LIVERPOOL have become Premier League champions elect after victory over Manchester City on Sunday.
The Reds’ 2-0 win at the Etihad, coupled with Arsenal’s defeat to West Ham, has made them overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy come May.
Mohamed Salah (£8.3m) was once again the star of the show against Pep Guardiola’s side as he scored one goal and assisted another for a 16-point return – only Alexander Isak (£6m) earned more points over the weekend among all Dream Team assets.
But Dominik Szoboszlai (£4.3m) deserves his time in the spotlight too having also scored and assisted in Manchester.
The Hungary international banked 13 points for his efforts to continue his fine form of late.
He has notched 59 points in his last seven outings via three goals and two assists.
What’s interesting is that Szoboszlai features in just 6.2% of teams at the time of writing, a relatively low ownership for an in-form starter for the best team in the land.
For comparison, Luis Diaz (£3.5m) appears in 38.8% of teams, making him the fourth-most popular player in the game, despite his dwindling returns since the turn of the year.
The Colombian winger has mustered just 26 points from his last seven appearances, 33 fewer than Szoboszlai.
Widening the lens, Diaz has produced 44 points in 13 games this calendar year, which works out at an average of 3.4 per fixture.
These stats are not befitting a player who features in well over a third of all teams.
Dream Team bosses who want a Liverpool midfielder, an understandable inclination, should certainly consider pivoting from Diaz to Szoboszlai.
Arne Slot’s side are due to host Newcastle at Anfield on Wednesday night and the outlook would change again if the Reds’ No8 picked up an injury or Diaz produced a decisive performance – both feasible possibilities.
Either way, any transfers made this week wouldn’t come into effect until Gameweek 26, when Liverpool’s only fixture is a trip to PSG in the Champions League round of 16.
The Ligue 1 leaders have won 13 of their 14 games in all competitions and made a statement in their European play-off with a 10-0 aggregate triumph over Brest.
Gameweek 26 represents a tough test for Salah and company but, looking further ahead, Gameweek 27 could yield lorry-loads of points.
Liverpool will be one of just six teams to pull double duty in Gameweek 27 and they have the luxury of back-to-back home games against relegation-bound Southampton and PSG.
Previous comments about the Parisians’ form remain pertinent but that match-up becomes more appealing when the venue shifts to Merseyside.
Barring a disaster in the French capital, Dream Team managers should aim to be well stocked with Liverpool players come Gameweek 27.
It wouldn’t be overkill to have five, six or even seven of Slot’s favourites in the ranks for that double header and Szoboszlai’s recent returns suggest he’s worthy of selection.
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