Could Marcus Rashford actually catch Erling Haaland at the top of Dream Team’s rankings?
PERHAPS we spoke too soon.
The assumption here at Dream Team HQ was that Erling Haaland (£9m) would finish his first season in English football as Dream Team’s top points scorer.
With 32 goals to his name in all competitions and still over a third of the campaign to go, the Norwegian poacher has rapidly established himself as the new apex predator on these shores.
26 of his goals have come in the Premier League and given that his closest competitor, Harry Kane (£8m), is nine goals adrift it seems reasonable to assume the 2022/23 Golden Boot race is merely a formality.
In regards to Dream Team, however, Haaland should take note of the growing figure of Marcus Rashford (£6.4m) in his rear-view mirror.
Manchester United’s homegrown hero continued his scintillating form with two goals at home to Leicester to bank 13 points on Sunday, a day after Manchester City’s No9 blanked in what proved to be a frustrating afternoon at Nottingham Forest.
Haaland’s overall tally of 269 points remains massively imposing but where he once held a 100-point lead over his closest rival, Rashford is now just 42 shy on 227.
Under normal circumstances, a 42-point lead would be an extensive one – and it is – but the rate Rashford is catching up must be considered too.
City’s No9 has added 53 points to his total since the start of Game Week 16 (11 games) whereas his cross-town rival has amassed a whopping 127 points in the same time frame!
Since returning from the World Cup, Rashford has scored 16 goals in 17 appearances, a run that also includes four assists and four Star Man awards.
The England international may have even fired his side into the title race, with the Red Devils now three points behind their neighbours having played the same number of league games.
As inevitable as Haaland felt during the first half of the season, Rashford feels now.
Whether the 25-year-old is capable of becoming Dream Team’s top dog may depend on Thursday night’s game at Old Trafford.
If Erik ten Hag’s side can edge out Barcelona they will have a great chance of going deep in the Europa League, giving Rashford plenty of fixtures.
However, if La Liga’s leaders prevail then he may struggle to overhaul Haaland if the latter continues to prosper in Europe.
Pep Guardiola’s troops will fancy their chances of getting past RB Leipzig over two legs to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
When comparing two assets we would usually look at fixture difficulty as well but, truth be told, both in-form goalscorer are capable of achieving big hauls against any opponent this season.
What’s notable is that Haaland (74.4% ownership) is twice as popular Rashford (37.3%) – gaffers without the latter have missed out on a mountain of points over the last couple of months.