The Stock Check – Gameweek 27 – Wednesday

Raheem Sterling is handed the night off, while Sergio Aguero disappoints as double Gameweek 27 fails to live up to the hype. A goalless draw at the Etihad means that defences prevail over the pair of fixtures as Manchester City and Stoke deliver the unexpected and bring in two clean sheets apiece.

On the Rise

Aleksandar Kolarov
While John Stones dropped to the bench this evening, Kolarov once again retained his spot in the heart of Pep Guardiola’s back-four – an eighteenth start in their last 19 league matches.

Back-to-back clean sheets over the double – City now have four in their last five – was supplemented with maximum bonus away to Sunderland to ensure that the Serbian ended double Gameweek 27 with a 15-point return, joint-top for the Etihad side.

With City set for another double further down the line, Kolarov may yet have a part to play in our seasons once the schedule turns kinder in Gameweek 32.

Lee Grant, Eric Pieters
Stoke’s budget stopper came up trumps once again to deliver 13 points for his 8.9% owners.

City’s poor performance meant that Grant needed to make just a single save on his way to earning a third clean sheet in his last four appearances.

Since being handed a first start in Gameweek 6, Grant’s average of 4.2 points per match is more than any Potters player and not far off Burnley’s Tom Heaton (4.5) between the posts.

As for Pieters, he claimed two bonus points from last night’s stalemate and has now gathered additional points in three of his last six, amassing six bonus points over that spell. Owned by 8.2%, the Dutchman is by far the most popular option in Mark Hughes’ rearguard, though his appeal is clearly limited by the Grant option.

Stoke may have a blank next weekend, but the following schedule is in their favour, with clashes against six of the bottom ten in their subsequent eight from Gameweek 29 onwards.

In Decline

Sergio Aguero
Much was expected of both City and their star striker – they had scored five in each of their last two at the Etihad and found the net in every home league match under Guardiola.

Subject to a major bandwagon for the double, Aguero convinced almost 160,000 FPL managers to wield their Triple Captain chip but ultimately managed just one goal and nine points for his pair of fixtures.

Wednesday’s blank means it’s just two goals in his last ten Gameweek appearances for Aguero, with City now sitting out Gameweek 28 prior to clashes against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Over 40,000 managers have already parted company this week and the drift towards Harry Kane – who has 12 goals in ten, by comparison – is likely to accelerate once we navigate the weekend blank.

Raheem Sterling
The second most bought player for the double Gameweek, Sterling fell victim to Guardiola’s rotation as he was handed the night off against the Potters.

To an extent, Pep had a point – Sterling had started more league matches than any team-mate prior to tonight, yet that’s no consolation for his 17.3% FPL owners, who ended the Gameweek with six points.

An assist for Aguero’s opener at Sunderland means the winger has produced points in nine of his last 11 league appearances, but in spite of that consistency, the City teamsheet served a reminder that we cannot hope to second-guess their manager.

Sterling has already been sold by 50,000+ FPL managers this week, as Guardiola’s tinkering has us thinking twice over retraining their pricey assets

Peter Crouch
A run of ten straight league starts came to an end on Wednesday after the Potters’ target man dropped to the bench to accommodate new boy Saido Berahino.

It was on the cards. Crouch had managed 90 minutes in just one of his previous four as Hughes looked to initially utilise the former West Brom man off the bench late on.

With Berahino’s match fitness now up to scratch, Crouch’s appeal as a
valid budget third striker now looks somewhat limited – with a blank Gameweek 28 preceding a clash with Chelsea, his 6% owners may look to bail soon.