THE European competitions are once again in the Dream Team spotlight.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea are all set to play the first legs of their respective round of 16 ties this week with the second legs to follow in Gameweek 27.
Morgan Rogers and Christopher Nkunku have had success in Europe this season[/caption]
With that in mind, let’s recap which players have earned the most points in Europe so far this season.
51 pts – Emi Martinez (£3.6m)
Aston Villa flew out of the blocks upon their return to the Champions League with wins over Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna, all without conceding a goal.
Naturally, their World Cup winning goalkeeper benefited hugely from these early clean sheets, which he fought tooth and nail for, especially against Harry Kane and company.
In fact, 22 of Martinez’s 32 saves in Europe this season came in his first four outings in the competition.
The Argentine stopper’s midweek returns have been a huge factor in him maintaining a lofty ranking among players in his position.
51 pts – Marc Guiu (£2.3m)
The 19 year-old forward has played just 70 minutes in the league for Chelsea this season but he’s thoroughly enjoyed himself on Thursday nights.
Guiu has six goals in the Conference League at a rate of one every 47.3 minutes.
His crowning moment came in Gameweek 15 when he bagged a hat-trick against Shamrock Rovers.
It will be interesting to see whether the young Spaniard continues to get minutes now the competition has reached the knockout stage.
Maresca has rotated his squad in the Conference League[/caption]
53 pts – Kai Havertz (£4.7m)
Arsenal’s No29 cops plenty of criticism at times but he played a vital role in ensuring the Gunners’ relatively smooth progression to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Havertz scored four goals and provided one assist in eight European outings before his injury.
The Germany international’s hamstring problem may rule him out for the remainder of the campaign and so he’s not an option for Dream Team bosses going forward.
54 pts – Morgan Rogers (£3.9m)
Aston Villa’s silky midfielder made a huge statement in his most recent Champions League appearance when scored a hat-trick against Celtic for a 24-point return.
That dominant display helped Unai Emery’s side progress to the round of 16 directly, avoiding the stress of play-offs.
Rogers is one of the first names on the team sheet when available and he is expected to start against Club Brugge in Belgium this evening.
With an ownership of 29.1%, the 22-year-old is currently Dream Team’s third-most popular midfielder and so big things are expected of him this month.
Rogers produced a masterclass against Celtic back in Gameweek 21[/caption]
56 pts – Bukayo Saka (£6.6m)
Mikel Arteta would feel far more confident of progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals if he was able to field his talismanic No7.
Amazingly, Saka amassed 56 points from just five European games via four goals and two assists before his injury.
More broadly, the England star averages 9.3 points-per-game in 2024/25, a rate only bettered by runaway points leader Mohamed Salah (£8.3m).
How gaffers would love to be able to select Saka again before the end of the season.
58 pts – Rasmus Hojlund (£3.2m)
A surprise inclusion here as Manchester United’s Danish striker has looked relatively ineffective for much of the campaign.
However, while Hojlund’s record of two goals in 22 league games is rather miserable, five goals in eight in the Europa League paints a far brighter picture.
Given that Europe is the Red Devils’ last route to a trophy this season, Ruben Amorim will do everything he can to motivate Hojlund ahead of two legs against Real Sociedad.
It would be a stretch to say that the former Atalanta speedster is a wise selection in Dream Team right now but gaffers should consider which players tend to perform better in Europe when the continental competitions take centre stage.
59 pts – Mohamed Salah (£8.3m)
No list of top performers would be complete without Liverpool’s prolific No11.
The only surprise is that the Egyptian superstar ranks just fourth given the Reds topped the Champions League league phase.
Salah was rested against PSV in Gameweek 21 but he registered three goals and four assists in the seven outings previous at an average of one goal involvement every 86 minutes – incredibly, that’s a tad under par for him this season.
He was slightly hindered by an inconsequential penalty miss against Real Madrid in late November but his numbers are staggeringly good nonetheless.
With Ballon d’Or talk increasing, it’s all eyes on Salah ahead of Liverpool’s meetings with PSG in the very near future.
64 pts – Phil Foden (£6.1m)
Last season’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year has struggled this time around but he made hay in Europe before Manchester City’s untimely exit.
Pep Guardiola’s side paid the price for their error-strewn performances when they were forced to meet Champions League specialists Real Madrid in the play-offs.
Foden notched two goals, three assists and eight bonus points in nine games but that’s all in the past now – Man City were the only English team dumped out of Europe before the last 16.
Foden’s viability has dropped significantly since Man City’s defeat to Real Madrid[/caption]
64 pts – Christopher Nkunku (£3.4m)
The lesson here is that Conference League mismatches are bursting with potential.
Chelsea’s French forward was largely restricted to midweek action for the first two thirds of the campaign and he proved himself too strong for the likes of Noah, Gent and Heidenheim.
Nkunku averages a goal or assist every 48.3 minutes in Europe this season and there may well be more returns to come as the Blues are the bookies’ big favourites to lift the trophy come May.
It would be a mistake for Dream Team bosses to disregard the Conference League as the season draws to a conclusion, providing Enzo Maresca’s troops make it past Copenhagen of course.
85 pts – Erling Haaland (£8.1m)
Man City’s No9 has been in a league of his own in Europe this term with eight goals from nine outings.
But he will now have to watch his rivals catch up to his points tally from the comfort of his sofa following his elimination from the Champions League.
It’s notable that Haaland’s ownership has dropped since City succumbed to Jude Bellingham and friends.
In fact, he was the second-most transferred-out player prior to Gameweek 26.
Dream Team managers have become accustomed to Man City points aplenty in the season’s closing months but 2024/25 looks set to forge a different path.
Haaland won’t be adding to his tally of eight Champions League goals this season[/caption]
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