The Digest – Gameweek 8

We conclude our look back at the previous Gameweek in the usual fashion, by rolling out our final thoughts on the player, the team and the major discussion to emerge from the ten fixtures.

Raheem Sterling and the Man City attack are pivotal to our thoughts this week, while Wilfried Zaha’s return to action condemns Chelsea to defeat and forces a reassessment of Crystal Palace.

The Player

Raheem Sterling’s transformation under Pep Guardiola has taken many of us by surprise.

Handed 12 minutes as a sub in Gameweek 1, Sterling again relied on pitch time off the bench the following week as he made the most of a second-half cameo by firing the equaliser against Everton.

But since then, he’s become a key figure in Man City’s attack.

Sterling has started each of the last five league matches he has been available for, playing 90 minutes in all but one of those fixtures.

Saturday’s latest spree, a goal and two assists in the 7-2 demolition of Stoke, helped serve up a season-high 15 points and kick-start a bandwagon that has earned over 171,000 new owners since the weekend.

Sterling is now up to six league goals for the season, just one less than his tally from 2016/17.

After firing the opener in last night’s win over Napoli, it was perhaps telling that Sterling’s pitch time was again managed in the Champions League as Guardiola looks to keep him fresh for domestic duties.

His 70 minutes against the Serie A side follows on the back of 30 and 35-minute sub outings in City’s first two Group F fixtures.

In a side stocked full of Fantasy options, Sterling is second only to Sergio Aguero for shots (22 to 23) and efforts in the box (17 to 18) and has fired more goals and shots on target (eight) than any midfield team-mate.

And a price of 8.2 still represents the cheapest route into Guardiola’s swashbuckling attack as City prepare for the visit of Burnley on the back of 17 goals in their last three at the Etihad.

That form has many of us eyeing up two or even three of Guardiola’s main men as they continue to blow their opponents away.

While the Sergio Aguero/Gabriel Jesus debate may well rage on all season, Sterling’s role as a Fantasy must-have looks more secure by the Gameweek.

The Team

Seven losses in as many matches, without as much as a single goal scored, Crystal Palace were written off as Chelsea made their way to Selhurst Park last Saturday.

But Roy Hodgson had an ace up his sleeve in the form of fit-again Wilfried Zaha.

Like Guardiola with Sterling, the Eagles’ boss moved the winger into a central role, rolling out a 4-4-2 and pairing him with Andros Townsend up front in the continued absence of Christian Benteke.

That proved a masterstroke as the Ivorian international tormented the champions’ defence before firing a vital winner, earning his side their first points of the season.

After Frank de Boer’s disastrous brief tenure, there’s a hope that Hodgson’s back-to-basics approach will help mirror the impact of Sam Allardyce in 2016/17 as the club look to avoid another season of battling the drop.

That win against Chelsea certainly hands them the springboard to build momentum, as does a superb run of fixtures that may soon have us reconsidering the Eagles’ regulars.

Between now and Gameweek 19, Palace arguably have one testing fixture – against Spurs in Gameweek 11.

Aside from that, they host West Ham, Everton, Stoke, Bournemouth and Watford and travel to Newcastle, Brighton, West Brom, Leicester and Swansea.

There’s no doubt that Zaha – now down to just 6.7 – remains their jewel in the crown, particularly if he stays up front.

Yet the likes of Benteke (once fit) and Patrick van Aanholt have been proven Fantasy assets in the past and could profit once again if Hodgson can build on that win over Chelsea.

And the potential return of Ruben Loftus-Cheek (4.5) at St James’ Park could also bring him back into contention as a viable budget midfield pick, particularly if he’s handed an advanced central role to allow Townsend a return to the flank.

There may even be cause to eventually investigate defensive options, with fan favourite Julian Speroni perhaps another 4.0 keeper. Meanwhile, in Hodgson’s backline, the bonus point potential of Mamadou Sakho and goal threat from Van Aanholt and Scott Dann may yet resurface.

The Talking Point

So exactly how do we go about exploiting Man City’s form?

Investment in Guardiola’s attack look pretty much essential at this point – they currently hold four of the top six top scoring midfielders and two of the top scoring forwards after eight rounds of fixtures.

Despite conceding just four times, opting for a City defender looks a waste of our three-player allocation per club, given that rampant attack.

Ranked number one for shots in the box, efforts on target and big chances, City have scored 29 times – that’s at least double all but two teams, Manchester United and Spurs, with 21 and 15 strikes respectively.

As expected, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne have started all eight fixtures so far.

Yet Silva is just one point ahead of Sterling, who has only started five league matches. Meanwhile, Leroy Sane is currently the fourth top scoring midfielder despite starting only four of the first eight.

Up front, Sergio Aguero remains the joint-top scoring FPL forward despite claiming just five starts as a result of his recent rib injury.

Gabriel Jesus has been named on the teamsheet on seven occasions but has managed 90 minutes just once.

Indeed, he’s been hauled off around the hour-mark in three of his last four yet, aside from Aguero, only Romelu Lukaku (52 points) and Alvaro Morata (49) have bettered the Brazilian’s 47 point-haul.

Ultimately, while we can still anticipate rotation on occasion, City’s big-hitters have shown they can more than atone for a lack of guaranteed pitch time.

Perhaps one of the most compelling cases is that Sane has played 263 minutes less than De Bruyne yet still leads him by a point in FPL.

The risks will remain with Guardiola but, going on what we’ve seen so far, the rewards are more than substantial for those prepared to accept the frustration of a benching from time to time.