorrect Home Team Goals +1 ptCorrect Away Team Goals +1 ptCorrect Score Difference +1 ptA perfectly correct prediction ticks every box and therefore scores TEN points.Most read in FootballFor clarity, outcome refers to the result of the match in terms of home win, draw or away win.Score difference essentially refers to goal difference within the context of the game.For example, if you predicted a 4-3 home win and the hosts ended up winning 2-1, you would earn the point for correct score difference as you accurately predicted that the home team would win by one goal.Chelsea v Manchester City is the standout fixture in Matchweek 1Credit: RexThe user who earns the most points in any given Matchweek banks £250 with the aforementioned bigger cash prizes for those who finish in the top three over the course of the whole campaign.You can change your predictions as many times as you like before the chosen fixtures get underway so why not submit yours for the first Matchweek now?These are selected fixtures:Arsenal v WolvesWest Ham v Aston VillaBrentford v Crystal PalaceChelsea v Manchester CityLeicester v TottenhamDream Team’s Fantasy Football GamePLAY DREAM TEAM AHEAD OF THE NEW SEASON!Free to play£50,000 jackpot for overall winner plus weekly prizesPlayers score points in Premier League games, European competitions and both domestic cupsPlay in Mini Leagues against your mates£5,000 prize for Gameweek 1Play via Dream Team’s app or website today!It’s an intriguing set of games but the eye is naturally drawn to the defending champions’ trip to Stamford Bridge – the corresponding fixture ended 4-4 last season!READ MORE SUN STORIESJust like Dream Team’s fantasy game, you can play Score Predictor is Mini Leagues against your mates, colleagues, family members, etc.Play today!Watch Kobbie Mainoo’s incredible skill as Man Utd star enjoys kickabout with Love Island star brother and kids in LA More

NEW Dream Team managers should be aware that players earn one point for every big chance they create for their team-mates.All our stats are determined by Opta and the stats boffins define a ‘big chance’ as “a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score, usually in a one-on-one scenario or from very close range when the ball has a clear path to goal and there is low to moderate pressure on the shooter.”PLAY DREAM TEAM FOR FREE NOW AHEAD OF THE 2024/25 SEASON – £50,000 TOP PRIZE PLUS WEEKLY CASH WINNERS!Fernandes created more big chances than any other Premier League player last seasonCredit: Dream TeamBig chances created directly result in points but, as one would expect, they also correlate with assists.In 2023/24, each assist was worth two points but they’re worth three points each this coming season.All gaffers should have therefore have one eye on the game’s top creators.With that in mind, here’s reminder of which Premier League players created the most big chances created last season.MOST BIG CHANCES CREATED IN 2023/24:Bruno Fernandes – 31Mohamed Salah – 28Kevin De Bruyne – 25Cole Palmer – 24Son Heung-min – 20Trent Alexander-Arnold – 19Morgan Gibbs-White – 19Kieran Trippier – 19Bukayo Saka – 19Dwight McNeil – 18Martin Odegaard – 18James Ward-Prowse – 18It’s fair to say that Manchester United didn’t make the most of their Portuguese playmaker’s creative output last term.Most read in FootballFernandes finished with 14 assists, certainly not to be sniffed at, but he deserved a few more based on his huge volume of big chances created.If the Red Devils can improve their efficiency in front of goal this campaign, the 29-year-old should reap the rewards.A modern Dream Team legendCredit: PASalah has occasionally been labelled a greedy player by pundits and fans alike but the fact is he provides plenty of golden opportunities for his team-mates as well as firing off many shots of his own – he’s an absolute menace in the final third.Dream Team bosses will be eagerly anticipating a proper look at Liverpool in a post-Klopp world but 20.8% are willing to take a punt on the Egyptian superstar from the get-go at this stage.De Bruyne’s position on the podium is an astonishing feat given he was sidelined through injury for approximately half the season.Had the Belgium international played the whole campaign, he surely would have been in a league of his own.The quality of Manchester City’s No17 is undeniable but he has been strongly linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League in recent months.However, while on pre-season tour in the USA, Pep Guardiola told reporters that De Bruyne “is not going” and so gaffers will be able to select the expensive midfielder (£6.5m) for Gameweek 1 if they wish.De Bruyne is now expected to stay at Man City for another seasonCredit: Getty ImagesElsewhere in this list, Alexander-Arnold and Trippier should be highlighted as the only defenders present.The former has long rubbed shoulders with attacking midfielders in relation to the key playmaking statistics and it will be interesting to see how he is deployed by Arne Slot – will he play predominantly as a right-back or a deep-lying midfielder?Whatever the case, Anfield’s homegrown hero is categorised as a defender in the realm of Dream Team but he comes at an eye-watering cost of £5.5m.Dream Team’s Fantasy Football GamePLAY DREAM TEAM AHEAD OF THE NEW SEASON!Free to play£50,000 jackpot for overall winner plus weekly prizesPlayers score points in Premier League games, European competitions and both domestic cupsPlay in Mini Leagues against your mates£5,000 prize for Gameweek 1Play via Dream Team’s app or website today!Newcastle’s experienced right-back has excelled in Dream Team ever since his return to English shores but, like De Bruyne, he too has been linked with a transfer to Saudi Arabia.READ MORE SUN STORIESGibbs-White and McNeil also deserve special mentions for their tallies given both Nottingham Forest and Everton finished in the bottom six last season.The former could be considered a potentially smart differential option for the start of 2024/25 with Forest having relatively favourable fixtures across the first three Gameweeks.Ryan Reynolds tells Liverpool star Mo Salah to ‘think about’ stunning Wrexham transfer in brilliant video More