DREAM TEAM managers have generally been frustrated by Manchester City defenders this season.
While the likes of Phil Foden (£5.8m) and Erling Haaland (£7m) have supplied massive returns in attack, Pep Guardiola's side have found clean sheets relatively hard to come by in 2023/24.
Plus, the decorated tactician's rotation policy means even the more reliable performers in the squad have to sit on the bench from time to time.
As a result, Man City do not have a representative inside the top ten Dream Team defenders at the time of writing.
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This has to be considered something of a surprise given the Citizens are favourites to complete a domestic double in the coming weeks.
For comparison, Liverpool have two defenders within the top ten while Arsenal dominate the position with Ben White (£4.6m), Gabriel (£4.4m) and William Saliba (£3.8m) making up the podium as it stands.
Understandably, many Dream Team bosses have decided to stay clear of City defenders altogether but Josko Gvardiol (£3.9m) has tested this group's resolve of late.
The Croatia international has discovered a rare goalscoring touch - his emphatic near-post header against Nottingham Forest on Sunday was his third goal in his last five appearances.
Playing almost exclusively as a left-back, Gvardiol has proved himself capable of useful contributions in attack, despite making his name as a centre-back.
The 22-year-old's recent goal involvements (he also provided an assist against Luton in Gameweek 31) coupled with the odd clean sheet have resulted in him banking 61 points across the last five Gameweeks.
In fact, he now averages 5.3 points-per-game this term, a rate only bettered by three other assets in his position: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.3m), Pedro Porro (£3.5m) and Kieran Trippier (£4.3m).
Gvardiol is a particularly appealing option for the remainder of the season because City have five fixtures left to fulfil.
The defending champions are among the select group of six clubs set to pull double duty in Gameweek 35 and their showdown with Manchester United in the FA Cup final means they have a fixture in Gameweek 37, by which time the vast majority of teams will already be on summer break.
For comparison, Arsenal and Liverpool are among the 13 clubs with just three games left to play this campaign.
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Gaffers intent on squeezing the schedule for all its worth, a smart strategy, should therefore consider recruiting Gvardiol for the run-in.
Such a move comes with risk as he's not immune from rotation but he does seem to be first-choice left-back at present and his impressive form should count in his favour.
City face Wolves, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham in their final four league games before the FA Cup final on May 25th.