BRUNO FERNANDES (£6.6m) continued his excellent form with a 16-point haul on Friday night.
Manchester United’s captain opened the scoring from the penalty spot against Bournemouth and then registered a fantasy assist when his corner nestled into the net via James Hill’s (£3.5m) face.
The Cherries rallied to earn a 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium and looked closest to claiming all three points after Harry Maguire (£3m) was sent off for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity but Fernandes was the big winner from a Dream Team perspective.
Among midfielders, only Manchester City’s cup final hero Nico O’Reilly (£3.8m) earned more points than United’s No8 in Gameweek 29.
A 16-point return has pushed Fernandes’ points-per-game average for the season above eight (8.1 to be exact).
He is ever so close to catching Erling Haaland (£6.6m) in this key metric.
HIGHEST POINTS-PER-GAME AVERAGES THIS SEASON (minimum five appearances)
- 8.4 – Erling Haaland
- 8.1 – Bruno Fernandes
- 7.4 – Igor Thiago
- 6.9 – Dominik Szoboszlai
- 6.7 – Gabriel
- 6.7 – Antoine Semenyo
- 6.4 – Bryan Mbeumo
- 6.4 – Ismaila Sarr
- 6.4 – Jarrod Bowen
- 6.4 – Mohamed Salah
Fernandes now has 18 assists to his name in Dream Team, four more than his closest rival.
Add in eight goals and that’s 26 goal involvements in total, the joint-highest tally among players in his position at this late stage of the campaign, level with Anthony Gordon (£4.4m).
What’s remarkable is that Fernandes has amassed such impressive numbers with a limited schedule.
The Red Devils have not been involved in Europe this season and were eliminated from both domestic cups upon entry.
The 31-year-old has been so rampant in the league that Dream Team managers are drawn to him when the schedule suits, even if such a strategy requires a bit of fiddling.
Gaffers who recruited Fernandes for his trip to Bournemouth were handsomely rewarded but they will have to find a replacement over the international break or accept a zero-pointer when the action resumes.
This is because Man United are one of 11 teams without a fixture in Gameweek 30.
Only clubs still active in the FA Cup and/or the European quarter-finals will play immediately after the break.
Fernandes won’t have the chance to add to his points total until Gameweek 31, when Leeds visit Old Trafford on April 13th.
This isn’t ideal and more than a few Dream Team bosses will remain repelled by one-week punts but some players are worth the hassle.
Dream Team in association with Midnite
BET £10 GET £20 +50 free spins – CLAIM HERE
*18+ New UK customers. Bet £10 on accas with 4+ legs, min odds 3/1 (4.0). Get 4x £5 Free Bets and 50 Free Spins, valid for 7 days on selected bets and games only. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
