Transfer recommendations ahead of Gameweek 12 – Gabriel Martinelli to profit against Burnley

DREAM TEAM managers have a whole host of injury concerns to negotiate ahead of Gameweek 12.

There are question marks over several of the game’s most-popular assets and so many gaffers may have their hand forced this week in terms of which players to ditch.

However, there are several tempting options in regards to potential recruits, allow us to highlight a few.

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

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Dream Tea

Arsenal have injury concerns but Martinelli is ready to take on Burnley this weekend[/caption]

Gabriel Martinelli (£4.3m)

Gameweek 12 simply consists of ten Premier League fixtures ahead of the international break so there’s no need for gaffers to take midweek exploits into account when setting up their XIs this time around.

Saturday’s meeting between Arsenal and Burnley at the Emirates has to be considered a mismatch on paper.

The Gunners have taken 24 points from their first 11 league fixtures this season while Vincent Kompany’s side have earned just four points since promotion.

Bukayo Saka (£6.3m) remains the primary threat having scored five goals and provided seven assists already this term but the England winger continues to be hampered by injury niggles to some degree.

Gabriel Jesus (£5.2m) is sidelined and Martin Odegaard’s (£4.9m) availability is also uncertain at this stage and so it seems as if Martinelli may be best placed to benefit against the Clarets’ leaky defence – only Sheffield United have conceded more goals in the top flight.

The Brazil international has registered 35 points in three and a half Gameweeks since returning from injury.

Or it may be that Dream Team bosses target an Arsenal clean sheet in Gameweek 12, given that Burnley are the league’s lowest scorers.

Ben White (£4.3m) and William Saliba (£3.6m) are the two best options if such a tactic appeals.

Anthony Gordon (£3.5m)

Getty

A popular recruit in Dream Team this week[/caption]

Newcastle travel to Bournemouth this weekend in what is expected to be another one-sided contest.

The Cherries lost 6-1 to Manchester City last time out and currently find themselves in the relegation zone whereas Eddie Howe’s side are undefeated in their last nine domestic games.

Only Pep Guardiola’s troops have scored more league goals than the Magpies in 2023/24 so it would be reasonable to expect healthy attacking returns from the visitors on Saturday.

Gordon leads the way among Newcastle assets in terms of goal involvements – he’s scored four goals and provided four assists.

The quick winger has also made more tackles than any of his team-mates.

At the time of writing, Gordon is Dream Team’s fifth-best midfielder having amassed 89 points.

Jarrod Bowen (£5m)

Reuters

108 Dream Team points and counting[/caption]

West Ham’s form has fallen off a cliff of late but their No20 continues to prosper individually.

Recruiting Bowen as a midfielder is something of a Dream Team hack as he’s more of a forward in reality – he’s even led the line at times in recent weeks.

This is reflected in his tally of eight goals in all competitions, the most among midfield assets at this stage.

Granted, he’s generally performed better away from home this season but that’s probably more of a quirk than a long-term pattern.

The Hammers host Nottingham Forest on Sunday and while Steve Cooper’s men will have taken confidence from their 2-0 win over Aston Villa at the City Ground last weekend, their away record remains a concern – they’ve taken four points from a possible 18 on the road.

Bowen has registered 17 shots on target in all competitions this season – the four players above him in this metric are all categorised as strikers.

Jeremy Doku (£3.9m)

Reuters

Man of the moment[/caption]

A quick one to finish – and quick is the right word.

Dream Team bosses shouldn’t chase points that have already been distributed but they should look to jump upon in-form players if they believe more returns will follow.

Doku’s 24-point haul in Gameweek 11 is in the record books but the scintillating nature of the tricky Belgian’s performances suggest he’ll continue to make headlines throughout his first season at Man City.

The 21-year-old’s electric dribbling has seen him race to 20 bonus points – only James Maddison (£4.4m) and Eberechi Eze (£3.6m) have more at this juncture.

The only caveat with this suggestion is the ever-present threat of Pep Roulette.

Doku probably will start against Chelsea on Sunday but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Jack Grealish (£4.1m) got the nod at right wing either.

Dream Team managers need to lock in their transfers for Gameweek 12 before the 11:30am deadline on Saturday.

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