Dominic Solanke a shrewd selection for Gameweek 34 despite Tottenham’s miserable form

DREAM TEAM managers have been perplexed by Tottenham all season long.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are languishing 16th in the Premier League and have lost 23 games in all competitions but they’ve also provided lorry-loads of points.

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A strange season in many ways[/caption]

In fact, six Spurs players have amassed 200+ points this campaign; only Arsenal and Liverpool have more double centurions at the time of writing.

The reason for this disconnect is that while Spurs have lost far too many games, they’ve scored more than their fair share of goals, 97 in all competitions to be precise.

This attacking pedigree is not to be taken lightly by Dream Team bosses.

Looking ahead to Gameweek 34, Dominic Solanke (£3.5m) should be considered a strong option.

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The power of hindsight reveals that the England striker was a good punt for Gameweek 33 as he scored his side’s only goal at Anfield in what became Liverpool’s celebratory 5-1 romp.

The one-sided nature of that contest meant most Spurs players suffered significant damage but Solanke escaped with a very respectable 10-point haul.

And he will surely get a chance to add to his tally on Thursday when Bodo/Glimt visit North London for the first leg of an intriguing Europa League semi-final.

Gaffers tempted by Solanke for Gameweek 23, when Spurs are due to face West Ham before the second leg against their Norwegian opponents, can use Thursday’s fixture to scout the 27-year-old further.

Bodo/Glimt have punched above their weight in Europe this season but they will be missing several key players at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium due to injuries and suspensions.

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Solanke has earned 236 points so far this season[/caption]

Spurs are one of just four teams set to pull double duty in Gameweek 34, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea being the others due to their own European semi-final commitments.

Given the Blues’ second leg against Djurgarden in the Conference League is offset by a league game against Liverpool, it’s reasonable to deduce that Spurs have the most favourable double header of the lot.

The Hammers are among the very few teams below Postecoglou’s side in the table at present and Solanke will fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet if unleashed upon Graham Potter’s demoralised troops.

The ex-Bournemouth forward may not have scored as many goals (13) as would have liked this term but a healthy number of assists (10) means he averages a goal involvement every 132.9 minutes.

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Son Heung-min (£4.3m) leads the way for total points among his team-mates with 268 but he’s yet to return from injury.

James Maddison (£4m), Brennan Johnson (£2.8m), Pedro Porro (£5.1m) and Dejan Kulusevski (£4.1m) have all outscored Solanke to date but the Swedish midfielder has struggled since his spell on the sidelines while the other three are all minutes risks, though the Spaniard is a viable option in defence.

Gaffers who like to target as many games as possible should consider Solanke (8.7% ownership) as a potential replacement for the likes of Alexander Isak (£5.7m), Ollie Watkins (£4.7m) and Chris Wood (£3.8m), who all have just four games remaining before the season ends.

Spurs could play as many as six games from Gameweek 34 onwards if they make it to the Europa League final.

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