The Stock Check – Gameweek 27 – Sunday

Manchester City’s front three all get among the points in the first match of their double Gameweek. Elsewhere, Harry Kane and Dele Alli deliver double-figures, and Romelu Lukaku breaches Spurs’ resilient rearguard as Everton prepare for a run of strong home fixtures.

On the Rise

Sergio Aguero
Although we’re not exactly over the moon with a single goal at Sunderland, Aguero’s fifth strike in three keeps his momentum ticking over nicely ahead of Wednesday’s home clash with Stoke City.

The number one transfer target for double Gameweek 27, the Argentine persuaded over 156,000 FPL managers to wield their Triple Captain chip after scoring twice in cup clashes against Monaco and Huddersfield Town in his previous pair of Etihad Stadium outings.

Aguero’s owners will be hoping that history repeats itself in midweek. Back in Gameweek 1, he netted once against Sunderland before squaring up to Stoke in the following league fixture – a match which saw him fire a brace.

Bearing in mind that swashbuckling City notched five times in that recent pair of cup encounters, hopes remain high against a Potters defence that leaked four at White Hart Lane in their previous road trip.

Raheem Sterling
Second only to Aguero for transfers in ahead of the double, the winger maintained his remarkable run of FPL form by setting up the Argentine’s opener.

Sterling has blanked just twice in his last 11 league outings, serving up two goals and nine assists over that period. He has now provided 12 FPL assists for the season – only Christian Eriksen, with 13, has managed more.

It’s not just his output that catches the eye, though – Sterling has now started more league matches than any team-mate under Guardiola. While many will look upon the 12.8-priced Aguero as expendable once the double has passed, the consistent Sterling – at just 7.9 – is making a case to retain for the rest of the run-in, in spite of a blank Gameweek 28.

Leroy Sane
Firing City’s second at the Stadium of Light, the German now has five goals and three assists in his last eight starts across all competitions.

While Aguero and Sterling proved far popular picks, Sane – with a mere 3.3% ownership – has emerged as a canny differential for the double, with today marking a fifth successive start in the top-flight.

The summer signing has played all but two minutes over that run after being subbed off on 88 minutes this afternoon – given that Sterling has played from start to finish in just one of those fixtures, it’s a clear sign of Sane’s growing importance to Pep’s plans in the final third.

With worries over his pitch time now seemingly dispelled, those holding the 7.6-priced Sane may well consider retaining if they can cope without his absence in Gameweek 28.

Harry Kane
Shrugging off a minor knock in time to face the Toffees, the Spurs frontman continued his fine recent form with a two-goal haul in today’s early kick-off.

With many understandably prioritising double Gameweek 27 assets, Kane was drafted in just only 47,000+ FPL managers despite bagging a season-high 20-point return against Stoke last Sunday.

Today’s opener, in particular, illustrates a player whose confidence is sky-high right now, yet the bandwagon will continue to remain on ice as Spurs are, of course, without a fixture in Gameweek 28 due to FA Cup Quarter Final commitments.

Looking at the schedule from Gameweek 29, though, Kane is likely to become an integral part of our three-man frontlines, with Spurs squaring up to Southampton, Burnley, Swansea City, Watford, Bournemouth and Leicester City in the subsequent six.

Dele Alli
While Christian Eriksen suffered a rare blank at the Lane, Alli punished the 106,000 FPL managers who offloaded him for Gameweek 27.

With Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen both passed fit, Mauricio Pochettino was able to retain his 3-4-2-1 set-up, with Alli grabbing a goal and assist thanks to his central support berth behind Kane.

Now up to 13 goals and six assists for the season, Alli’s ascent up the FPL standings has taken him to second spot in the midfield pecking order behind Alexis Sanchez – all the more impressive given that he only scored three times in the first 16 Gameweeks.

While Eriksen continues to rely on assists – he’s now failed to score in 11 straight Gameweeks – Alli’s cutting edge may now see him emerge as the go-to Spurs midfield option for the run-in once we’ve navigated that upcoming blank.

Romelu Lukaku
Despite boasting a Gameweek 28 fixture – at home to West Brom – the Everton frontman was surprisingly dumped by over 161,000 FPL managers ahead of the trip to White Hart Lane.

To an extent, it was understandable – Spurs had conceded just once in their previous seven at home, while Lukaku had failed to score in his last four road trips.

Yet a strike against Pochettino’s troops took the Belgian’s tally to six goals in the last four Gameweeks ahead of four very promising Goodison fixtures (WBA, HUL, LEI, BUR) in the next six.

Already, over 27,000 have turned to Lukaku since yesterday’s deadline, and that upcoming schedule indicates he’s likely to remain prominent in many managers’ plans until a Gameweek 33 clash with the Clarets has passed.

In Decline

Kevin De Bruyne
Considering that no City player had started more league matches than the Belgian prior to today’s match, it’s fair to say that his exclusion from Pep Guardiola’s starting XI took many by surprise.

Having rested David Silva and Yaya Toure against Huddersfield in midweek, the City manager chose to unleash De Bruyne from the bench – disappointing the 6,937 FPL managers who took the bold decision of Triple Captaining him.

Conversely, today’s teamsheet certainly strengthens De Bruyne’s chances of starting at home to Stoke on Wednesday night but on a day where Sterling and Sane illustrated their mid-price value, the 10.5-priced Belgian left his owners once again disappointed.

Jermain Defoe
The most transferred out forward ahead of Gameweek 27, the veteran’s failure at home to City means that he has netted in just one of the last six league outings.

With the Black Cats set to miss Gameweek 28, Defoe is second only to Zlatan Ibrahimovic for sales up front since yesterday as the exodus picks up pace.

Nonetheless, a kind batch of fixtures from Gameweek 29 suggests that Defoe may still have a say – David Moyes’ men are handed home clashes with Burnley and West Ham in addition to trips to Watford and Leicester in four of the subsequent five.

Ademola Lookman
The winger’s run of three straight starts came to an end as Ronald Koeman named him amongst the subs for the trip to Spurs.

Priced at just 5.4 in FPL, Lookman had emerged as a viable, short-term means of navigating the decimated Gameweek 28 schedule after recently clambering ahead of Kevin Mirallas in the Toffees’ pecking order.

Yet while the Belgian benefitted from a second-half sub appearance to provide the assist for Everton’s second, Lookman warmed the bench from start to finish for the first time since arriving from Charlton.

Frustratingly, the winter signing boasted some strong underlying numbers but today’s teamsheet suggests that the pricier Ross Barkley – who earned the assist for the Merseysiders’ opening goal – remains the safest route into Koeman’s midfield ahead of those abovementioned home fixtures.