 in their ranks. It would be generous to describe this minority as brave given the mountain of points Manchester City's No9 assembled last season but what if they're onto something? 3 Betting against Haaland is a risky tactic Credit: DREAM TEAM Betting against the Norwegian goal machine feels foolish but he's by far the most-expensive player in the game. Omitting Haaland frees up a lot of budget and opens up intriguing new possibilities. Playing devil's advocate, we attempted to create the strongest possible team that doesn't feature the Etihad's resident cyborg. 3 All killer, no filler Credit: DREAM TEAM Without Haaland, there's no need to spend much time browsing Dream Team's bargain aisle at all. Bruno Guimaraes (£3m) is the cheapest player selected here and the Brazilian is a quality midfielder for a team who will play in the Champions League this season. World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez (£3.5m) takes his place between the sticks, a choice that will hopefully pay dividends if Aston Villa progress to the Europa Conference League group stages where they should enjoy the luxury of some favourable match-ups. Trent Alexander-Arnold (£6m), Manuel Akanji (£4.5m), William Saliba (£3.5m) has to be considered a strong back three that covers most bases. The former's creativity puts most playmakers to shame while the latter pair should be across most clean sheets achieved by the two standout teams of 2022/23. 3 Dream Team's joint-most expensive defender Credit: GETTY The aforementioned Guimaraes is the only member of the midfield quintet who wouldn't have registered 200+ points last season had the new scoring system been implemented - and he would have only been a fraction short on 199. Free from the financial constraints that come with Haaland's selection, it's possible to select genuine quality across the board. And look at that strike partnership! The main c){kind=link}
AT the time of writing, just 15.7% of Dream Team gaffers will start the new season without Erling Haaland (£8.5m) in their ranks.
It would be generous to describe this minority as brave given the mountain of points Manchester City’s No9 assembled last season but what if they’re onto something?
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Betting against the Norwegian goal machine feels foolish but he’s by far the most-expensive player in the game.
Omitting Haaland frees up a lot of budget and opens up intriguing new possibilities.