The Stock Check – Gameweek 23 – Wednesday

Gabriel Jesus puts West Ham to the sword in his first top-flight start as Sergio Aguero drops to the City bench. Seamus Coleman provides a third successive attacking return, while Phil Jones limps out of United’s goalless draw with an Eldin Jakupovic-inspired Hull.

On the Rise

Gabriel Jesus
Before we lavish praise on the City attacker, let’s remember that any potential investment comes with a major caveat.

Not only are they without a fixture in Gameweek 26, Pep Guardiola’s side will also skip Gameweek 28 if they make it through to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

While that is reason enough to diminish major investment, Jesus’ sparkling first-half display against West Ham still appears ominous for upcoming opponents Swansea City and Bournemouth.

Handed a first league start, the new boy could prove to be the missing piece of Pep’s jigsaw, with his industry and movement adding an extra thrust to their attacks.

Available as a 9.0 forward, a goal and assist announced the young Brazilian to FPL managers in style, yet his acquisition would be a very short-term move, given that schedule.

The same can be said for a trio of City midfielders, who will surely move onto our shopping lists when the double Gameweeks arrive.

After going 15 league appearances without a goal, the 10.5-priced Kevin De Bruyne netted for the second successive Gameweek to suggest he may be worth the premium outlay if City can maintain their momentum.

At 7.7 and 7.5 in FPL, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane offer more budget friendly options.

Sterling’s pair of assists means he’s stepped up considerably in terms of consistency, producing points in six of the last eight Gameweeks.

Sane went into last night’s match having scored in three successive matches in all competitions and added an assist to that record as he finally starts to settle at the Etihad.

Peter Crouch
Retaining his role up front for the sixth successive Gameweek, the Stoke frontman continued to bely his budget price tag by bagging the opener at home to Everton.

Priced at just 4.9, Crouch has now scored in four of the last five Gameweeks and also supplied a pair of assists over that period.

With West Brom, Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough to come in the next four Gameweeks, the short-term fixtures afford Crouch the platform to go on delivering, though it’s worth noting that Stoke would face a blank Gameweek 28 if their opponents Manchester City make the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Seamus Coleman
After a review of the Everton opener, the Irishman’s effort was recorded as an assist, with Ryan Shawcross credited with an own goal.

Nonetheless, the bottom line is that Coleman has now registered attacking returns in three successive Gameweeks, with a goal and assist also accrued over that period.

As one of only six teams currently set to feature in both Gameweek 26 and 28, Everton’s key assets are subject to heavy interest right now – indeed, Coleman was second only to Dele Alli for acquisitions ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

With four plum home fixtures (BOU, SUN, WBA, HUL) and a trip to Middlesbrough in the next six, his bandwagon looks set to run and run.

Eldin Jakupovic
A defiant display between the posts frustrated the 22.9% who captained Zlatan Ibrahimovic and continued Hull’s improved displays under Marco Silva.

The most benched player in the Gameweek by some distance, Jakupovic was named as a sub by 833,662 FPL managers, yet racked up 11 points at Old Trafford, courtesy of a clean sheet, six saves and maximum bonus.

Priced at just 4.0, he’s another to benefit from fixtures in Gameweek 26 and 28 and has now delivered 16 points in three outings since the new manager was installed.

In Decline

Sergio Aguero
The Argentine’s season goes from bad to worse, with Pep Guardiola dropping him to the bench for the trip to West Ham.

With Gabriel Jesus more than vindicating his manager’s decision, Aguero was afforded no more than a second-half cameo against the Hammers.

Having gone into the deadline sitting in almost 20% of FPL squads, Aguero was the fourth most-captained player for Gameweek 23.

With those blanks on the horizon, last night’s teamsheet makes it a very easy decision for his remaining owners to look elsewhere, as that “essential” tag looks to have come to an end.

Claudio Bravo
A first clean sheet in five league fixtures coincided with Guardiola’s decision to replace the Chilean with Willy Caballero between the posts.

Bravo had started every league match since making his debut in Gameweek 4, yet after conceding six goals in the previous pair of fixtures, Pep finally decided to take the much-maligned summer signing out of the firing line.

City’s frailties in defence have mainly kept them off our radars this season, yet Caballero’s installation may boost their points potential at the back, with John Stones – now down to 4.7 – still owned by 14.7% of FPL managers.

Phil Jones
As the cheapest reliable starter the Manchester United’s defence, the former Blackburn man had been steadily increasing in ownership in recent weeks.

After limping off on 54 minutes at home to Hull, Jones was denied his clean sheet and served up just a single point at Old Trafford.

With a blank Gameweek 26 and likely blank in Gameweek 28, we can expect significant sales as doubts hover over his availability for the weekend trip to Leicester City.