How Crystal Palace and Everton’s goalless draw earned one smart Dream Team gaffer £100 in Gameweek 18

GAMEWEEK 18 provided a timely reminder of why Dream Team gaffers should squeeze the schedule of all it's worth.

Anton Careti earned more points than anyone else this past Gameweek worldwide and he did so by targeting the extra fixture.

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After a full round of Premier League games, Crystal Palace and Everton met in the FA Cup at Selhurst Park on Thursday night.

This scheduling quirk came about because all nine London-based clubs from the Premier League and Championship were gifted home draws in the FA Cup third round and so the fixtures had to be spread out over several days for practical reasons.

Consequently, the Eagles and the Toffees had two fixtures within Gameweek 18 - presenting an opportunity for Dream Team bosses with eyes for the £100 weekly prize.

And Anton did just that, banking 168 points thanks to the 0-0 draw in south London on Thursday night.

As is customary, the Gameweek's top manager made effective use of the Park the Bus Booster to double all their defenders' points.

Marc Guehi (£2.6m), Tyrick Mitchell (£2.6m), Joachim Andersen (£2.5m), Nathaniel Clyne (£1.7m) and James Tarkowski (£3m) all notched a clean sheet in the final fixture of the Gameweek to propel Anton to the top of the weekly leaderboard.

The two England internationals in Palace's defence made the most significant contributions as they both provided an assist during their side's 3-1 win over Brentford last Saturday.

Sean Dyche's side succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Wolves in the league but Tarkowski limited the damage by earning three bonus points for his individual efforts.

When all was said and done, Anton's five-man defence combined for 53 points, doubled to 106 with Park the Bus!

It's worth noting here that Anton is likely to be in a pickle for Gameweek 19 as neither Palace nor Everton have a fixture to fulfil but for now let's focus on the fact he's £100 richer because of a fantasy football game - how's that for a late Christmas present?

It wasn't just the defence that helped Anton to victory.

Martin Dubravka (£2m) pocketed six points despite the fact Newcastle shipped four goals to Liverpool on Monday night.

The Magpies would have been truly humbled had the Slovak goalkeeper not produced TEN saves.

Arsenal may have lost to Fulham but Declan Rice (£3.7m) came away with a respectable haul thanks predominantly to three bonus points.

Bukayo Saka (£6.2m) scored his ninth goal of the season and the Gunners' No7 now needs just one more point to bring up his double century.

Moussa Diaby (£3.2m) scored against Burnley for a nine-point haul while Ollie Watkins (£4.4m) provided two assists for an eight-point return as Aston Villa eventually won 3-2 on home soil.

Last not least, Dream Team's outright leader, Mohamed Salah (£6.5m).

The Egyptian superstar ran amok against Newcastle to bank 18 points despite the fact he missed his first penalty.

Liverpool's No11 will be sorely missed while he's away at AFCON.

Superb work, Anton - treat yourself to something nice with the cash!