THE new Dream Team season gets underway this week!
Almost every gaffer will want to start Gameweek 1 with multiple Manchester City players in their XI.
Pep Guardiola’s side racked up mountains of points on their way to a treble in 2022/23 but with so many viable options it can be difficult to strike upon the perfect balance.
DREAM TEAMClass is permanent[/caption]
Here we’ve assembled the defending champions’ absolute best players, bargains options and potential flops.
BEST PLAYERS
Let’s not pretend Erling Haaland (£8.5m) isn’t the blindingly obvious candidate to top this category.
Last season the Norwegian poacher became just the second man to ever achieve 400+ Dream Team points in a single season.
He’s comfortably the most-expensive player in the game this time around but even so his ownership is a monstrous 84.7%.
Good luck to the 15.3% of gaffers prepared to go without Haaland, you’re going to need it.
Every year Kevin De Bruyne (£7m) is among the most-expensive assets in the game and every year he’s worth it.
Fizzing crosses, rasping shots, pinpoint passes… the brilliant Belgian is the kind of midfielder a mad scientist would grow in a laboratory.
Had the new scoring system been implemented last season, KDB would have amassed 331 points – enough said.
GETTYStones was excellent at the back end of 2022/23[/caption]
A timely reminder that John Stones (£5m) may well be a Dream Team cheat code this season.
The England international is classified as a defender but it’s likely he’ll play his fair share of minutes in the hybrid role he fulfilled so impressively post-World Cup.
If Stones is to play alongside Rodri (£4m) in Guardiola’s 3-2-4-1 system then he will be more likely to acquire points related to midfield duties while also directly benefiting from clean sheets.
BARGAIN OPTIONS
Such is City’s pedigree, even their semi-regulars start with moderately costly price tags.
While genuine bargains are nonexistent, there may still be value for money to be had at the Etihad.
For example, Manuel Akanji (£4.5m) is a full £1million cheaper than Ruben Dias (£5.5m) and may well match the Portuguese centre-back’s tally.
GETTYSo much more than an understudy[/caption]
It may surprise some gaffers to learn that Julian Alvarez (£4m) would have finished on 227 points last season had the new scoring system been applied.
The World Cup winner spends a lot time of the bench but he’s made the most of his minutes on the pitch and the fact he’ll start the campaign cheaper than Ollie Watkins (£4.5m) and Callum Wilson (£4.5m) represents potential value.
For those impressed by his Community Shield finish, Cole Palmer (£2m) is very cheap but it would be a bold move to back the 21-year-old from the get-go.
POTENTIAL FLOPS
The words ‘flop’ and ‘Man City’ don’t go together in the realm of Dream Team but that doesn’t mean gaffers can just select any player and expect healthy returns.
Kalvin Phillips (£2m) will be hopeful of more opportunities this season but the gulf in quality between him and Rodri has been unavoidable in recent times.
Kovacic is an excellent player but there are better options in Dream TeamREX
Mateo Kovacic (£3m) is a very fine footballer but he doesn’t have the same eye for goal Ilkay Gundogan displayed in his final seasons under Guardiola.
The Croatian technician may have an inviting price for a Man City midfielder but there are better options in his range – Eberechi Eze (£3m), Moussa Diaby (£3m), Bruno Guimaraes (£3m) for three.
Finally, please be aware that Kyle Walker (£3.5m) may be on his way out – his current ownership of 9.9% is very high.
In fact, even if the speedy right-back stays, he tends not to earn the points some think his performances deserve – he would have mustered a moderate 138 last season in the new scoring system.