Transfer recommendations ahead of Gameweek 36 – Dream Team bosses scramble for Manchester City recruits

GAMEWEEK 36 is not quite the grand finale but it is the last time all 20 top flight clubs are in action this season.

All ten fixtures will kick off at the same time on Sunday and every Dream Team manager will be hoping for a bumper return of points to commemorate the end of another Premier League campaign.

In more ways than one, it’s all eyes on the Etihad where Manchester City hope to win their fourth consecutive league title.

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Pep Guardiola’s side have been pushed to the final hurdle by Arsenal but victory over West Ham will cement their contemporary dominance over English football.

The decorated tactician is likely to bolster his strained trophy cabinet further the following weekend when the Manchester clubs meet in the FA Cup final.

That showdown at Wembley is the only fixture scheduled for Gameweek 37 and will bring the curtain down on the regular Dream Team season.

And so it stands to reason that Dream Team bosses are scrambling to recruit as many Man City players as possible prior to the Gameweek 36 deadline.

In fact, at the time of writing, all five of the most transferred-in players this week are Etihad residents – it’s the first time this campaign all the top five have come from the same club.

Erling Haaland (£7.2m) and Phil Foden (£5.8m) are the two most-popular players in the game overall with Kyle Walker (£3.4m), Kevin De Bruyne (£6.1m), Julian Alvarez (£4m) and Ederson (£2.7m) also among the top 15.

However, the latter is said to be out for the remainder of the season having fractured his eye socket against Tottenham.

Stefan Ortega (£2.1m) deputised with aplomb in midweek and the German-born goalkeeper will inevitably experience a surge in popularity.

We highlighted Josko Gvardiol (£4.2m) in last week’s transfer recommendations and he couldn’t have justified the hype in a more emphatic style.

The Croatia international banked a whopping 30 points across his two fixtures against Fulham and Spurs via two goals, two clean sheets and three bonus points.

The 22-year-old is comfortably the most-popular recruit this week as a result.

Foden and De Bruyne are the front-runners in midfield but since the schedule encourages a maximalist approach, Rodri (£4.1m) and Bernardo Silva (£4.1m) also have to be considered worthy options.

The latter notched 13 points in Gameweek 36 as he registered two assists against the Cottagers.

Nathan Ake (£3.4m) missed out on consecutive clean sheets as he was substituted midway through the first half last weekend.

The Dutchman was on the bench in midweek but it’s unclear whether he will return to the starting line-up against the Hammers.

If gaffers can identify which defender(s) out of Walker, Manuel Akanji (£4.1m) and Ruben Dias (£3.6m) will start both of City’s remaining fixtures to accompany the in-form Gvardiol then the rewards could be substantial.

Of course, some Dream Team managers will feel the need to think outside the box.

This article contains some potentially savvy differentials away from the mainstream Man City approach.

Those who don’t need to do anything rash should keep it simple and stock up on all the Guardiola favourites they can facilitate.