The first month of the season is almost over.
At the time of writing, West Brom fan Barry Shaw is the Dream Team chief who heads the monthly leaderboard and is therefore best placed to claim August’s prize: a brand new PlayStation 5.
However, it is tight at the top and dozens of managers are competing, it all adds up to tonight’s five Premier League games plus Man United’s trip to Leicester on Thursday night.
Needless to say, most of August’s top players have made significant use of Erling Haaland (£7.5m), Aleksandar Mitrovic (£3.9m) and Kieran Trippier (£3.9m) – but which players will be the most likely to thrive in September?
Mitrovic looted 43 points in August
We’ve identified five assets that can rack up a lot of points over the next month.
Keep in mind that each Dream Team manager can have a maximum of ten teams per season, so you might be able to build a new team geared towards September’s games to take home the top prize, which is another PS5.
You can even create a team if you haven’t signed up to play at the start of the season – if you get more points in September than anyone else, then the game console is yours!
Harry Kane (£7.6 million)
An obvious recommendation to start with, but one worth mentioning.
Spurs haven’t been aesthetically pleasing since they ran over Southampton in Game Week 1, but their results are very encouraging and their striker has scored four out of four so far.
Historically, Kane has had a rough time in August, but he’s been smooth out of the blocks this season, meaning Dream Team bosses don’t hesitate when it comes to backing one of the most reliable goalscorers in world football.
The 29-year-old will play three of his five games at home in September and should benefit from a favorable group draw in the Champions League – Spurs play Marseille and Sporting CP for the international break.
Kane has scored 20 goals from 24 Champions League appearances in his career.
No problems for Kane in August
Raheem Sterling (£4.5 million)
Chelsea aren’t looking directly at the start of this campaign, but their new number 17 is up in the air from an individual perspective.
Sterling racked up 26 points in Game Week 4 after scoring a brace against Leicester, followed by the Blues’ lone goal at St Mary’s on Tuesday night.
While Dream Team executives who currently support the likes of Mason Mount (£4.8m), Kai Havertz (£3.7m) and Edouard Mendy (£3.8m) are likely to have to look for replacements, Sterling could next Continue to provide healthy returns for the month with Thomas Tuchel’s squad will face West Ham, Dinamo Zagreb, Fulham and Red Bull Salzburg for a more daunting game against Liverpool.
The England international currently scores a goal every 106.8 minutes for his new club.
Gianluca Scamacca (£2.9 million)
Enough with the regular selections, let’s have some niche differences!
getty
An option in the left field
West Ham’s new goalkeeper is currently one of only eight forwards to have more than 25 points to their name, a fact that will surprise Dream Team bosses who failed to notice his goals in the Europa Conference League play-offs against Viborg .
It seems very likely that the best XIs will benefit from European action during the week in September and with the Hammers slated to meet FCSB and Silkeborg (Romania and Denmark’s best, respectively) in the coming weeks, 2%-owned Scamacca , can be an effective wildcard .
The Italy international has yet to get off the ground at home, but David Moyes’ squad looked much better from the start over the weekend with him at the top, so more minutes can be expected.
In the same breath, keep an eye out for the introduction of Lucas Paqueta (£3million) – the Brazilian has been brilliant for Lyon over the past two seasons.
Bernardo Silva (£4.5 million) and/or Ilkay Gundogan (£4.4 million)
There is no point in suggesting Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne (£7.5m) as they are already the most popular assets in their respective positions.
However, history suggests that multiple Manchester City midfielders is a strong strategy and at the moment it feels like both Bernardo and Gundogan are being overlooked by too many people.
Bernardo was brilliant against Crystal Palace
The Portuguese playmaker appears in just 4.1% of teams, while the German’s ownership is only marginally better at 6.1% – both players have 18 points to their name.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be tested in September with Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Spurs all capable of delivering a shock but the truth is there’s never really a bad time to grab your XI full of Etihad natives.
Bernardo and Gundogan have both already registered two goals and an assist and while rotation is inevitable, there are always plenty of points to be had when it comes to City.
0 Comments