Last week we brought you news that the Sun had launched their World Cup warm-up game, Road to Rio. It’s free to enter for existing Dream Team managers, or £5 with Dream Team’s Premium-In-Play package. There’s a £15,000 prize pot on offer and teams are limited to one per entry – with the deadline for teams coming up this Saturday.
You can read more on how the Game works via our original article right here or visit the site for more details on how to register. However, as promised, over the past few days, we’ve been plundering the player list to compile Fantasy Football Scout’s Road to Rio XI. To help guide your decision-making prior to Saturday’s first kick-off, here’s our men packing for the plane:
Vito Mannone – £2.0m
This one’s an easy position to fill. The Italian has been an outstanding Fantasy prospect across the games and we were more than willing to cash in on his potential in Road to Rio. Mannone’s World Cup prospects with Italy look slim, but with Crystal Palace, West Ham, Cardiff and Swansea all due at the Stadium of Light, I can see further clean sheets to add to his haul of seven in 24 Dream Team outings so far. He’s also partial to a Star Man award – he’s won three to this point, the most of any current first choice keeper in the league.
John Terry – £5.5m
Shelve your personal thoughts on the man – there’s little doubt he remains a rock at the back for Chelsea and his partnership with Gary Cahill has laid the foundation for their charge on the title. A total of 17 Dream Team clean sheets is superb and, with the finishing line in sight for Jose Mourinho’s side, we just can’t see the Blues’ back four becoming any less resilient.
Gary Cahill – £5.0m
That is the big reason I’m doubling on Chelsea – together with the fact that further European ties look likely. Dream Team forces you into a four-man back-line so, in our view, two of them have to be heavyweights. They don’t get much better than Terry and Cahill right now and, of all the defences on show, Mourinho’s looks to have the fixtures and form to go on delivering.
Curtis Davies – £2.0m
The Hull centre-back has arguably been the Dream Team bargain of the season, having gathered 123 points for a fee of just £1.0 million. That’s been doubled for Road to Rio but, even so, we can still see exceptional value on offer from the Tigers man. Nine Dream Team clean sheets and four goals, together with 7+ ratings on 23 occasions from 31 appearances, underlines the value that Davies offers. He may yet end the season with an FA Cup Final, too.
Ron Vlaar – £2.0m
Another budget option in our rearguard but another one-man defence who we’re backing to end the season strongly. Vlaar is Villa’s rock at the back – an imposing and consistent presence who should mop up some 7+ ratings and hopefully add to his tally of eight clean sheets in 24 Dream Team appearances; a goal or two would also be handy. As you’ll see our front line, we’re anticipating Villa to peak over the remaining fixtures and, if that theory rings true, Vlaar will be a central figure.
Eden Hazard £7.0m
No surprises here. Hazard is already the most popular midfield pick in Road to Rio and, as the top Dream Team midfielder, looks a no-brainer. Assured of starts, he’s been simply outstanding in recent months and will surely be pivotal over both the title run-in and Chelsea’s continued assault on the Champions League. With 14 goals and ten Star Man awards, Hazard has been stellar across the Fantasy games this season.
David Silva £5.5
This is far more of a punt. We’ve ignored the lure of Yaya Toure and we’re instead backing Silva as City’s key man for the run-in. We saw great things while he was working in tandem with Sergio Aguero before the Argentine’s injury and we just think Silva will come to life over the remaining fixtures and even outscore team-mate Toure. He’s hardly been struggling to this point – gathering 7+ ratings on 23 of 29 appearances, with six Star Man awards and five goals. Interestingly, despite his superb season, Toure can only match Silva for 7+, despite playing nine matches more, whilst he also trails Silva for Star Man awards. That all backs up our theory rather nicely.
Adam Lallana £4.0m
The Saints skipper delivers consistency. Assured starts, strong performances and a steady run of goals – he’s fired eight in 33 Dream Team appearances, claiming seven Star Man awards along the way. Lallana is playing out of his skin and looks certain to be snuggled next to Roy Hodgson for the flight over. We reckon we can only profit further from the remaining fixtures, with the Southampton man fully justifying his modest £4.0 million price-tag.
Wayne Rooney £7.0m
We had Sergio Aguero penciled in here but the latest scare in the Nou Camp put the frighteners on us, underlining the Argentine’s fragility. Instead, we turn to Rooney – surely a mainstay of United’s season run-in. Having signed a lucrative new deal, Rooney looks to be settled and playing with a degree of freedom again. We’re hoping the goal at West Brom is a sign of things to come and, while Robin van Persie stutters, Rooney ends the season with a flourish, adding to his current tally of 13 Dream Team goals and nine Star Man awards.
Daniel Sturridge £5.5m
If you don’t have Luis Suarez, you have to have Sturridge, right? We couldn’t see our way past backing the England striker, who could still outgun his team-mate and claim the Golden Boot. Certainly recent form would suggest that Sturridge is the man to back having recently fired 11 goals in as many outings. We’re going to need him to keep that up because, while he may outscore Suarez in the goal department, Sturridge has claimed just three Star Man awards to Suarez’s eight. In the end, the price difference of £2.5 was the deciding factor.
Christian Benteke £4.5m
Our big differential. Every Road to Rio team needs something a little different and we saw enough when the Belgian toppled over the Norwich defence to suggest that he may well go on an end of season rampage again. Last term Benteke ran riot over his last nine matches – firing eight goals as Villa blasted through opponents courtesy of Gabby Agbonlahor’s pace and Benteke’s physical presence. We’re backing him to impress during the run-in again, helping Villa to nestle in mid-table and reaffirming Benteke as a true Fantasy heavyweight up front.
