THE international break has cut Game Week 27 shorter than most but Mass Hosseini won’t be complaining.
He racked up 125 points at the weekend, making him the Game Week’s outright top gaffer.
Let’s take a closer look at his XI to see how he did it…
A lot of Manchester with a sprinkling of north London
David de Gea (£3.9m) failed to keep a clean sheet at home to Fulham but it proved to be a decisive weekend for the Spaniard as the three points he earned for a 7+ rating meant he overtook Nick Pope (£4.2m) to become Dream Team’s top goalkeeper.
Similarly, Luke Shaw (£4.4m) compensated for the Cottagers’ goal with an assist for Marcel Sabitzer (£2.2m) to bank five points, promoting to second in his position overall – Kieran Trippier (£5.8m) remains top dog by a distance among defenders.
It was smooth sailing for Manchester City in their FA Cup quarter-final as they dispatched Burnley 6-0.
Kyle Walker (£3.5m) and Ruben Dias (£6.2m) both added 7+ ratings to the clean sheet to combine for 16 points.
The former is actually the worst-performing defender among Pep Guardiola’s squad from a Dream Team perspective this season with 46 points while the Portuguese centre-back is the best with 114 points, a total bettered by just seven defenders overall.
GETTYDream Team’s new top goalkeeper[/caption]
Mass’ midfield features the best-performing quartet of the season and it was Bukayo Saka (£5.3m) who enjoyed himself the most at the weekend with a brace and an assist against Crystal Palace – a performance that earned him the Star Man award as well.
Bruno Fernandes (£6.2m) wasn’t far behind having benefited most from Fulham’s implosion – he converted the penalty before sealing his side’s place in the semi-finals with a stoppage-time thump.
Neither Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) or Phil Foden (£5m) got on the scoresheet against the Clarets but they assisted half the goals between them for a combined 12 points.
Mind you, it’s not like Mass missed out on City’s rampage as he backed Julian Alvarez (£3.6m) as well as Erling Haaland (£9m), who is something of an obligatory inclusion at this stage.
The Norwegian poacher his SIXTH hat-trick of the season but it was actually the Argentine World Cup winner who claimed the Star Man award by virtue of his expert brace.
Alvarez has 109 points to his name in total despite playing a subsidiary role for most the campaign.
GETTYNot a bad back-up option…[/caption]
Last but not least, Tottenham may be imploding at the back end of this season but Harry Kane (£7.8m) continues to provide healthy returns for his owners.
The England captain scored his 21st Premier League goal of the campaign as Antonio Conte’s side drew 3-3 with Southampton on Saturday.
In doing so, he became the fourth player to breach the 200-point mark in 2022/23.
Superb effort, Mass, good luck to you everyone else in Game Week 28, which will get underway once the international break is done and dusted.