Lucas Paqueta & Jarrod Bowen sitting pretty on Dream Team podium but fixture deficit looms large

NEVER underestimate Dream Team’s capacity to surprise.

West Ham may have beaten Nottingham Forest just prior to the international break but August also featured defeats to Sunderland, Chelsea and Wolves.

The Hammers have conceded the most goals across the first three Gameweeks of the season and are one of just five Premier League sides already eliminated from the Carabao Cup.

All things considered, it’s been a rough start for Graham Potter’s men and one would expect that to be reflected in the Dream Team rankings.

Dream TeamGuess again[/caption]

In actual fact, both Lucas Paqueta (£3.7m) and Jarrod Bowen (£5m) are sitting pretty on the podium at this stage.

The former is level with Trevoh Chalobah (£4m) as the game’s joint-leader on 35 points with the latter just three points adrift.

DREAM TEAM’S TOP POINTS SCORERS THIS SEASON

35 pts – Lucas Paqueta

35 pts – Trevoh Chalobah

32 pts – Jarrod Bowen

32 pts – Jurrien Timber

30 pts – Riccardo Calafiori

30 pts – Erling Haaland

30 pts – Joao Pedro

30 pts – Jack Grealish

30 pts – Igor Thiago

30 pts – Brajan Gruda

The first thing to say is that it is still very early days and three Gameweeks isn’t a big enough sample size to produce any grand conclusions.

But the success of the West Ham duo serves as a timely reminder that certain players are viable even if the team they represent is struggling.

GettyPaqueta has flown out the blocks this season[/caption]

Paqueta’s converted penalty at the City Ground was his third goal of the season and only Matheus Cunha (£4.9m) has registered more shots on target among all assets.

As for Bowen, what doesn’t he do?

The 28-year-old ranks first for bonus points, second for big chances created and seventh for shots on target.

He’s got two goal involvements to his name and was unlucky to miss out on a potential Goal of the Season contender when Callum Wilson (£2.3m) got in the way at the end of a Maradona-esque dribble last Sunday.

The issue Dream Team bosses have now is a brutal fixture deficit threatens to end the West Ham pair’s party.

PAA class act but the schedule is against him[/caption]

Potter’s side are due to play three times across the next three Gameweeks while eight teams are scheduled to fulfil SIX fixtures in the same time frame.

The commencement of the European competitions coupled with the continuation of the Carabao Cup means double Gameweeks will come thick and fast after the break.

Just not for West Ham.

Needless to say, both Bowen and Paqueta will have to produce truly extraordinary performances if they are to keep pace with the best performers from Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Spurs, Aston Villa and Forest with only half as many games at their disposal.

The England international has defied fixture deficits in the past but, generally speaking, gaffers should tailor their teams to the schedule to target as many point-scoring opportunities as possible.

This doesn’t mean that Bowen and Paqueta owners necessarily need to find replacements – both are set for helpful price increases after double-digit hauls last time out – but it’s imperative to recognise the importance of the double Gameweeks.

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