Dream Team managers shouldn’t be tempted by Fabinho’s purple patch
CONSIDER this a warning.
Fabinho (£2.6m) may be one of the best players in his position in the Premier League and in the midst of a purple patch from a Dream Team perspective, but gaffers would be wise to resist temptation.
If you just looked purely at the numbers, you may feel compelled to use a transfer to bring the Brazilian into your XI.
After all, he's bagged 42 points in his last five games.
Statistically, he's one of the most in-form assets currently available.
Liverpool's No3 has scored four goals in his last five outings, claiming two Star Man awards in the process.
However, Dream Team bosses should always question how likely it is that a player in the midst of a fruitful spell will be able to sustain their healthy returns.
Two of Fabinho's four recent goals came from the penalty spot, a perfectly legitimate method of course and, generally speaking, it's always good to have set-piece takers in your XI.
The issue is that the ex-Monaco man is only on spot-kick duty temporarily while Mohamed Salah (£8.2m) is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Depending on Egypt's fortunes from now on, the prolific forward could return to Jurgen Klopp's starting line-up in Game Week 22, when the Reds take on Cardiff (FA Cup) and Leicester (Premier League).
Realistically, Fabinho has an absolute maximum of two games remaining as Liverpool's primary penalty-taker, but most likely one and potentially none.
As for his other two January goals, one came at in added time against Shrewsbury and the other from a set-piece when Brentford strangely allowed a corner to bounce in their box.
Fabinho averages 0.8 shots per game in the Premier League this season - which is reasonable given his role in the team.
And that's exactly the point, he's not selected to score goals.
As the deepest of Klopp's three midfielders, he is tasked with recovering possession and offloading the ball to his more creative, attack-minded team-mates.
He does this very well but the reality is that Dream Team rewards midfielders who deal in goals and assists, not interceptions and tackles.
If you look at the most successful midfielders in Dream Team this term, the likes of Riyad Mahrez (£6.9m), Jarrod Bowen (£4.5m) and James Maddison (£3.9m), they average nearly three times as many shots per appearance, hence why they score more goals than Fabinho over the course of a season.
Taking everything into consideration, it would be unreasonable to expect the 28-year-old to continue averaging eight points-per-game in February.
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In fact, he's more than doubled his overall tally (80) since taking over penalties in Salah's absence - he mustered just 38 points in the 18 Game Weeks prior.
In summary, Fabinho's hot streak is likely to be sweet but short and Dream Team bosses should stay clear of him to avoid disappointment next month.
