At the time of writing, five Dream Team assets have registered 200+ points this season.
Erling Haaland (£9.3m), Marcus Rashford (£6.5m), Mohamed Salah (£8.7m), Harry Kane (£8.1m) and Bruno Fernandes (£6.5m) are the only double centurions.
In fact, Man City’s No9 has burst past the 300 barrier and he’s likely to become Dream Team’s second-ever quadruple centurion come end of term.
Man United’s top scorer will feel confident of reaching 300 as he’s currently 44 points adrift and with the Red Devils still active in the FA Cup and Europa League, Rashford has plenty of fixtures at his disposal.
Last season, 16 players finished as double centurions so 11 more will have to join the aforementioned individuals to match that tally this campaign.
Let’s have a go at predicting which players will reach the milestone.
THE BANKERS
- Kieran Trippier (£5.7m) – 195 points
- Kevin De Bruyne (£7.7m) – 180 points
- Bukayo Saka (£5.6m) – 172 points
Newcastle’s reliable right-back is on the brink with eleven fixtures to play so something would have to go spectacularly wrong for him to fall short.
A clean sheet or a goal this weekend at home to Man United would do the job, as would an assist and an accompanying 7+ rating.
Trippier is 67 points ahead of the next-best defender and has seemingly been destined to finish as the top performer in his position since the first month of the season.
Man City’s Belgian playmaker has 20 assists, six goals and eight Star Man awards to his name in 2022/23 and he would likely pass the 200-point mark through 7+ ratings alone even if he somehow failed to add to his mountain of goal involvements.
Pep Guardiola’s side could be among the busiest teams at the back end of the campaign as they seek to add an FA Cup and Champions League to their trophy cabinet while keeping Arsenal honest in the Premier League title race.
Unlike City’s star midfielder, the Emirates’ resident ‘starboy’ has just ten league games in the diary.
But given Saka averages 4.5 points-per-game this season, it would be a surprise if he didn’t notch at least the remaining 28 – he banked 20 points in the Game Week prior to the international break.
PREDICTION: Trippier, De Bruyne, Saka
THE ASTERISKS
- Ivan Toney (£6.2m) – 155 points
- Phil Foden (£5.1m) – 151 points
Brentford’s No17 is on target to breach 200 points having scored 17 goals and provided five assists in 27 appearances so far.
However, the threat of a significant suspension looms over Toney’s head after he admitted to breaking FA rules relating to gambling.
It’s unclear when or how the 27-year-old will be punished but, needless to say, if he is slapped with a suspension before the season’s end then he may fall short of the landmark points tally.
Similarly, Foden has an asterisk above his name because of an injury setback.
The 22-year-old has undergone surgery to remove his appendix but it’s not yet known how long he will be sidelined – some players have returned a fortnight later from the procedure while others required six weeks.
If Man City’s wonderkid recovers swiftly then he may well tick past 200 points but his points-per-game average suggests he’ll need at least 12 games to get there.
PREDICTION: Toney
THE OUTSIDERS
- Riyad Mahrez (£6.1m) – 139 points
- Gabriel Martinelli (£3.9m) – 136 points
- Martin Odegaard (£3.7m) – 130 points
- Luke Shaw (£4.6m) – 128 points
City’s Algerian winger has a habit of racking up shed-loads of points in rapid time when he’s in the groove.
Mahrez produced 71 points in five Game Weeks earlier in the campaign so only a naive Dream Team gaffer would underestimate him – it’s just that he can also blow cold at times.
The 32-year-old has been something of a Champions League specialist in recent years – he’s got three goals and two assists in the competition this term – so a run to the final would likely be extremely beneficial.
Martinelli needs to average 6.4 points-per-game for the remainder of the season to become a double centurion, a tough ask.
Saying that, the young Brazilian has averaged 6.38 points-per-game across his last eight outings so it’s not unthinkable.
Similarly, Arsenal’s captain has a lot of work to do to make up the 70 points he needs but if the Gunners are to maintain their form and win the title then there will be plenty of returns to share around.
Last among our contenders, the joint-second best defender at the time of writing, Man United’s first-choice left-back.
Shaw is level on points with Ben White (£4.5m) but has a greater chance of reaching 200 points because of his additional fixtures.
Erik ten Hag’s side are the bookies’ favourites to win the Europa League so if they can get past Sevilla, the competition’s specialists, in the quarter-finals then they’ll fancy their chances of progressing to the to final.
Shaw will probably need at least seven clean sheets, an assist or two, and a liberal smattering of 7+ ratings to join the 200 Club.
PREDICTION: Mahrez, Shaw