Transfer recommendations ahead of Gameweek 30: European quarter-final first legs key to unlocking bumper points

DREAM TEAM managers have until 11am on Saturday morning to confirm their transfers for Gameweek 30.

In terms of strategy, it’s all eyes on the European quarter-final first legs with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea set to play again after the weekend’s Premier League action.

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Naturally, these double headers are the focus of this week’s transfer recommendations.

Just to clarify, we consider Bruno Fernandes (£7m), the game’s most in-form player, firmly in the camp of: blindingly obvious.

Bukayo Saka (£6.6m)

In a week that featured several popular assets suffer ill-timed injuries, Dream Team bosses were boosted by the return of Arsenal’s No7.

Saka marked his comeback with a goal against Fulham to underline his credentials.

Only Mohamed Salah (£7.7m) averages more points-per-game than the England winger in 2024/25.

Mikel Arteta will be delighted to have his star player back ahead of a trip to Everton and Real Madrid’s visit to the Emirates.

Saka’s ownership has already increased to nigh on 20%.

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Saka marked his return with a goal[/caption]

Marcus Rashford (£3.7m)

It’s a good time to back Unai Emery’s troops amid an unmatched succession of double Gameweeks.

No fewer than nine Villa assets notched double-digit hauls in Gameweek 29 but Ollie Watkins (£5.2m) was not among them; far from it in fact as he mustered just one point from two substitute appearances.

Instead it was Rashford who led the line against Preston and Brighton and boy did he capitalise.

The 27 year-old loanee bagged a brace in the FA Cup and then got on the scoresheet again during his side’s win over the Seagulls in midweek for a 29-point return in total.

Barring something extraordinary at Stamford Bridge this evening, he will finish as Gameweek 29’s top performer.

Villa’s Gameweek 30 is far from favourable with high-flying Nottingham Forest to come before a daunting meeting with PSG in the Champions League but Rashford has form on his side.

A word for Marco Asensio (£4.1m) who has now scored EIGHT goals since his loan switch despite having started just four times for Villa.

The Spaniard’s minutes are a slight concern but his impressive average of 8.2 points-per-game is the headline right now.

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Dominic Solanke (£4m)

This suggestion comes with the caveat that Spurs are due to face Chelsea this evening and so the outlook may change depending on how things play out in West London.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are the only team with the luxury of two home fixtures this coming Gameweek and that includes one against relegation-bound Southampton.

Frankfurt are expected to provide stiffer competition next Thursday but it’s an appealing double header nonetheless.

Son Heung-min (£4.6m) is currently the second-most popular recruit ahead of Saturday’s deadline on account of him being Spurs’ top points scorer.

However, it’s worth noting the South Korean superstar has played just 275 minutes across his last five outings at an average of 55 minutes per appearance.

In contrast, Solanke has completed the full 90 minutes three times in a row since his return to the starting line-up after injury.

Son may pack more of a punch (he’s first-choice penalty taker too) but the England striker seems to be far more immune to Postecoglou’s rotation.

It’s worth remembering that for all Spurs’ problems this season, they have scored plenty of goals across all competitions.

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Solanke has scored 11 goals and provided 10 assists this season[/caption]

Djed Spence (£3.2m)

It’s a similar story in defence.

Pedro Porro (£4.5m) is by far and away the top performer in his position among his team-mates with a mighty 223 points but, like Son, his minutes have decreased lately – he didn’t feature at all against Fulham last time out.

Whereas Spence’s form has seen him play every minute of the last four games.

This shuffle in the pecking order is interesting as the 24-year-old currently features in just 0.8% of teams, making him a huge differential option.

Spence ranks fifth in his position for bonus points this season despite the fact he hardly featured at all during the first four months of the campaign.

He is certainly capable of a satisfying double-digit haul if given the nod against Saints and Frankfurt.

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