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Dugout Discussion – Swansea vs Newcastle

After Burnley’s Chris Wood condemned Crystal Palace to a fourth successive loss, we turn to the Liberty Stadium in Sunday’s second, and final, fixture at 4pm.

Having grabbed their first win of the season in the previous round of fixtures, Swansea now have the chance to play their way into our plans ahead of an outstanding upcoming home schedule.

From Gameweek 6 onwards, Paul Clement’s side entertain Watford, Huddersfield, Leicester, Brighton, Bournemouth and West Brom in their subsequent six matches at the Liberty.

With that in mind, Tammy Abraham- at just 5.5 – has the chance to emerge as a valid option for our three-man frontlines.

After opening his account for the season at Selhurst Park, the on-loan striker grabbed a goal and assist for England U21s over the recent international break. He’s partnered by Jordan Ayew, with Wilfried Bony on the hosts’ bench.

The Swans’ new arrival Renato Sanches is fast-tracked into the starting XI after joining on loan from Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day. Over 116,000 Fantasy Premier League managers acquired the Portuguese international ahead of Gameweek 4.

Similar to their hosts, Newcastle are also braced for a strong run of matches in front of their own fans – five of their next six home matches sees Stoke, Palace, Bournemouth, Watford and Leicester visit St James’ Park.

New boy Joselu leads the line again after scoring on his first start in the 3-0 win over West Ham last time around.

At 5.5, he could rival Abraham in the budget bracket up front, though Christian Atsu’s prospects in midfield are dealt a blow as he drops to the visitors’ bench.

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3,680 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Blacklister
    • 7 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Common Clark my man, a CS or better a goal from the corner.

  2. Somalion
    • 14 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Willy Bony in for penetration

    1. Sim Simma
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Wood needs to rise first though

  3. Lone Wolf
    • 7 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    so Abraham, Ayew AND Bony? Abraham nailed??

    1. Ode
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Not yet

    2. The Royal Robin
      • 8 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Yeah, but I wouldn't bring him in on a WC.

      1. Lone Wolf
        • 7 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        still got it 😉

    3. BRONALDINHO
      • 9 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Seems like it.

  4. PocketZola
    • 6 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Anyone putting hazard in? Will he start?

  5. BRONALDINHO
    • 9 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Sanches is such a clown. It will bot end well for Swans to keep feeding him the ball in future games

  6. The Royal Robin
    • 8 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Chicharito has to score tomorrow, forgetting what it feels like to even make a half a century score.

    1. Jafooli
      • 12 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      So much this....in fact make it a brace.

  7. Cookie Kid
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Bony wearing 2 on his back hurts my ADHD

    1. Andriy Shevchenko is Back
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      *OCD

      1. Cookie Kid
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        Whoops, yeah thats it!

  8. Scotty B
    • 11 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Keep Lacazette or swap to Jesus?

    1. Andriy Shevchenko is Back
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Morata if I had the choice. But would get rid of Laca anyway so go for Jesus if he's your top choice

    2. Kun Tozser
      • 8 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      I'm keeping until GW8 I think, passes the eye test, great home fixtures and maybe straight to Morata if he's managed to score with his feet!

  9. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Price wise, below Pogba & Mkhi, TCarroll is the best option!

    1. _figu
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Hmph possibly. The mid price range 5.0 - 7 so many options but big question marks. Good thing there's still a lot of time before 2nd international break and my WC so can do better decisions.

  10. We Will Klopp you
    • 7 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Pages flying, but can anyone who's watched the 3 games before WBA or even any of them tell me what they thought of Gross before his haul, was he poor or just didn't get the ball? Weighing up a Brady to Gross switch

    1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      He gets involved in most things brighton do but generally plays deepish

      1. We Will Klopp you
        • 7 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        Interesting, will give it some thought

    2. Siggy in the Middle
      • 8 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      On set pieces + most chances created of any Bundesliga player last season. Been saying since preseason that he'll be this year's budget midfielder to have, the next Sigurdsson.

    3. _figu
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Fluke. Chasing points.

  11. Scotty B
    • 11 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    How have Sanches and Carroll looked?

    1. Rash
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Carroll quite good sanches not so good

    2. _figu
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Carroll better involved 2nd half, has been good almost scored twice and unlucky not to get an assist.

      Sanches too slow to pass. Needs time

  12. Taking the Mkhitaryan
    • 7 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Super Snoreday. Wasted my day

  13. Sim Simma
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Mo Diame has the potential to unlock this defence

  14. Eton Rifles
    • 8 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Renato Sanches has scored more FPL points in his first 69 mins this season than Harry Kane did in his first 180.

    😉

    1. Business Cat
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      And busted more balls 😉

    2. Captain Roberto
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      92,000 people got Sanches in.
      I expect at least 50,000 to transfer him straight out again.

  15. Flynny
    • 9 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Who is the best gabbi replacement up to 6.8?

    Wood?

    Abraham?

    Someone else?

    Thanks

    1. We Will Klopp you
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Palace up next, you sure you want to shift him? I'd fancy wood to get a few goals here and there if you are sure you want to shift

      1. Flynny
        • 9 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        I'm not sure gabbi starts next week with Austin and long lurking....

        Can see the manager ringing the changes....

  16. laplana
    • 6 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Sanches is appalling, glad he's off.

  17. Captain Roberto
    • 6 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Perez trying to take Dann's award for miss of the weekend.

  18. Jafooli
    • 12 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Well played Swan & Toon def owners, CS banked and divide up the baps between you. Enjoy the points.

    1. Salah’s Sonnet
      • 12 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Naughton has stopped me getting 60 points all out with that yellow, and IF it stays 0-0.

    2. Captain Roberto
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      some amateurish defending just robbed the Naughton bandwagon of their CS points

      1. Sterling is £11Mill..…
        • 7 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        feck, forgot I had Naughton 🙁

  19. No Luck
    • 12 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Anybody fancy Choupo-Moting OOP with their decent fixtures?

    1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      They aren't decent until wk9

    2. Alan The Llama
      • 14 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Yep, need a replacement for Willian and he rotates well with TC, at least in the near future.

      1. No Luck
        • 12 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        I'm thinking of playing him every game if he's going to be the main striker

  20. Sim Simma
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Since when did Mourinho start playing.. Hearing his name being mentioned in this match 🙂

  21. FrankieTheGent
    • 9 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Today we have watched four of the top 20 teams in one of the richest leagues in the world in a sport that isn't marginal in terms of desire to participate.
    Are good players just cancelling each other out it is this shit?

  22. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Fabissential!

  23. Reed_Rothchild
    • 14 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Do not get De Bruyne.

    The strangest part of Guardiola’s season so far has been the use of Kevin De Bruyne as a holding midfielder. Much like how sliding a competent small forward to power forward will increase his offensive value, soccer teams are doing the same with attackers and midfielders. Klopp has turned decent attackers like Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum into midfielders, and in doing so, he’s been able to put more offensive firepower onto the field. Wijnaldum scored the winner in the first game against City last year and ended the season with six goals and nine assists. He’ll often seem as though he’s drifting through games without providing much influence on either end, but Goalimpact, a stat akin to ESPN’s real plus-minus, rates the 26-year-old Dutch international as one of the better players in the league.

    But Guardiola isn’t finding a more productive role for De Bruyne. Instead, he’s playing one of the league’s best attackers out of position. Producing in that attacking role for a top team is one of the hardest things to do in the sport — it requires players who can score and create at high rates, while also helping retain consistent possession, progressing the ball upfield, working through tight spaces, and providing immediate defensive pressure when the ball is lost. De Bruyne does all of that: The scope of his play makes him equally frightening against stretched or packed-in defenses, and he’s scored 13 goals and notched 27 assists through the past two seasons.

    Now that he’s playing deeper — and at times, as the only center mid for City — he’s getting on the ball way more often (averaging more than 20 more passes per game than last year), and he’s better than the average midfielder at both flipping the switch from defense to attack and keeping opponents pinned into their own half. He’s taking roughly the same number of shots as last year, but all of his shots have come from outside the box. Were this the NBA, his usage rate would rise, and his true shooting percentage would plummet. Dropping De Bruyne into the midfield has allowed Guardiola to fit more of his talented attackers onto the field, but it also appears to have muted the influence of his best one.

    1. That Was Easy!
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Thanks but we already know all this, been talked about to no end for weeks.

    2. bojack
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Looked good yesterday.

    3. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      As if I am gonna read all that. Especially when the first sentence was utter rubbish

    4. Scout Pics
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      I read up to "Soccer"

    5. Champione
      • 8 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Cheers. Good summary of KDB's role so far

    6. tm245
      • 12 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Are you a writer for ESPN?

    7. Captain Roberto
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      he played forward of Silva and Fernandinho on Saturday.

    8. Captain Roberto
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      "Much like how sliding a competent small forward to power forward will increase his offensive value, soccer teams are doing the same with attackers and midfielders"

      lol...what?

    9. Captain Roberto
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      "He’ll often seem as though he’s drifting through games without providing much influence on either end..."

      Only if you don't know anything about football and the purpose of central midfielders and the different roles they play.

    10. Captain Roberto
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      I write some pretty tongue-in-cheek stuff on here but "But Guardiola isn’t finding a more productive role for De Bruyne." is nonsense really. Pep cares that the TEAM are productive, and buy having a fluid midfield he is trying to create that.

      When you watch Man City the fluid rotation of position during the match between the midfielders (attackers as you sometimes refer to them) and the forwards becomes apparent. No one player can apply the counter-press when the ball is lost all game long so they rotate around and take turns. Jesus and Sterling switch positions. Aguero drops deeper and someone goes beyond him etc. Also, Silva and De Bruyne can both operate in the advanced pocket of space between the midfield and defensive lines so they take turns. This moves their markers about and creates decisions for their markers. They create and use space, a fundamental aspect of football. A players importance isn't only measured by his shot percentages. They also both take turns dropping in to deep positions to pick up the ball. This is because Pep has a possession philosophy from Barcalona's La Masia philosophy that requires steady build up while all the players create options to receive the ball with very fast players up front.

      In the past Pep has had Messi. But he has also had Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta. Three of the best users of both the ball and of space in this generation all in one side. He is trying to re-create that. Now he has David Silva, De Bruyne, and Fernandinho. Three exceptional players. We will see these three run the City team and they will make the whole team more productive.

      The level of organisation that most sides show now means that creative players are highlighted and planned for. If they stay in one position on the pitch then they can be handled much more effectively than if they were to adopt a fluid movement of position.

      An absolutely fundamental problem that Pep is facing is having Otamendi who is absolutely shambolic, Kompany who is never fit and really has not been able to adapt to the new possession philosophy, and having Bravo in goal last season who is one of the worst keepers ever in the premiere league. His philosophy requires control at the back. In Pique he had one of the finest defenders in the world. At City he has Stones who he sees as having that potential. He is deliberately asking De Bruyne to play a midfield role and not a wide forward role because he requires that City maintain possession control at all times. Fernandinho, Silva, and De Bruyne provide this. That is why you see Silva and De Bruyne dropping deeper and that is what Pep thinks will create control and allow his team to exploit attacking space.

      1. Reed_Rothchild
        • 14 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        He is not playing like he did at Barca and Bayern Mandy and Walker are not Alves and Lahm. They are fast full backs who go forward. Alves and Lahm are like having extra midfielders to aid in possession.

        1. Captain Roberto
          • 6 Years
          6 years, 6 months ago

          He is CLEARLY playing to his PHILOSOPHY that he learned at Barcelona.

          Don't start a different tangent about the full backs. Alves is a different player to Lahm. Alves was fast and he did get very advanced. But at Barcelona he also has the possession skills that are required to play for Barcelona. If he didn't have them then he wouldn't have played.

          You were talking about De Bruyne. You were arguing that Pep isn't getting the best out of him and I was arguing that he is doing precisely that in the context of his philosophy and the players he has at City.

          1. Reed_Rothchild
            • 14 Years
            6 years, 6 months ago

            Pep does not have the personnel at Citeh yomplay his style like at Barca and Bayern. Dipping KDB back to a holding mid as well as having full backs who bomb forward are proof of that. He tried inverted full backs last season with Clichy that didn't work which was like putting a square peg in a round hole.

            1. Captain Roberto
              • 6 Years
              6 years, 6 months ago

              "The strangest part of Guardiola’s season so far has been the use of Kevin De Bruyne as a holding midfielder."
              This was your opening sentence. A sentence which my main comment addresses. It's not strange. It's understandable when you look at the personnel available to him and his philosophy.

              "But Guardiola isn’t finding a more productive role for De Bruyne."
              This was the start of your second paragraph which, again, I addressed. Where you only see De Bruyne's productivity as a personal output of goals and assists I tried to explain his new role as part of Pep's quest for a more productive team. He is effectively replacing Yaya Toure's ability on the ball with De Bruyne's.

              Your final paragraph in your first post makes no point as far as I can tell aside from in the final sentence where you fail to recognise the importance of De Bruyne as part of the larger picture at City.

              Yes, last season we saw Pep experiment because his full backs were old and slow and he was reeling from culture shock of English football. No one is arguing against that. But Pep has a philosophy of control and fast passing. He has a philosophy that requires excellent ball control from all his players. He's constantly on the touch line making hand gestures that say "pass pass pass! fast fast fast! move move move!".

              The very reason that he has deployed De Bruyne deeper to play with Silva and Fernandinho is because he has the skill set to lift the whole side and implement Pep's philosophy. No they don't "play like Barcelona" but they certainly play like Pep. There is nothing "strange" about it at all and it is making the whole team more balanced and better equipped to compete in the Premiere League.

              1. Reed_Rothchild
                • 14 Years
                6 years, 6 months ago

                KDB should be in a free role behind the striker like Gerrard was with Torres

                1. Captain Roberto
                  • 6 Years
                  6 years, 6 months ago

                  Whatever. You're clearly obsessed with some Liverpool fantasy.

  24. That Was Easy!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Is Arnautovic straight back into the team after his suspension has been served? Considering him as my Willian replacement.

    1. Siggy in the Middle
      • 8 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Club record signing so he should be

      1. That Was Easy!
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        6 years, 6 months ago

        Interesting, will see how he WHU look tomorrow.

    2. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Better off with Antonio IMO.

    3. Captain Roberto
      • 6 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Bilic is looking at the sack any minute now. He will surely look to his best players and put them on the pitch. Arnautovic is a bit mental but he is very good and in that West Ham side, with Antonio provides the talent out wide.

    4. Doosra - ☭DeclanMyGenius…
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      No. If we are to win, we will need to play as a team. Bilic is starting to understand this.

  25. Forza Papac
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Fab racking up the saves

    1. Syd.
      • 14 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      That extra s cost me 😆

  26. Syd.
    • 14 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Fabs racking up the saves

    1. Siggy in the Middle
      • 8 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Jinx just above you

    2. Jafooli
      • 12 Years
      6 years, 6 months ago

      Dial up?

  27. Differentiator
    • 8 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    I could've got Fabianski...

    Instead I got Foster....

  28. rivercityransom
    • 8 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    ritchie is actually playing rb

  29. Dion Dublin
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    Have 2 FT and 0.4 ITB, very tempted by the following for a -4 hit:

    Valencia, Mane, Gabbiadini ----> Davies, Groß, Kane

    Is that a bit rash? I'd have a front 3 of Kane/Lukaku/Jesus... and a shoestring midfield of Eriksen/Phillips/Ritchie/Groß/Chalobah

  30. Sim Simma
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    6 years, 6 months ago

    What did I say 🙂