THE best Dream Team managers know how to turn a negative into a positive.
Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace all missed out of the top eight of their respective European league phases and will therefore have to navigate two-legged play-offs if they are to make the round of 16.
These clubs could do without another two fixtures being added to their schedule but, from a Dream Team perspective, these additional point-scoring opportunities may prove useful.
The vast majority of Premier League clubs will take part in the FA Cup fourth round in Gameweek 24 and with rotation rife in the domestic cups, it’s often a low-scoring affair for Dream Team bosses.
The addition of high-stakes European games will give gaffers something to target.
Oliver Glasner’s side were eliminated from the FA Cup by non-league Macclesfield and so their only fixture in Gameweek 24 is a trip to Zrinjski of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first leg of their Conference League play-off.
The second leg will take place in Gameweek 25, creating an appealing double header of Wolves (h) and Zrinjski (h).
The Eagles have been on a downward trajectory of late but the likes of Daniel Munoz (£5.9m) and Ismaila Sarr (£4.1m) have the ability to capitalise on favourable match-ups.
Sean Dyche’s troops ended their Europa League league stage on a high with a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros but they didn’t get the other results they needed to make the top eight.
Even so, a confident win should stand them in good stead for a play-off against either Fenerbache or Panathinaikos.
Forest are also out of the FA Cup so the first leg will be their only commitment in Gameweek 24.
Their Gameweek 25 double header won’t be particularly favourable as Liverpool are due at the City Ground a few days before the second leg.
That being said, it would be remiss to overlook Neco Williams (£4.2m) who has made good use of his European fixtures this season.
The Welsh full-back has amassed 171 points to date, a tally that puts him sixth among defenders, just above Matheus Nunes (£4.8m), Cristian Romero (£4m) and Reece James (4.4m).
Williams ranks first in his position for shots on target and tackles.
As for Eddie Howe’s side, their Champions League play-off will create back-to-back double headers in Gameweeks 24 and 25.
- GW24: Aston Villa (a) & Qarabag (a)
- GW25: Manchester City (a) & Qarabag (h)
Tricky domestic match-ups mean these doubles are not as appealing as they otherwise might be but Newcastle have several players capable of healthy returns during busy periods.
Bruno Guimaraes (£5.4m), Anthony Gordon (£4.7m) and Harvey Barnes (£4.6m) are all among the top 12 midfielders at the time of writing — the latter has scored 12 goals in all competitions.
Nick Pope (£4.1m) has risen to third among goalkeepers after his penalty save against PSG.
While Lewis Hall (£4.4m) is a bonus point magnet like no other with 44 to his name at present, ten more than the next-best defender.
28 of those bonus points have come across the last six Gameweeks!
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The relevant European fixtures will be added to the Match Centre once officially confirmed.
The English teams that qualified for the last 16 directly – Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea, Man City and Aston Villa – will resume their respective European campaigns in March.
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