IT was inevitable that Riyad Mahrez (£7.1m) would be the first midfielder to achieve 200+ Dream Team points this season.
Jarrod Bowen (£4.6m) provided stiff competition for a while but the Algerian responded with a flurry of returns before West Ham’s No20 was regrettably sidelined with injury.
The Manchester City winger scored against Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals, and earned a 7+ rating, to bring up his double century – he’s now 42 points clear of Bowen at the top of the midfield rankings.
As has been mentioned many times, Mahrez’s supremacy is especially remarkable when you consider the fact he’s only started 12 Premier League games this season.
Granted, he’s also made ten substitute appearances in the top flight but his ten league goals have still come at a rate of one every 120.8 minutes.
The secret to the 31-year-old’s success this term is his sensational form in the additional competitions.
He’s scored six goals in eight Champions League outings and six goals in five games across the the two domestic cups.
Pep Guardiola has managed Mahrez’s minutes and both should feel the benefit in the coming weeks as they hunt trophies on three fronts.
The fact he’s only started 41.4% of City’s league games this term is one of the reasons the former Leicester man’s ownership hasn’t exploded at any point.
Even now, when he’s in a bracket of his own, Mahrez appears in 12.8% of teams.
For comparison, Bruno Fernandes (£5.1m) is the most-popular asset among midfielders with an ownership of 41.9%.
His brief departure to what turned out to be an ill-fated Africa Cup of Nations campaign also perturbed Dream Team gaffers for a while.
And most recently, his price has risen to the point where transferring him in is simply not feasible for many managers – as recently as Game Week 27 he cost £7.5m!
Mahrez’s brilliance this season is unquestionable and it’s hard to see any midfielder overtaking him but how many of his peers will join him in the 200 Club™?
Bowen’s chances all depend on the severity of his injury – a return immediately after the international break would give him enough time if he could rediscover his best form swiftly.
Kevin De Bruyne (£6.9m) is 45 points short of a double century and since he averages 4.7 points-per-game, ten more fixtures should do it – an achievement target.
Raheem Sterling (£4.7m) and James Maddison (£3.9m) are level on 149 points.
The latter has 11 league games and Europa League Conference commitments to help him on his way – Leicester’s No10 averages 7.6 points-per-Game Week in the last month.
As for City’s No7, he’s been a feast-or-famine asset for much of 2021/22.
47% of Sterling’s total points came from his best four performances – one more Star Man showing could tip him past the threshold but he’s more unpredictable than those around him.
Mason Mount (£4.7m) has a chance of reaching 200 points if he can sustain his current upturn – he’s banked 27 points in his last four outings.
Meanwhile, it’ll be tough for the aforementioned Fernandes to achieve back-to-back double centurions (he actually made it a triple last season) with Manchester United having been eliminated from the Champions League.
The Portuguese midfielder only has the nine remaining league fixtures to add to his tally and three of those games come against teams currently above the Red Devils in the table.
Phil Foden (£5.6m) is probably the last midfielder we haven’t mentioned with a semi-realistic chance of joining Mahrez in the exclusive club.
The English wonderkid has 137 points to his name but has the ability to link together goals and Star Man performances – as evidenced by his strong finish last season.
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