Fantasy Football

SMART Dream Team managers should keep an eye on bonus points throughout the season.Several players currently occupy lofty positions in the overall rankings because of their ability to enhance their returns with helpful bonuses on top of the more noticeable point-scoring methods: goals, assists, clean sheets, etc.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at which players lead the way this campaign in terms of total bonus points…
SpoilersCredit: Dream Team
MOST BONUS POINTS

42 – Bruno Guimaraes (£3.8m)
37 – Ezri Konsa (£3.1m)
36 – Phil Foden (£5.3m), Kieran Trippier (£5m)
34 – Bukayo Saka (£5.9m)
31 – James Ward-Prowse (£3.9m)
29 – Antonee Robinson (£2.9m)
27 – Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.7m), Jeremy Doku (£4.1m), Conor Gallagher (£3.2m), Pedro Porro (£3.7m)

Newcastle’s all-action midfielder leads the way and by a notable margin.
The Brazil international ranks highly in his position for blocks, interceptions and successful dribbles – plus, he wins A LOT of free-kicks for the Magpies.
Guimaraes has earned bonus points in 22 of his 30 appearances this term, featuring one maximum (five bonus points) against Fulham in Gameweek 16.
Similarly, Konsa wins an awful lot of fouls for a player in his position and the Aston Villa defender isn’t shy of taking on opponents with the ball at his feet either.
29.6% of the 26-year-old’s total points have come through the bonus system so far this this season.
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Crossing machineCredit: Rex
Two England team-mates share third-place and it’s easy to see why.
Trippier is just as important to Newcastle in attack as he is in defence, as evidenced by the sheer volume of crosses he provides from open play and set-pieces.
The experienced right-back has found a team-mate with 67 crosses in all competitions this season – only one other defender has produced more than 35 accurate crosses.
As for Foden, his exemplary technique means he ticks over nicely with bonus points as the system tends to recognise his contributions to Manchester City’s build-up when he’s not scoring goals himself.
Robinson is an interesting inclusion on this list.
Fulham’s left-back is freakishly good at anticipating the opposition’s next pass and, as a result, he leads the way for interceptions among all Premier League players.
The USA international has picked off 62 interceptions, 17 more than his closest rival.
Robinson also ranks highly in his position for successful dribbles and accurate crosses.
Talk about a wildcardCredit: Getty
Doku is a player to monitor closely because his off-the-charts dribbling statistics have resulted in 27 bonus points from just over 1,000 minutes on the pitch (equivalent to 11 full games).
The Belgian was close to becoming a must-have asset prior to his injury so Dream Team bosses would do well to keep an eye on him now he’s available again.

In terms of pure form, no player holds a candle to Porro right now.
Spurs’ much-improved right-back has earned the maximum five bonus points in his last two outings!
The Spaniard maxed out as part of his match-winning display against Burnley in the FA Cup and he did the same against Manchester United in the league at the weekend, though his efforts only secured his side a draw.
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Porro now has eight assists in 2023/24 and his overall tally of 148 points put him third among defenders – he’s hunting down Trippier and Alexander-Arnold at a rapid rate.
It’s worth checking the most prolific bonus point collectors every so often throughout the season.

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KEVIN DE BRUYNE (£6.4m) gave fair warning that he wasn’t fit enough to start against Newcastle on Saturday.What the brilliant Belgian failed to mention was that he intended to change the game with a mesmerising cameo off the bench.
Manchester City’s playmaker-in-chief scored within five minutes of his second-half introduction at St James Park as he passed the ball just inside the far post with pinpoint accuracy to level proceedings.
Then in stoppage time, he produced a trademark assist for Oscar Bobb’s (£1.8m) winner with the young Norwegian displaying neat footwork to take advantage of the chance created for him by the imperious De Bruyne.
What a playerCredit: Dream Team
Consequently, many Dream Team managers have transferred the world-class midfielder into their XIs ahead of Gameweek 21 – which doesn’t get underway until late next week because of the winter break.
Remember, you can reverse transfers any time before the deadline so there’s no downside to making an early move.
De Bruyne has been eased back in since recovering from injury with Pep Guardiola making a point to explain the potential perils of rushing him back too soon several times over in the last fortnight.
That being said, the 32-year-old has provided two assists and a goal in 54 minutes of playing time since his return to action so the temptation to start him in the FA Cup fourth round against Tottenham in eleven days’ time must be strong.
Gameweek 21 also includes City’s Premier League meeting with Burnley.
Even if the coaching staff don’t believe De Bruyne is capable of 180 minutes in six days at the end of this month, he’ll surely be assured a fair share of the action.
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And he’s shown in his last two outings that he doesn’t need much time to make a significant impact.
A match made in football heavenCredit: Getty
De Bruyne banked ten points at the Magpies’ expense and looks good another double-digit haul in Gameweek 21.
One benefit of recruiting him now is that he’s available for £6.4m, which is still a hefty price tag, but one likely to increase if he maintains his current form much longer.

Few players are able to change the landscape of Dream Team in such a short time as the Belgium international – his ownership has risen to 13.6% already.
De Bruyne is ever so close to breaking into the top ten most-selected midfielders despite the fact he’s yet to complete 90 minutes in 2023/24, such is the measure of his deserved reputation.
Officially, he’s scored 65 goals and provided 103 assists in the Premier League alone.
KDB or not to KDB? That is the question…

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TOTTENHAM fans are finally starting to see the best of Richarlison (£3.1m).The Brazilian’s header at Old Trafford on Sunday was his sixth goal in as many Premier League games – a hot streak reminiscent of his final days in an Everton shirt.
It’s been a long time coming for the 26-year-old after a bitterly disappointing first season in North London.
He mustered just three goals in 35 appearances in 2022/23 with just one coming in the league – against Liverpool at the end of April in his 23rd top-flight appearance of the campaign.
Richarlison has displayed impressive form in recent weeksCredit: Dream Team
Richarlison was visibly low on confidence for much of last season but, like several of his team-mates, he appears far more comfortable at Spurs under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou.
He now has seven goals and three assists to his name in 18 league outings in 2023/24.
That boils down further to a goal involvement every 101 minutes!
Naturally, this transformation has improved his Dream Team viability considerably.
Richarlison was an avoid-at-all-costs asset last term but a run of 56 points across his last seven games will have gaffers wondering if he’s worthy of a place of in a successful XI?
The slim minority of Dream Team bosses who have backed him lately (current ownership 2.3%) have been handsomely rewarded.
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He’s comfortably outperformed the likes of Ollie Watkins (£4.2m) and Darwin Nunez (£4.2m) over their last seven fixtures and the latter pair are both among the most-popular players in the game right now.
Richarlison banked ten points at Old TraffordCredit: Getty
Make no mistake, Son Heung-min (£4.8m) is the Spurs forward of choice when available but the South Korean superstar is currently away at the Asian Cup.
Postecoglou’s side were handed a tough FA Cup fourth round fixture in the form of Manchester City, although Pep Guardiola has struggled away to Spurs in recent years.
After that match-up in Gameweek 21, Richarlison and company face Brentford, Everton, Brighton and Wolves in the league – a moderate run of fixtures.

However, given that only Man City have scored more league goals than Spurs this season at the time of writing, the schedule isn’t all that big of a factor when weighing up their attacking assets.
In fact, Spurs have scored in 33 consecutive Premier League fixtures, a new club record.
Richarlison now has 102 points in total this season with over half of them coming since the start of Gameweek 15.

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DREAM TEAM brings you all the latest injury, suspension and availability news ahead of Gameweek 20 in one easily digestible dose.Due to the Premier League winter break, the upcoming Gameweek will last a fortnight and so updates regarding availability from press conferences are limited prior today’s 6:45pm deadline.
However, Dream Team bosses should still know about the most pressing absentees in advance.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN £500 AMAZON VOUCHER!

Lucas Paqueta faces up to two months on the sidelinesCredit: Dream Team
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.8m) will be sidelined for “a few weeks” after injuring knee in Liverpool’s win over Arsenal in the FA Cup.
The Reds’ No66 is Dream Team’s top defender at present but he is expected to miss the next two Gameweeks at least, possibly returning in early February for the league meeting with the Gunners at the Emirates.
West Ham’s midfield problems have gone from bad to worse following Mohammed Kudus’ (£4.9m) departure to AFCON.
Both Lucas Paqueta (£4.2m) and Jarrod Bowen (£5.5m) picked up injuries against Bristol City with the former expected to miss approximately two months.
The outlook is somewhat more encouraging for the Hammers’ top scorer with Bowen hopeful to return in two or three weeks as it stands.
Joelinton (£3.2m) is the latest Newcastle player to be struck down in what has been a severely unlucky season for the Magpies in regards to availability.
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“It isn’t good,” Eddie Howe told reporters. “It is an injury that will see him miss a minimum of six weeks, it is a real blow for us.”
Another Newcastle absenteeCredit: Rex
Manchester United may be boosted by the returns of several key individuals with Erik ten Hag revealing that Lisandro Martinez (£3.1m), Casemiro (£3.8m) and Luke Shaw (£4m) are all available for selection having returned to full training.
Christopher Nkunku (£3.7m) hasn’t trained in ten days and is therefore a major doubt for Chelsea ahead of this weekend’s West London derby against Fulham.
In more positive news for the Blues, Ben Chilwell (£3.8m) and Benoit Badiashile (£3m) will return to the matchday squad.
Erling Haaland (£7.9m) is still not ready to return for Manchester City in Gameweek 20.
The Norwegian No9 will sit out his side’s trip to St James’ Park, as will John Stones (£3.5m).
Jack Grealish (£3.7m) is also a doubt having been unwell but a decision will be made after Friday’s training session.
Kevin De Bruyne (£6.7m) does not expect to start against Newcastle but the Belgian playmaker will surely be involved in some capacity.
Unai Emery may be able to call upon Pau Torres (£3m) and Youri Tielemans (£2.7m) this coming Gameweek but Lucas Digne (£3.1m) remains unavailable despite being pictured in training earlier in the week.
The waiting game goes onCredit: Alamy
ARSENAL
Injuries: Jurrien Timber, Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko (doubt), Gabriel Jesus (doubt)
Suspensions: None
ASTON VILLA
Injuries: Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia, Lucas Digne
Suspensions: None
BOURNEMOUTH
Injuries: Ryan Fredericks, Tyler Adams, Lloyd Kelly, Hamed Traore, Milos Kerkez
Suspensions: Marcos Senesi
BRENTFORD
Injuries: Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry, Kevin Schade, Bryan Mbeumo, Kristoffer Ajer, Christian Norgaard (doubt)
Suspensions: Ivan Toney (available for next league game)
BRIGHTON
Injuries: Julio Enciso, Solly March, Tariq Lamptey, Ansu Fati, Joel Veltman, Igor Julio (doubt)
Suspensions: None
BURNLEY
Injuries: Luka Koleosho, Jordan Beyer (doubt), Hjalmar Ekdal, Charlie Taylor (doubt), Lyle Foster (doubt)
Suspensions: None
CHELSEA
Injuries: Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka (doubt), Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwo, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Christopher Nkunku
Suspensions: None
CRYSTAL PALACE
Injuries: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Cheick Doucoure, Joel Ward, Rob Holding, Sam Johnstone, Michael Olise
Suspensions: None
EVERTON
Injuries: Dele Alli, Ashley Young, Dwight McNeil
Suspensions: None
FULHAM
Injuries: Adama Traore, Harrison Reed (doubt)
Suspensions: None
LIVERPOOL
Injuries: Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Joel Matip, Dominik Szoboszlai (doubt), Ben Doak, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Suspensions: None
LUTON
Injuries: Dan Potts, Reece Burke (doubt), Tom Lockyer, Marvelous Nakamba
Suspensions: Jacob Brown
MANCHESTER CITY
Injuries: Erling Haaland, John Stones, Manuel Akanji (doubt), Jack Grealish (doubt)
Suspensions: None
MANCHESTER UNITED
Injuries: Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount, Harry Maguire (doubt), Victor Lindelof, Anthony Martial
Suspensions: None
NEWCASTLE
Injuries: Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, Elliot Anderson, Matt Targett, Joe Willock, Nick Pope, Callum Wilson, Joelinton
Suspensions: Sandro Tonali
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Injuries: Taiwo Awoniyi (doubt), Felipe (doubt), Divock Origi (doubt), Anthony Elanga (doubt)
Suspensions: None
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Injuries: Daniel Jebbison, John Egan, Chris Basham, Tom Davies
Suspensions: None
TOTTENHAM
Injuries: Ivan Perisic, Alfie Whiteman, Manor Solomon, James Maddison, Alejo Veliz, Cristian Romero (doubt), Giovani Lo Celso, Ben Davies
Suspensions: None
WEST HAM
Injuries: Lucas Paqueta, Michail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal (doubt), Jarrod Bowen, Kostas Mavropanos
Suspensions: None
WOLVES
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Injuries: Craig Dawson (doubt), Hugo Bueno (doubt)
Suspensions: Joao Gomes

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THE captaincy conversation has rarely been so open this Dream Team season.With Erling Haaland (£7.9m), Mohamed Salah (£6.7m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.8m), Jarrod Bowen (£5.5m) and Son Heung-min (£4.8m) among the considerable number of players flagged as unavailable, gaffers may have to think outside the box.
Allow us to make the case for some potential skippers for Gameweek 20.

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Sometimes a little chaos is a good thingCredit: Dream Team
Darwin Nunez (£4.1m)
Liverpool’s No9 is not a safe choice by any means.
Few players in world football are capable of flitting between brilliance and farce so rapidly and his habit of squandering golden chances is an annoying one but he provides more than his far share of points and his tally of eight goals and 13 assists is more than respectable.
A 10-point haul in Gameweek 19 bumped Nunez up to sixth in the rankings among forwards and he jumps to third if we exclude unavailable assets.
With Salah and Alexander-Arnold temporarily out of commission, the Uruguay international is Liverpool’s main man in terms of total Dream Team points (154).
And it remains an opportune time to back to the table-topping Reds.
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Gameweek 20 sees Jurgen Klopp’s side face Bournemouth in the league before a second Carabao Cup semi-final leg against Fulham.
It would be a helpful time for Nunez to channel his sublime side, rather than the ridiculous.
Cole Palmer (£3.6m)
Many Dream Team managers are backing Palmer for double pointsCredit: Getty
The 21-year-old added 13 points to his total in Gameweek 19 but it could have been so much more had he not misplaced his shooting boots against Middlesbrough in midweek.
We’re willing to put that down as a rare off-night as Palmer has generally been superb since his transfer to Chelsea, as evidenced by his tally of eight goals and nine assists (albeit plumped by four penalties).
The Blues are still a work in progress under Mauricio Pochettino but their No20 averages 6.2 points-per-game, a rate bettered by only five midfielders (three of which are currently injured).
Chelsea have the luxury of two home fixtures in Gameweek 20 although it’s worth noting their record at Stamford Bridge is rather underwhelming this term.
They host Fulham in a West London derby on Saturday before completing their Carabao Cup semi-final against Boro on January 23rd.
The stats suggest Palmer will provide a double-digit this coming Gameweek and is therefore a worthy nominee for the captain’s armband.
Phil Foden (£5.1m)
Enjoying himselfCredit: Reuters
Dream Team bosses should probably select a captain with two fixtures in Gameweek 20 but one only has to look at Pedro Porro’s (£3.5m) 20-point haul in Gameweek 19 (the joint highest among all players) to see that one favourable match-up is enough for an in-form talent if everything clicks.
And boy is Manchester City’s resident wonderkid in form!
The England international has amassed 38 points across his last three outings via three goals, an assist and five bonus points.
Only three players have more points than Foden’s 193 at the time of writing and two of them, Haaland and Salah, are out of action.
Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Newcastle on Saturday in what would usually be a tricky match-up but the Magpies’ defence has looked vulnerable in recent weeks.
The underlying numbers suggest Liverpool should have put seven past Eddie Howe’s men on New Year’s Day.
If Foden and company build up a head of steam then there could be bucket-loads of points on offer.
See also: Julian Alvarez (£4.2m).

Matheus Cunha (£3.6m)
Not a West Ham player!Credit: Reuters
A wildcard suggestion to finish because what’s life without whimsy?
Out of all available players with two fixtures in Gameweek 20, nobody averages more points-per-game than Wolves’ No12 – fact!
Cunha earns lots of bonus points for a forward and while his goal tally of six is relatively modest, he ranks highly for assists, big chances created and tackles in his position.
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Gary O’Neil’s side play Brentford and Brighton this coming Gameweek – the former are without a win since the start of December and the latter have only kept one domestic clean sheet all season.
The Brazilian appears in just 1.7% of teams but the stats suggest he’s a smart option for Gameweek 20 and maybe even a worthy captain.

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DREAM TEAM managers only have to get their strategy bang on once throughout the season to top up their bank balance.We give away £100 every Gameweek to the gaffer who earns the most points and Gameweek 19’s champion, Joseph Lattimore, earned himself some beer money after notching 194 points!
Let’s take a closer look at how he achieved such an impressive score…

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN £500 AMAZON VOUCHER!

Points galore!Credit: Dream Team
The first thing to note is that Joseph topped the weekly leaderboard despite the fact he only had ten active players.
Everton’s FA Cup third round match-up with Crystal Palace was part of Gameweek 18 because of a scheduling quirk, meaning Jordan Pickford (£3m) didn’t have any fixtures this past Gameweek – he didn’t feature against the Eagles anyway.
That minor blip was more than offset by a mightily effective use of the Park the Booster, which doubled the 64 points achieved by his five defenders to 128!
Pedro Porro (£3.5m) was the star of the show after his superb all-round performance in an otherwise flat fixture between Tottenham and Burnley.
The Spanish right-back scored a screamer to ensure his side progressed to the fourth round of the cup.
Not only that, he earned five bonus points and contributed to Spurs’ clean sheet to finish with a 20-point haul – the second-best return by a defender from a single fixture this season.
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Porro was Spurs’ cup heroCredit: Reuters
The ever-reliable Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.8m) played his part with a nine-point haul against Arsenal and would have surely added to his total had he not missed Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham through injury.
Joseph is just one of many, many Dream Team bosses who will need to find a replacement for the game’s best defender before tonight’s Gameweek 20 deadline.
Prior to Gameweek 19, we tipped Chelsea assets for a prosperous effort because of their favourable fixtures against Preston and Middlesbrough.
As it happens, the Blues lost 1-0 to Boro in midweek but their 4-0 victory in the FA Cup ensured healthy returns all round nonetheless – Malo Gusto (£2.2m) was the pick of the defenders with 14 points.
In midfield, Joseph targeted West Ham’s meeting with Bristol City and things got off to a great start when Jarrod Bowen (£5.5m) scored early on.
However, the Hammers made heavy work of things after that and ended up drawing with little assistance from James Ward-Prowse (£4.1m), who has gone off the boil lately in Dream Team terms.
Bowen’s helpful 14-point return was soured by the image of him limping down the tunnel at the end of the game and it’s now thought he’ll miss two or three weeks.
Two of Joseph’s gems in Gameweek 19Credit: Dream Team
Phil Foden (£5.1m) has been utterly brilliant this season and he continued to put pressure on Bukayo Saka (£6.1m) at the top of the Dream Team midfield rankings with a brace against a Huddersfield side low on confidence.
Manchester City’s homegrown hero is statistically the most in-form player in the game having racked up 38 points across his last three outings and he’s now just nine points behind Arsenal’s No7.
Martin Odegaard (£4.7m) could only muster four points against Liverpool as the Gunners once again failed to convert their chances.

Last but by no means least, an inspired captaincy choice by Joseph in the form of Joao Pedro (£3.6m).
The Brighton forward has punched well above his weight since his return to Dream Team, thanks predominately to a stream of converted penalties.
But it doesn’t matter how they come, the fact is the Brazilian forward has amassed 169 points with 15 of them coming via a brace against Stoke last time out.
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Only Erling Haaland (£7.9m) and Mohamed Salah (£6.7m) have scored more goals in all competitions this season!
Superb work, Joseph, enjoy your winnings!

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