FAR be it from us to kick teams when they’re down but it’s simply a fact that Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich have endured a miserable 2024/25.
All three clubs were promoted from the Championship but are heading straight back to the second tier having been reminded of the harsh demands of the Premier League.
Throughout the campaign, players from the other 17 teams have taken advantage of the quality gap when facing the doomed trio to earn plentiful Dream Team points and there’s no reason to expect anything different from the final four Gameweeks.
Following this logic, managers should be aware that Everton are due to host Saints and the Tractor Boys in May.
The Toffees are only 15th in the table themselves but will be highly motivated to mark their farewell from Goodison Park with victories and they could hardly have asked for more favourable opponents.
Ipswich and Southampton have scored 58 league goals between them this season, just two more than Brentford, while Everton boast the fifth-best defensive record in the top flight.
The stats suggest it would be reasonable to expect clean sheets from David Moyes’ men in Gameweeks 34 and 36.
EVERTON’S REMAINING FIXTURES
- GW34: Ipswich (h)
- GW35: Fulham (a)
- GW36: Southampton (h)
- GW37: Newcastle (a)
If clean sheets are on offer then Jordan Pickford (£3.9m) is therefore a viable option.
England’s No1 ranks joint-sixth among goalkeepers with 163 points to his name having kept 11 clean sheets.
James Tarkowski (£3.6m) is out for the remainder of the season having undergone surgery and so the best selections in defence are Vitaliy Mykolenko (£3.5m), Jarrad Branthwaite (£3.2m) and Jake O’Brien (£2.6m).
In terms of goal threats it’s relatively slim pickings but all attacking assets become more appealing when they’re about to face two of the bottom three.
Beto (£2m) enjoyed a purple patch in February but his returns have dried up since then and so the player to pick would be Iliman Ndiaye (£4.3m).
The Senegalese winger has scored nine goals this season and ranks relatively high for bonus points.
Generally speaking, Dream Team bosses should target the additional fixtures on offer in the European competitions and FA Cup but this Gameweek is a great example of how targeting ultra favourable fixtures can yield shed-loads of points.
At the time of writing, Matheus Cunha (£5.4m) is the top performer of Gameweek 33 with team-mate Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.5m) in third, all because Wolves had the luxury of facing Leicester at the weekend.
At the very least, gaffers should be open to Everton options in May given their schedule.
