Substitute feature rescues Dream Team managers after Cole Palmer no-show at West Ham

DREAM TEAM’S new Substitute feature came to the rescue in Gameweek 2.

Almost half of all gaffers were expecting big things from Cole Palmer (£5.7m) at West Ham on Friday night but disaster struck when Chelsea’s talisman suffered an injury in the warm-up.

Dream TeamPalmer was replaced by Estevao just minutes before kick-off[/caption]

The 23-year-old was the most popular player in Dream Team when he was withdrawn from the matchday squad just moments before kick-off.

Consequently, Palmer missed out on the fun as the Blues cruised to a 5-1 win at the London Stadium, with Joao Pedro (£4.3m) and Enzo Fernandez (£4.3m) being the biggest beneficiaries.

In previous seasons, Dream Team bosses would simply have to lick their wounds but this is the exact scenario our new Substitute feature was designed to counteract.

The moment the final whistle blew in East London on Friday night, managers were able to activate Substitute and replace Palmer with somebody yet to play (budget dependant).

And since West Ham v Chelsea was the first fixture of the Gameweek, gaffers had plenty of choice.

Did you replace Palmer with Gyokeres after the deadline?Getty

Those who opted to temporarily recruit Viktor Gyokeres (£5.8m) ahead of Arsenal’s home game against Leeds were handsomely rewarded with a 16-point return as the Swedish striker bagged a brace at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon.

Needless to say, the difference between a big, fat goose egg from Palmer and a healthy haul from Gyokeres is humongous.

It’s worth remembering that Substitute is available five times throughout the season.

Being forced to dip into that allotment as early as Gameweek 2 isn’t ideal but this instance was a textbook example of when to use the new feature.

How often will the most selected player in the game get injured during the warm up of the first fixture of the Gameweek?

Shutterstock EditorialPalmer missed out at West Ham[/caption]

As for Palmer’s condition, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be available to face Fulham this coming Saturday.

Speaking after Friday night’s game, Enzo Maresca said: “Cole in the last four or five days was not 100%.

“He tried the warm-up but he felt something. So we prefer not to take any risk to get worse and we’ll see in the next hours if it’s something important or not.”

Palmer is currently the most transferred-out player ahead of Gameweek 3 by a huge margin.

In fact, Dream Team bosses have a few issues to address this week as Bukayo Saka (£6.3m) and flavour-of-the-month Dan Ballard (£2.3m) are also facing short spells on the sidelines.

It’s hardly been the smoothest start to a Dream Team season but smart gaffers are able to thrive among chaos.

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