IT’S crucial that Dream Team managers don’t get caught out by the Gameweek 34 deadline.
Gaffers must confirm their transfers before 6:30pm on Friday – those who leave it until Saturday morning will miss the boat!
Gameweek 34 has a similar feel to Gameweek 33 in that the European semi-finals will once again take centre stage after a full round of Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea are therefore the four teams set to pull double duty.
Dream Team bosses should wait until tonight’s fixtures have played out before finalising their next moves but it’s probably wise to keep faith in the likes of Bukayo Saka (£6.1m), Bruno Fernandes (£6.8m) and Cole Palmer (£4.9m) for at least another week.
Now allow us to propose some other transfer targets...
Vitalyi Mykolenko (£3.5m)
It’s always worth checking which teams have the luxury of facing Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich as the three relegated sides have given up plenty of points this season.
This weekend, Saints travel to the King Power while the Tractor Boys are due to face Everton at Goodison Park.
This makes Mykolenko a viable option as the Toffees’ defender with the most points to his name.
David Moyes’ side boast the fifth-best defensive record in the top flight this season.
Looking further ahead, Everton will host Southampton in Gameweek 36 – another excellent clean sheet opportunity.
The Merseysiders will be highly motivated to give their famous old ground a proper send-off and there could be some cheap points on offer against demoralised opposition.
Jordan Pickford (£3.9m), Jarrad Branthwaite (£3.2m) and Jake O’Brien (£2.6m) are all decent selections for the same reasons.
Dominic Solanke (£3.5m)
Refocusing on the double headers, the most inviting of the lot seems to be Spurs against West Ham and Bodo/Glimt.
In the grand scheme of things, Ange Postecoglou’s side have underwhelmed throughout 2024/25 but they actually rank highly for total Dream Team points.
Solanke averages a goal or assist every 133 minutes this season and his expertly-guided header against Liverpool last weekend showed that he is capable of healthy returns even when everything else falls apart for the North Londoners.
Gaffers would be wise to wait and see how the first leg of the Europa League semi-final plays out before fully committing but, as Spurs’ first-choice striker, Solanke has to be considered an appealing selection for Gameweek 34.
Bryan Mbeumo (£4.8m)
Brentford don’t have the benefit of a second fixture this coming Gameweek but this weekend’s home game against Manchester United comes at a good time.
One suspects the Red Devils will be distracted by their two-legged Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao and if that’s the case they could easily come unstuck at the Gtech, especially if Ruben Amorim rests his key players.
Only Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle have scored more home league goals than the Bees at this stage, a testament to the formidable duo of Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa (£3.8m).
The Cameroon international has made a mockery of his fixture deficit all season long to rack up 303 points – Fernandes is the only midfielder above him in the rankings at the time of writing.
Recruiting Mbeumo now would also be a smart move for Gameweek 35, when Brentford travel to Ipswich.
