Kyle Walker is Dream Team’s most-selected defender but is he truly worthy of his immense popularity?

HERE at Dream Team HQ we consider it our duty to flag up underappreciated players who may be flying under the radar.

Equally, it’s our responsibility to shine a spotlight on popular individuals who probably aren’t pulling their weight.

Take Kyle Walker (£3.6m) for example.

PLAY SCORE PREDICTOR AHEAD OF THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION – SOMEBODY MUST WIN AN XBOX!

Dream TeamA popular man among Dream Team bosses[/caption]

Firstly, we should state that the England international has nothing to prove at this stage of his career.

He has been a key player for Manchester City during the club’s golden years, including the treble-winning campaign of 2022/23, and a favourite of Gareth Southgate’s as well despite stiff competition in his position.

And it’s his status in the game which has contributed to his massive ownership in the realm of Dream Team.

Walker currently features in 32.4% of teams, making him the most-selected asset in his position.

MOST-SELECTED DREAM TEAM DEFENDERS (OWNERSHIP %)

Kyle Walker – 32.4% Kieran Trippier – 30.4%William Saliba – 28.8%Matty Cash – 24%Dan Burn – 12.1%

At the time writing, it’s difficult to claim that the 33-year-old is worthy of his unmatched popularity.

He’s collected 49 points to date, a total bettered by no fewer than 15 other defenders.

Walker will be hopeful of a clean sheet against Young Boys tonightRex

Willy Boly (£2.1m), Diogo Dalot (£3.2m) and Ezri Konsa (£3m) are among those names above Walker in the rankings.

This is largely because clean sheets have proved elusive for Pep Guardiola’s side of late.

In fact, they haven’t kept a clean sheet since their 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest back in Gameweek 6, over a month ago.

Since then, Newcastle, Wolves, RB Leipzig, Arsenal and Brighton have all scored at least one goal against the reigning Premier League champions.

Consequently, Walker has mustered 19 points since the start of Gameweek 6, hence his fall down the rankings.

Trippier, the second-most popular defender in the game, has amassed 55 points in the same time frame!

This comparison is a tad unfair as the Newcastle right-back is comfortably the most-expensive player in his position whereas Walker is relatively affordable but even accounting for value-for-money, the latter has lost a lot of ground in the last month.

GettyGuardiola will be desperate for his side to tighten up at the back[/caption]

All this comes with the caveat that City are due to play Young Boys in Switzerland this evening and on current form they’ll feel confident ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Following on from that, Gameweek 11 looks ripe with points for Guardiola’s troops – City face Bournemouth and Young Boys in consecutive home fixtures.

If Walker doesn’t provide healthy returns during that run then there wouldn’t be much hope for the following Gameweeks, when City are scheduled to meet Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa in quick succession.

A decent haul this evening would ease concerns for Walker’s backers but his returns should be monitored closely – his ownership looks flatteringly high right now.

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