Every year on NBA All-Star weekend, we at 90min take the opportunity to join in with the festivities and have a little bit of fun ourselves.
An all-star game in football would be a logistical nightmare, but it’s still exciting to plot out what one may look like.
Last year, Sean Walsh and Jack Gallagher picked their teams in a draft format in line with the NBA’s playground style. Thankfully, the NBA has reverted to traditional old east-vs-west regime and ensured such detailed and tactical planning won’t be needed this time around.
East against west doesn’t make much sense in the context of the Premier League, so we’ve gone with north – managed by Jack of Derry – versus south – picked by Sean of London.
Rules
Before we begin and reveal our picks, there were a few rules that were agreed on ahead of time.
Picked by Jack Gallagher
GK: Emi Martinez (Aston Villa)
The Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper’s iconic save to deny Randal Kolo Muani in the last minute of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final is enough of a reason for Emi Martinez to be in this team even regardless of what’s gone down this season.
RB: Diogo Dalot (Man Utd)
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the best right-back around, but I need my three Liverpool players elsewhere in this team. In TAA’s stead is Diogo Dalot, a personal favourite of mine and a full-back who seems to be improving with each passing week.
CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
It took a while for him to get back up to speed after his ACL injury, but boy oh boy is he back up to speed now. The towering centre half has been fantastic this season and will be the leader at the heart of my defence.
CB: Sven Botman (Newcastle)
Another Dutch centre-back, and another pretty damn brilliant one at that. Sven Botman has been a game-changing player for Newcastle since his rocked up on Tyneside in 2022.
LB: Luke Shaw (Man Utd)
When Luke Shaw is fit, Man Utd look like a half-decent football team. When he’s not fit, Man Utd aren’t so half-decent (they’re quite bad). That’s the impact that Shaw can have, and it’s one I expect him to have on my team too (or else).
CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
The…
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