Can Dembele, Dejagah and Dzeko Propel Team "D" Up the League?

Throughout the series so far, teams have tended to line up with either a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 system, so team D is certainly a first, with a 4-5-1 system seeming like the best option given the availability of players under this “D” category. Let’s have a look.

Goalkeeper: De Gea (Man Utd)

Defenders: Debuchy (Newcastle Utd), Michael Dawson (Spurs), Ben Davies (Swansea City), Demichelis (Man City)

Midfielders: Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur), David Luiz (Chelsea), De Guzman (Swansea City), Downing (West Ham Utd), Dejagah (Fulham)

Forwards: Dzeko (Man City)

Squad Players/Reserves: Dummet (Newcastle), Delph (Aston Villa), Demel, Diame & Diarra (West Ham), Curtis Davies (Hull City), Dann, Delaney & Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace) Do Prado (Southampton), Duff (Fulham), Deulofeu (Everton)

As with team “C”, David de Gea is really the only available choice in the goalkeeping position and I am not going to complain, despite Manchester United’s poor form this season, de Gea has certainly now established himself as number one at Old Trafford and at still only 23 is becoming a very capable goalkeeper.

In the full back positions, we have the highly rated Debuchy of Newcastle and the equally highly rated Ben Davies of Swansea. In the centre we have the steady Michael Dawson and perhaps the most controversial choice in this team, Demichelis of Man City. Others may opt for Demel or Curtis Davies but I stick by my choice.

Now then, the 5 midfielders in this 4-5-1. Dembele would probably walk into at least 18 of the Premier League midfield units, so is a strong choice here. Perhaps the same could be said of David Luiz, although some might prefer to play him as a defender. Stewart Downing on his day (although he does seem to be having fewer of them) can be terrific and can supply a steady stream of crosses into the box. De Guzman is also creative and gets from box to box well, while Dejagah has been one of the few bright lights for struggling Fulham this season. Dejagah is also possibly the only Iranian international to be playing regular Premier League football.

The lone striker then is Edin Dzeko. I would imagine that Dzeko has one of the best Premier League strike rates (goals per game time) in recent years. He has 38 goals in 98 league appearances for Man City with many of those appearances being as a late substitute. One goal in every 2.5 matches is relatively decent in normal circumstances but taking his game time into account, it’s nothing short of prolific. Dzeko is probably the only out and out striker in the team “D” squad with perhaps only Deulofeu offering any challenge for the position.

I think that this team pretty much picks itself, what do you think?

D for Dembele, De Bruyne and Dzeko - Premier League Football Alphabet 2013/2014

At the time of writing, we have seen all but two of this year’s Premier League teams in action, with Manchester City and Newcastle United in action tonight. We are working our way through the alphabet and have reached the letter "D". Slim pickings I am afraid but there are still a few exciting players we can talk about.

Mousa Dembele is now in his second season with Spurs and he will hope to be as influential in the Tottenham midfield as he was last season and perhaps even more so, now that the landscape is changing around him. With Tom Huddlestone, Jake Livermore and Clint Dempsey already departed and Scott Parker likely to follow suit, Dembele will now be accompanied in the centre of the field by the likes of Brazilian playmaker Paulinho and Etienne Capoue. The Belgian is big and strong and gets through an enormous amount of work but Spurs fans will be hoping he can weigh in with more goals, especially if Gareth Bale leaves the club.

Another Belgian, another midfielder and another great player - Kevin De Bruyne is not a new Chelsea signing but he might as well be given that his first season was spent out on loan at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. It seems that Jose Mourinho likes the look of him and after notching 10 goals for the German side last season, it seems the Blues have yet another goal scoring midfielder on their hands.  He is still only 22 and already has 3 goals for the Belgian national team and his place in the Chelsea starting line up for the opening day victory against Hull City might have a few Fantasy Football managers checking out his value.

Edin Dzeko is a goal scorer. He struck 66 times in 111 appearances for Wolfsburg and so far has 30 in 76 appearances for Man City. That’s almost 1 in 2 for City and many of those appearances came from the subs bench, so his goals per on field minutes will be very high. Carlos Tevez has departed but Negredo and Jovetic have arrived, whilst Sergio Aguero is still at The Etihad Stadium so the competition for places is stronger than ever for a starting place in the starting City eleven. If new City boss, Manuel Pellegrini gives the Bosnian striker more pitch time, he could score an absolute hat full this season.