Hat-trick hero Omar Marmoush puts Dream Team managers on notice but tricky fixtures loom large

ANY Dream Team managers unfamiliar with Omar Marmoush (£4.4m) now understand why Manchester City forked out just shy of £60million for his services in January. The Egypt international scored a sensational hat-trick in the space of 14 minutes against Newcastle on Saturday as Pep Guardiola's side recorded one of their most impressive wins of the season. Marmoush exhibited a range of finishes in a destructive first-half blitz against in-form opposition.

The Magpies had won 12 of their last 14 games in all competitions prior to their 4-0 defeat at the Etihad. The ex-Frankfurt forward was substituted midway through the second half but the damage had already been done by that stage as the earned 26 points in one fell swoop. Marmoush's hat-trick is clearly the headline but it shouldn't go unnoticed that he also notched three bonus points for his efforts in other aspects of the game.

For much of the campaign, Man City have been overly reliant on Erling Haaland (£8.1m) to score the goals and so fans will be thrilled that one of their new recruits has proven himself capable of clinical finishes. As is often the case, a sizeable chunk of Dream Team bosses have been enamoured by a hat-trick hero. The deadline is still a few days away but Marmoush is by far and away the most popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 25 at this stage after a tidal wave of transfers over the weekend.

Man City will be in action again before the deadline as they're due to face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League play-off on Wednesday night. Needless to say, if Marmoush picks up an injury in the Spanish capital then many gaffers will be reversing their transfers and switching to Plan B. More broadly, the result in Madrid will impact the viability of all Man City players going forward as they will be without European fixtures for the remainder of the season if they are unable to overturn their 3-2 loss from the first leg.

Double Gameweek 25 will feature 20 fixtures in total with every Premier League side set to play twice. This opens up all manner of options for Dream Team managers. Marmoush's hat-trick makes him an appealing differential as he currently features in just 3.5% of teams but City's double header is far from favourable. The defending champions welcome Liverpool to the Etihad next Sunday before a trip to Tottenham the following Wednesday.

Ange Postecoglou's side have underwhelmed this season and victory over Manchester United has only lifted them up to 12th in the table but Spurs have long been a bogey team for Guardiola. James Maddison inspired his side to a 4-0 win in Manchester back in November. All things considered, Liverpool and Spurs represents a tough challenge for City in Gameweek 25. It's not inconceivable that Marmoush will provide plentiful returns but gaffers who take a fixture-first approach will be reluctant to recruit the 26-year-old at this point in time.