Fantasy Football

DREAM TEAM brings you all the latest injury, suspension and availability news ahead of Gameweek 25 in one easily digestible dose.Rasmus Hojlund (£3.8m) is expected to be sidelined for “two to three weeks” with a muscular injury.
Manchester United’s No11, who has scored in each of his last six games, is among the most transferred-in players ahead of the Gameweek 25 deadline at the time of writing – many gaffers will need to reverse their transfers and think again.
The Red Devils will also be without Luke Shaw (£3.9m) for the foreseeable future.
The England left-back suffered a recurrence of his leg injury against Luton last Sunday and may not return before the end of the season.
Shaw is a long-term absenteeCredit: Dream Team
Mohamed Salah (£6.7m) and Darwin Nunez (£4.5m) are considered doubts for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
Both forwards skipped Liverpool’s midweek win over Luton and will be assessed before Jurgen Klopp selects his squad for Wembley.
The Egyptian superstar is said to be suffering “fatigue” but is likely to to feature against Chelsea is some capacity.
Earlier this week, the club confirmed Diogo Jota (4.3m) will be out for “months” after he was stretchered off against Brentford with a knee injury.
Alisson (£3.4m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.1m) are also likely to be unavailable until after the international break in mid-March.
Mauricio Pochettino generally kept his cards close to his chest ahead of Sunday’s final, although he did offer an update of sorts on Thiago Silva (£3.1m): “He has the chance. Tomorrow we will see if he’s ready to play in the game.”
Salah is a doubt for the Carabao Cup finalCredit: Alamy
Eddie Howe informed journalists that he “won’t take any risks” in regards to Alexander Isak (£4.4m) and Joe Willock’s (£2.6m) return to action, although the Newcastle gaffer is prone to misleading updates.
Fabian Schar (£3.5m) has recovered from the wrist injury he sustained against Bournemouth last time out.
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne (£6.2m) is “not injured” but neither is the Belgian 100% fit.
“I think we took a good decision not to take a risk,” Manchester City’s boss said of the midfielder’s absence against Brentford. “We took a decision because he did not feel comfortable… I’m pretty sure he will travel [to Bournemouth].”
New Crystal Palace coach Oliver Glasner confirmed key players Marc Guehi (£2.3m), Michael Olise (£4.1m) and Eberechi Eze (£3.9m) remain sidelined, though the latter isn’t far away.
Mikel Arteta told reporters a late decision will be made on Thomas Partey (£2.6m), Gabriel Jesus (£4.8m) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (£3.4m) following Friday’s training session.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (£2.7m) is thought to be further away from a comeback.
Sean Dyche is hopeful Vitaliy Mykolenko (£3.6m) will be able to shake off a knock ahead of Everton’s trip to Brighton on Saturday.
As for the Seagulls, Kaoru Mitoma (£3.5m) is a major doubt having felt something in his back but Julio Enciso (£2.2m) should return to the squad after a lengthy lay-off.
Pep Guardiola will probably manage De Bruyne’s workload again in Gameweek 25Credit: Getty
Fulham talisman Joao Palhinha (£3.6m) will serve the first of his two-game suspension this weekend having been shown his tenth yellow card of the campaign in his last outing.
Armando Broja (£1.7m) should be available having recovered from illness this week.
Lucas Paqueta (£4.1m) has returned to training and therefore “in contention” for West Ham’s Monday night game against Brentford.
Kalvin Phillips (£1.7m) is suspended having been sent off last weekend.

ARSENAL
Injuries: Jurrien Timber, Thomas Partey (doubt), Gabriel Jesus (doubt), Oleksandr Zinchenko (doubt), Takehiro Tomiyasu
Suspensions: None
ASTON VILLA
Injuries: Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia, Jhon Duran, Ezri Konsa, Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos
Suspensions: None
BOURNEMOUTH
Injuries: Ryan Fredericks, Tyler Adams, James Hill, Max Aarons
Suspensions: Philip Billing
BRENTFORD
Injuries: Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry, Kevin Schade, Bryan Mbeumo, Josh Dasilva, Ethan Pinnock
Suspensions: None
BRIGHTON
Injuries: Solly March, Joao Pedro, James Milner, Jack Hinshelwood
Suspensions: None
BURNLEY
Injuries: Luka Koleosho, Jordan Beyer, Nathan Redmond, Lyle Foster, Aaron Ramsey
Suspensions: None
CHELSEA
Injuries: Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwo, Reece James, Marc Cucurella (doubt), Beniot Badashile, Carney Chukwuemeka, Thiago Silva (doubt)
Suspensions: None
CRYSTAL PALACE
Injuries: Cheick Doucoure, Will Hughes (doubt), Rob Holding, Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
Suspensions: None
EVERTON
Injuries: Dele Alli, Andre Gomes, Arnaut Danjuma, Seamus Coleman (doubt), Vitaliy Mykolenko (doubt)
Suspensions: None
FULHAM
Injuries: Raul Jimenez, Willian (doubt)
Suspensions: Joao Palhinha
LIVERPOOL
Injuries: Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip, Dominik Szoboszlai (doubt), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Curtis Jones (doubt), Mohamed Salah (doubt), Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez (doubt)
Suspensions: None
LUTON
Injuries: Tom Lockyer, Marvelous Nakamba, Mads Juel Andersen, Daiki Hashioka, Alfie Doughty (doubt), Albert Sambi Lokonga (doubt), Elijah Adebayo, Jacob Brown
Suspensions: None
MANCHESTER CITY
Injuries: Josko Gvardiol, Jack Grealish
Suspensions: None
MANCHESTER UNITED
Injuries: Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount, Anthony Martial, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Rasmus Hojlund
Suspensions: None
NEWCASTLE
Injuries: Elliot Anderson, Matt Targett, Joe Willock (doubt), Nick Pope, Joelinton, Alexander Isak (doubt), Callum Wilson
Suspensions: Sandro Tonali
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Injuries: Chris Wood, Ibrahim Sangare, Gonzalo Montiel, Willy Boly, Ola Aina
Suspensions: None
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Injuries: Daniel Jebbison, John Egan, Chris Basham, George Baldock (doubt), Ben Brereton Diaz, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Max Lowe, Cameron Archer (doubt)
Suspensions: Mason Holgate
TOTTENHAM
Injuries: Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, Fraser Forster, Destiny Udogie, Pedro Porro
Suspensions: None
WEST HAM
Injuries: Lucas Paqueta (doubt)
Suspensions: Kalvin Phillips
WOLVES
Injuries: Matheus Cunha
Suspensions: None

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DREAM TEAM managers have until 2pm on Saturday to decide upon their strategy for Gameweek 25.The first thing to note is that Tottenham have zero fixtures so owners of James Maddison (£4.1m), Son Heung-min (£4.8m) and company need to find replacements as a matter of urgency.
Nine teams will play twice this coming Gameweek with the FA Cup fifth round to follow the weekend’s action, which includes Sunday’s Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea.
With that in mind, let’s mull over some potential Booster strategies.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN £500 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

Manchester United’s striker has been among the goals since the turn of the yearCredit: Alamy
The 12th Man Booster is a helpful way of recruiting an in-form player ahead of a juicy double Gameweek without committing to them long-term.
Take Rasmus Hojlund (£3.8m) for example.
Manchester United’s No11 has scored in six consecutive fixtures and may well prove to be smart selection for the remainder of the season but a quick glance at the schedule reveals a stark contrast between Gameweeks 25 and 26.
Erik ten Hag’s side have the luxury of a favourable double header up next in the form of Fulham and Nottingham Forest but their lone fixture in Gameweek 26 is Manchester City at the Etihad.
It’s also worth noting that the Red Devils will have fewer fixtures in the coming weeks compared to the teams still active in Europe.
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Backing Hojlund as 12th Man in Gameweek 25 would allow gaffers to target his friendly double header without worrying about his comparatively worse schedule up until the international break.
Neto against Sheffield United? Bloodbath…Credit: Dream Team
The same logic applies to Pedro Neto (£3.4m)
Wolves are set to host Sheffield United this weekend and the thought of their electric winger running at the league’s worst defence should have the Molineux faithful salivating.
Brighton are expected to provide stiffer opposition in the cup but the Seagulls certainly aren’t shy of an open, end-to-end contest.
Neto has registered 16 goal involvements in 19 outings this season and he averages 6.2 points-per-game.
This suggests even a pair of run-of-the-mill performances would yield a double-digit haul but the Portugal international has the ability to take the beleaguered Blades for 10+ points before moving onto Roberto De Zerbi’s side in midweek.
Gary O’Neil’s troops look well placed to bank plentiful points in Gameweek 25 but, like Man United, their schedule dampens in comparison to the likes of Liverpool and Brighton from Gameweek 26 onwards.
Pascal Gross (£4.4m) is another nominee given his impressive form of late but the German midfielder may actually be worthy of a transfer looking at his upcoming fixtures.
UnderratedCredit: Reuters
We recommend keeping Park the Bus and Max Captain holstered this Gameweek – there will be better opportunities these Boosters later in the season.
In terms of captaincy options, Erling Haaland (£7.3m) is once again the leading candidate.
Manchester City’s No9 banked 15 points in Gameweek 24 (mostly because of his winner against Brentford) although it should have been so much more as he missed some gilt-edged chances against Chelsea last Saturday.
We suggested Bukayo Saka (£5.7m) as the best alternative to the Norwegian poacher last week and those who opted to stick the armband on Arsenal’s No7 were rewarded with some extra points.
The England international pocketed 18 across his two fixtures, with 14 of them coming at Turf Moor.
This option isn’t all that viable for Gameweek 25 though as the Gunners have just one fixture (Newcastle) compared to Man City’s double (Bournemouth and Luton).

The obvious captain for a reasonCredit: Rex
Mohamed Salah’s (£6.7m) return to action means he deserves a mention in the captaincy debate but his minutes are far from certain having been forced to skip Liverpool’s midweek game against Luton.
The Egyptian superstar scored and assisted against Brentford in just over 45 minutes of playing time for a ten-point return but he’s said to be battling fatigue after his recent spell on the sidelines.
He will surely play a prominent role at Wembley with a trophy on the line but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he skipped the Reds’ FA Cup meeting with Southampton in midweek.
Pep Guardiola could just as easily rest Haaland in the cup but even if it boils down to just the weekend fixtures, City’s poacher against out-of-form Bournemouth looks a better shout than Salah against Chelsea in a final.
The aforementioned Hojlund and Neto are tempting captaincy options for those who own either/both outright.
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However, gaffers who are relatively content with their ranking and therefore don’t feel the need to go against grain should simply captain Haaland – it’s not exactly a head-scratcher this week.
UPDATE: Rasmus Hojlund is expected to be sidelined for two or three weeks and is therefore not a suitable 12th Man option

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BEFORE thinking about anything else this week, Dream Team managers must ditch their Tottenham players as soon as possible.This is a matter of urgency not because Ange Postecoglou’s men lost to Wolves last time out but simply because they are the only team without a single fixture to fulfil in Gameweek 25.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN £500 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

It’s just business, Ange!Credit: Dream Team
Spurs were scheduled to face Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend but that ill-tempered derby has been postponed because the Blues are due to meet Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Luton are the other top flight team without a weekend fixture (they visit Anfield this evening instead) but they won’t blank in Gameweek 25 because of their midweek FA Cup fixture.
Spurs were eliminated from the prestigious cup competition by Manchester City in the fourth round and so Son Heung-min (£4.8m) and friends won’t be in action again until early March.
With nine teams set to fulfil two fixtures in Gameweek 25 and ten due to play once, Spurs are very much the unfortunate outliers.
Needless to say, without any point-scoring opportunities at all, their players will inevitably slip down the rankings throughout the remainder of February.
Maddison is the most-selected Spurs player in Dream Team currentlyCredit: Alamy
At the time of writing, James Maddison (£4.1m) features in 12.7% of teams with Pedro Porro (£3.6m), Son and Guglielmo Vicario (£2.3m) also relatively popular.
In regards to potential replacements, targeting busy assets is always a wise move.
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Pedro Neto (£3.4m) plays against Sheffield United and Brighton in Gameweek 25 and has notched 16 goal involvements in 19 appearances this season.
Pascal Gross (£4.4m) has risen up to joint-fourth among midfielders, level on points with Cole Palmer (£4.4m), after a fine spell of form.
In fact, because of the upcoming Europa League round of 16 ties, the Brighton midfielder is set for three consecutive double Gameweeks, starting with Everton and Wolves.
For comparison, Roberto De Zerbi’s men are due to play six games in the time Spurs will just twice across the next three Gameweeks.

Liverpool have plenty of fixture to fulfil in the coming weeksCredit: Alamy
Liverpool will also fulfil six fixtures in the same time frame with Man City, Aston Villa, West Ham and Bournemouth having five fixtures each.
Consequently, familiar favourites from Anfield and the Etihad should continue to thrive – standard practice.
Elsewhere, the likes of Ollie Watkins (£4.4m), Dominic Solanke (£3.9m) and Jarrod Bowen (£4.7m) certainly have the potential to provide plentiful returns as well, though the latter’s form has tailed away of late.
Whatever route gaffers decide to take going forward, it’s imperative they replace their Spurs stars before Saturday’s 2pm deadline.

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NO team has returned from the winter break as invigorated as Arsenal.The Gunners have now won five consecutive games in a fruitful streak that has featured a huge win against title rivals Liverpool and crushing victories over Crystal Palace, West Ham and Burnley.
From a Dream Team perspective, there’s been no shortage of benefactors from this dramatic upturn.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN £500 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

Dream Team’s outright leaderCredit: Getty
Bukayo Saka (£5.7m) is the outright top scorer in the game with a whopping 257 points his name while Martin Odegaard (£4.1m) has re-entered the top ten midfielders having rediscovered his stylish mojo.
Back-to-back clean sheets have pushed both Gabriel (£3.9m) and William Saliba (£3.3m) into the top five defenders with Ben White (£3.4m) not far behind in joint-sixth.
Declan Rice (£3.6m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£3.9m) owners will also have been relatively satisfied with their returns of late.
Perhaps the most interesting element of Arsenal’s purple patch has been the form of Kai Havertz (£2.8m) and Leandro Trossard (£2.8m).
The pair are very affordable and both are categorised as midfielders despite the fact they predominately operate in the final third.
In fact, Arteta has used both as false nines with great effect while Gabriel Jesus (£4.8m) has been sidelined with injury.
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Arsenal stars have shared the points around recentlyCredit: Dream Team
Generally, the Belgium international has played up front with the 24-year-old German as an advanced midfielder.
What really matters is that both players scored and assisted against the Clarets on Saturday, banking ten points each in the process.
Havertz has produced 19 points in his last three outings while Trossard has earned 28 in the same frame via three goals.
The latter has now scored nine goals in all competitions, a tally bettered only by Saka among his team-mates.
Clearly, there’s considerable potential for Dream Team bosses to exploit here, especially with Arsenal in such great form.
However, how will Trossard and Havertz fit in once Jesus is available for selection again?
Jesus may return against Porto in the Champions LeagueCredit: Rex

The Brazilian striker may even feature against Porto on Wednesday night if rumours are to be believed.
Arteta is fiercely loyal to his first-choice XI but there must be a temptation to retain Trossard in the starting line-up in some capacity given his recent performances.
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It could be argued that the Gunners have played their best football of the Arteta reign while Jesus has been unavailable.
Dream Team gaffers should keep an eye on this situation closely because Trossard in particular has offered excellent value for money in recent weeks.

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THE upcoming FA Cup fifth round fixtures present tuned-in Dream Team managers with an opportunity to improve their ranking.Ten Premier League clubs remain active in the prestigious competition and therefore have an additional midweek fixture in Gameweek 25.
However, it’s worth noting that one of those clubs, Luton, don’t have a league game this weekend as they were due to face Liverpool, who are set to face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley instead.
On a similar theme, Tottenham don’t have a single fixture in Gameweek 25!

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN £500 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

Ditch your Spurs assets for Gameweek 25!Credit: PA
While rotation is more common in the domestic cups, Dream Team bosses will ideally have plenty of active players on Tuesday and Wednesday in hope of bumper points.
TEAMS WITH TWO FIXTURES IN GAMEWEEK 25:

Manchester City (Bournemouth, Luton)
Manchester United (Fulham, Nottingham Forest)
Liverpool (Chelsea, Southampton)
Chelsea (Liverpool, Leeds)
Wolves (Sheffield United, Brighton)
Newcastle (Arsenal, Blackpool)
Brighton (Everton, Wolves)
Nottingham Forest (Aston Villa, Man United)
Bournemouth (Man City, Leicester)

Naturally, the eye is drawn to City and Liverpool but there’s little value in tipping glaring obvious stars such as Erling Haaland (£7.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£6.7m).
We feel it’s worth flagging Wolves’ double header as a potentially productive endeavour.
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Gary O’Neil’s side have lost just twice in 11 games (seven wins) since Christmas Eve in all competitions.
This coming weekend, they have the luxury of a home game against Sheffield United which has to be considered the most-favourable match-up possible in the top flight at present.
The Blades are rooted to the bottom of the table with just 13 points to show for their efforts since promotion and were comprehensively beaten by Brighton last time out.
An exciting short-term optionCredit: Dream Team
Wolves will then host the Seagulls in the cup in what should be an entertaining contest.
These two teams played out an uncharacteristic 0-0 in January but their respective styles should deliver goals this time around.
With this in mind, how about Pedro Neto (£3.4m) as a short-term punt?
The 23-year-old winger is one of the most exciting players in the Premier League and the thought of him running at Chris Wilder’s beleaguered troops should have gaffers licking their lips.
His assist against Spurs last weekend was his 13th of the season – only Ollie Watkins (£4.4m) and Darwin Nunez (£4.5m) have set up more goals at this stage.
However, Neto is the undisputed assist king when we boil it down to efficiency.
The Portugal international has been restricted to just 19 appearances this season because of injury, which makes his assist tally truly remarkable – Watkins and Nunez have played 33 and 37 games respectively, for comparison.
In fact, Neto is averaging an assist every 116 minutes in 2023/24!
And his total of 25 bonus points is mightily impressive too given his two-month lay-off.
16 goal involvements in 19 appearances this seasonCredit: Getty

A favourable weekend fixture couple with an additional midweek outing makes Neto an immensely tempting option for Gameweek 25 but Dream Team bosses should be aware that this is likely to be a short-sighted strategy.
Wolves have just two fixtures to fulfil across Gameweeks 26 and 27 while Liverpool, Aston Villa, Brighton and West Ham will play FOUR games in that time because of their European commitments.
Man City, Arsenal, Luton and Bournemouth also have three fixtures each in the same time frame.
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Still, gaffers with relatively settled line-ups should have enough flexibility to recruit Neto for Gameweek 25 before swapping him out for a busier asset the following week.
Wolves’ No7 currently features in just 1% of teams.

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