FA Cup final puts Manchester City back in Dream Team spotlight as fixtures get rarer

DREAM TEAM managers haven’t been able to rely on Manchester City this season.

Pep Guardiola’s side started 2024/25 having won four consecutive Premier League titles and it seemed normal service had been resumed during the first three months of the campaign as Man City went unbeaten in all competitions until late October.

But once the floodgates opened, things quickly went downhill.

Man City can salvage their season with victory in the FA Cup finalGetty

Man City won just once in the space of 13 games in a dismal run that lasted from Halloween until Boxing Day.

During this time, they dropped out of the title race, were eliminated from the Carabao Cup, and severely disadvantaged themselves in the Champions League.

Dream Team bosses had no choice but to find replacements for under-performing individuals.

And when Guardiola’s troops were dumped out of Europe by Real Madrid in February, even more gaffers decided it was time to look elsewhere.

However, as the season draws to a close, Man City are shuffling back into the spotlight once again.

Gvardiol is up to fifth among Dream Team defendersGetty

On Sunday, goals from Rico Lewis (£2.2m) and Josko Gvardiol (£4.2m) secured City a place in the FA Cup final at the expense of Nottingham Forest.

In Dream Team terms, their meeting with Crystal Palace on May 17th represents something very valuable: an additional point-scoring opportunity.

With just four Gameweeks remaining once the current one is complete, every fixture counts.

This is the same reason why the upcoming European semi-finals featuring Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea are so useful.

The majority of clubs have just four league fixtures remaining and so any extra avenues to points should be taken into account when gaffers come to make their transfers.

Marmoush averages 7.2 points-per-game in 2024/25Getty

A goal and clean sheet at Wembley resulted in a 14-point haul for Gvardiol at the weekend, his best single-game return of the season.

This timely performance propelled the Croatia international up to fifth in the defender rankings, with an overall tally of 235 points to his name.

It’s worth noting that since Nico O’Reilly (£2.8m) established himself as a rather handy left-back, Gvardiol has been playing as a centre-back.

The 23-year-old is accustomed to playing centrally and has impressed in recent weeks but his Dream Team viability is reduced at centre-back as he doesn’t have the same license to get forward.

That being said, he still offers an aerial threat from set-pieces, as Forest discovered to their detriment.

Haaland may return before the end of the seasonGetty

Omar Marmoush (£4.9m) has banked 69 points across his last eight games via four goals and two assists.

The Egyptian forward has deputised for Erling Haaland (£7.8m) with aplomb and remains a strong option all the while he’s a guaranteed starter.

Naturally, the prolific Norwegian No9 will be an excellent selection if he returns from injury.

MANCHESTER CITY’S REMAINING FIXTURES (DATES TBC)

Wolves (h)

Southampton (a)

Crystal Palace (n)

Bournemouth (h)

Fulham (a)

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