Should Dream Team managers activate their first Booster of the season ahead of Gameweek 4?

AS the international break becomes a thing of the past, thoughts switch back to Dream Team.

Managers have until 11am on Saturday (13th September) to finalise their strategy for Gameweek 4 and more than a few may be tempted to activate their first Booster of the season.

Time for a boost?

Boosters are best saved for juicy double Gameweeks when your best players have appealing fixtures.

Maximising these fruitful circumstances with one of the special effects caused by your Boosters can yield massive points if everything falls into place.

Firstly, a quick reminder of each Booster.

• 12th Man: Select an extra player to score points for your team (for free)
• Maximum Captain: Your highest-scoring player will earn double points
• Goal Bonus: Every goal scored by your players is worth 9 points (instead of the usual 6)

Since each Booster can only be played once per season, you should always think carefully about when to deploy them.

With ten teams set to play twice in Gameweek 4, it’s a conversation worth having.

Liverpool’s trip to Burnley is heavy with potential

GAMEWEEK 4 DOUBLE HEADERS

• ARSENAL v Nott’m Forest (h) & Athletic Club (a)
• ASTON VILLA v Everton (a) & Brentford (a)
• BRENTFORD v Chelsea (h) & Aston Villa (h)
• CHELSEA v Brentford (a) & Bayern Munich (a)
• CRYSTAL PALACE v Sunderland (h) & Millwall (h)
• LIVERPOOL v Burnley (a) & Atletico Madrid (h)
• MANCHESTER CITY v Man Utd (h) & Napoli (h)
• NEWCASTLE v Wolves (h) & Barcelona (h)
• NOTTINGHAM FOREST v Arsenal (a) & Swansea (a)
• TOTTENHAM v West Ham (a) & Villarreal (h)

This set ticks some necessary boxes when weighing up Booster viability.

For starters, not only do Arne Slot’s side have two fixtures, one of them comes against a newly-promoted club that have conceded the most shots across the first three Gameweeks.

If you haven’t been able to afford Mohamed Salah (£7.5m) so far this season then you could always activate 12th Man to recruit him for what has to be considered an appealing double header.

Well among the goals for club and country

The same logic applies to Erling Haaland (£7.5m), who has scored three goals in three outings to date.

Man City’s No9 is coming off the back of a five-goal exhibition for Norway and will be licking his lips at the prospect of back-to-back home games this coming Gameweek.

Elsewhere, Chelsea face a tricky trip to Munich in the Champions League but this weekend’s visit to Brentford could result in more healthy returns for Joao Pedro (£4.6m).

The Brazilian forward has already banked 30 points via two goals and two assists.

If your XI is well stocked with attacking talent and most of the players are likely to play twice in Gameweek 4 then it may even be worth activating Goal Bonus.

It’s important to note that there is no blanket rule in regards to Boosters as they depend on each specific team.

It may not necessarily be the right time for you to play one just because it looks like a smart strategy for one of your rivals.

Boosters are precious and it’s a sin to waste them.

But equally, if you feel Gameweek 4 is the right time – a perfectly reasonable judgement for many gaffers – then go for it!

A reminder that Boosters can only be played one at a time, never in combination.

And you won’t be able to make use of our Substitute feature when a Booster is active.

See our Game Rules for more details.