DREAM TEAM managers are turning back to Joao Pedro (£3.9m) after the Chelsea forward’s impressive performance at Selhurst Park.
At the time of writing, the Brazilian is the most popular recruit ahead of the Gameweek 22 deadline.
Pedro bamboozled Adam Wharton (£3.9m) to create enough space in the box for him to double the Blues’ lead over Crystal Palace not long after half time.
He was also credited with a ‘fantasy assist’ for Chelsea’s third goal as it was his goal-bound shot that struck Jaydee Canvot’s (£2m) arm for Enzo Fernandez’s (£4.5m) penalty.
By the time Pedro was substituted in the 85th minute, he had banked 13 points for his best single-game return since Gameweek 10.
The 24-year-old was among the most selected players in the game prior to Gameweek 1 with many Dream Team bosses impressed by his efforts in the latter stages of Chelsea’s successful Club World Cup campaign.
And he justified his popularity with 41 points across the first four Gameweeks via two goals and three assists.
However, his ownership plummeted as he proceeded to muster just 16 points from the following five Gameweeks, a run which featured nine Chelsea fixtures.
Truth be told, Pedro has blown hot and cold throughout the campaign but he’s difficult to ignore when on song.
His overall record of nine goals and five assists at a rate of one goal involvement every 151.1 minutes makes for good reading.
The issue some gaffers have is that he simply doesn’t play as many minutes as they would like from one of their forwards.
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Pedro seems to be in favour with Liam Rosenior at present but his playing time is shared with Liam Delap (£3.4m).
He averages 56.8 minutes per appearance across his last ten outings.
The flip side of this is that he is efficient with his time on the pitch.
His last ten games have yielded four goals, two assists and 55 points.
In regards to his Gameweek 22 viability, minutes aren’t an immediate concern as Chelsea are one of just four teams with two fixtures to fulfil.
Rosenior’s men will host West Ham in the league before facing Arsenal in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals at the Emirates — the first leg finished 3-2 to the Gunners.
The Hammers have improved lately but 5th versus 18th represents a favourable match-up for Pedro and so it’s easier to understand why he is a popular transfer target this week.
It’s worth noting that Gameweek 21 is not done yet with Chelsea scheduled to face Napoli in Italy this Wednesday.
The final round of Champions League league phase fixtures will determine whether the West Londoners will progress to the round of 16 directly or enter the play-offs, the latter path would add two fixtures to their already bloated schedule.
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