Should Dream Team bosses activate Goal Bonus Booster to target Gameweek 8 double headers?

DREAM TEAM managers have three Boosters to play throughout the season.

Just over a third of gaffers have played at least one of their Boosters across the first seven Gameweeks while a shade under 15% have gone early and used all three!

Dream Team bosses who have kept their powder dry to this point should at least entertain the possibility that Gameweek 8 might be the opportune time to activate their first Booster of the campaign, specifically Goal Bonus.

The main reason for this is that many of the game’s most-popular players are due to fulfil two fixtures, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea all set for double headers.

Here’s a quick reminder of each Booster:

• GOAL BONUS: All goals scored by your players are worth nine points each instead of the usual six
• MAXIMUM CAPTAIN: The player who scores most points for your team will automatically be selected as captain
• 12th MAN: Select an additional player from any position to score points for your team at no additional cost

Remember, each Booster lasts the duration of one Gameweek and can only be played once per season.

A quick look at the Stats Centre confirms that the majority of this season’s leading goalscorers have two fixtures in Gameweek 8, including some favourable match-ups.

First and foremost, Erling Haaland (£9.1m), who has 11 goals to his name already, travels to Wolves this weekend before a home game against Sparta Prague in midweek.

With Gary O’Neil’s side rooted to the bottom of the table having conceded 21 goals in seven league outings and the Czech outfit having conceded their fair share too, City’s prolific poacher will fancy his chances of adding to his tally.

Kai Havertz (£5.1m) is among the chasing pack on six goals and Arsenal’s double header appears relatively favourable too; they travel to Bournemouth on Saturday and then host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

Many gaffers will own the Gunners’ German forward and Bukayo Saka (£6.5m) – a potentially fruitful combination assuming both are passed fit.

Mohamed Salah (£7.6m), also on six goals, is the fourth-most selected player in the game right now with an ownership of 38.9%.

Liverpool’s double header is likely to be more testing as both Chelsea and RB Leipzig have started the season in fine form but it’s Arne Slot’s side who top the Premier League table at present.

And truth be told, there’s rarely a bad time to back Salah – the difficulty of his fixtures are almost irrelevant, such is his pedigree.

Dream Team managers with Haaland, Havertz, Saka and Salah in their XI must surely be tempted to play their Goal Bonus Booster in Gameweek 8?

Granted, the availability question marks over the Arsenal stars are a concern and so it might be wise to wait for any updates from Mikel Arteta before making a final decision.

And these are far from the only relevant players for such a tactic.

Tottenham have the luxury of back-to-back home games against West Ham and AZ Alkmaar and so the likes of Dominic Solanke (£4.4m), James Maddison (£4.5m) and the in-form Brennan Johnson (£3.8m) may work nicely in combination with Goal Bonus.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa (vs Fulham & Bologna) and Manchester United (vs Brentford & Fenerbahce) also have fixtures ripe with potential, though the West London sides shouldn’t be underestimated.

Backers of Ollie Watkins (£5.9m), Marcus Rashford (£4.1m) and Jhon Duran (£3.3m) will be hopeful of goals.

Chelsea will travel to Panathinaikos after their away day to Anfield but it’s worth noting that Enzo Maresca has heavily rotated his line-ups in the Conference League so far – Cole Palmer (£6.5m) isn’t even in the European squad.

Gaffers shouldn’t force it but many will have teams nicely tailored to the Goal Bonus Booster in Gameweek 8.