Analysing the Dream Team XI currently in pole position to win the jackpot – featuring just one Arsenal player!
LET’S not forget that the Dream Team gaffer who tops the leaderboard come the end of the season banks £75,000.
Right now, Mark Okrasa is in pole position to win the jackpot.
The Sheffield United fan’s XI ‘Marky 8’ has amassed 1949 points at the time of writing.
Let’s take a look at the current make-up of his team.
Mark is praying for Manchester City clean sheets with this strategy.
Block-picking an entire defence from one team is a classic Dream Team tactic but it’s quite interesting that Pep Guardiola’s troops are the chosen ones here.
The defending Premier League champions played seven times in February and their only clean sheet in that time came against Bristol City.
However, it’s entirely possible (probable even) that Mark has only switched to an all-City back four and keeper since transfers were refreshed.
The Etihad residents repelled Newcastle on Saturday to register a 2-0 win, meaning the selected crop banked 30 points in one fell swoop.
Naturally, this provided a huge swing against gaffers with teams stacked full of Manchester United defenders.
David de Gea (£3.9m), Luke Shaw (£4.1m), Diogo Dalot (£3.9m), Raphael Varane (£3.5m) and Tyrell Malacia (£3.5m) all incurred minus six points each – whereas Lisandro Martinez (£4.4m) picked up a booking to suffer a seven-point deduction.
Dozens of gaffers in contention for this season’s top prize were dealt a hammer blow by the Red Devils’ capitulation at Anfield, but not Mark.
Prior to Game Week 25, Mark’s midfield trio were the top three performers in their position but Phil Foden (£4.9m) has now jumped above Bukayo Saka (£5.1m).
Still, the Gunners’ No7 has combined with Bruno Fernandes (£6m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.6m) for 469 points this season.
Interestingly, the England winger is the only Arsenal player in Dream Team’s best XI right now – extraordinary given the state of the league table.
Not only that, Mikel Arteta’s side will be plenty busy this month thanks to two Europa League knockout legs – perhaps Mark has some changes planned.
Erling Haaland (£9m) and Marcus Rashford (£6.5m) are essentially must-haves and they’re the two most-popular forwards in the game.
Harry Kane (£7.8m) is the third-most selected forward but Mohamed Salah (£8.6m) isn’t far behind and the Egyptian has been on a tear on late, racking up 60 points in his last five outings.
Mark will be hoping Tottenham’s premium marksman can make up some ground before the international break.
Kane faces Milan this evening before taking on Nottingham Forest and Southampton in the league.
There’s still a long way to go yet and plenty of points to be claimed but Mark has put himself in a great position to potentially land a life-changing sum of money through Dream Team.
Good luck to all those in the mix at the top!