The Knee Jerk – Gameweek 8

Manchester City are threatening to break Fantasy Football.

An irresistible attacking force, they appear to be capable of skittling any defence that stands in their way and, in doing so, they are presenting Fantasy managers with an extraordinary array of options.

The challenge, of course, is to exploit their incredible form to the full. This becomes a more thankless task with the passing of each and every Gameweek.

Today’s 7-2 victory over a shell-shocked Stoke City took Pep Guardiola’s side to a total of 17 goals from their last three home matches and 24 from the last five Gameweeks.

I had to go back and re-check those numbers, leaving me wonder if we’ve ever seen a single team provide such a relentless avalanche of Fantasy points.

The underlying statistics are even more staggering.

A tally of 103 shots, 73 of which have arrived in the box with 28 big chances. Guardiola’s side have fired a shot every 4.6 minutes over the past five Gameweeks.

Three City players scored double figures in today’s victory, with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva also fetching nine and seven points respectively. And this without Sergio Aguero in the mix.

Indeed, the array of choice available has become bewildering.

Raheem Sterling’s 15-points surely underlines his potential during this, his most prolific spell of his career. The “winger” has now scored six goals and supplied two assists over five starts in the last six Gameweeks.

Sterling has been in Guardiola’s starting line-up each time when available from Gameweek 3 onwards and, priced at just 8.0; he surely justifies his rank at the top of our midfield Watchlist. He is already the top transfer target ahead of Gameweek 9’s visit from Burnley.

Then there is Sane.

Perhaps a more traditional wide player, less inclined to tuck inside to flank the central striker, the German has produced four goals and three assists from the last five Gameweeks. However, he has only made the starting line-up over the last three.

De Bruyne and Silva remain the creators. Less explosive, they are nonetheless consistent points scorers that also scream for our attention. The latter struck his first goal of the season today, while De Bruyne chalked up a fifth assist.

It’s difficult to separate the pair, but Silva’s price, at 1.5 cheaper, is surely a key factor. Crucially, as today’s goal indicated, the Spaniard also appears to have upped his direct threat to opponents, adding a new convincing string to his creative bow.

These are just the standout midfield offerings. When we start to contemplate the situation up front, our decision process becomes even more cloudy.

Gabriel Jesus reacted to Sergio Aguero’s return from injury with a brace and a 13-point return today. We now have to consider how Guardiola will marry the pair.

He will surely want to avoid disrupting the almost perfect blend he has discovered, and neither Sane nor Sterling can really warrant exclusion.

Could that lead to Guardiola rotating his two central strikers, or will he revert back to pairing them in attack, sacrificing one of his support attackers?

Jesus owners will be counting today’s points but also looking ahead to the Gameweek 9 meeting with Burnley and wondering Pep’s next move.

But surely we have to question whether Jesus and Aguero warrant our investment regardless.

Even if their minutes are managed from here on, while City’s thirst for goals remains unquenchable, perhaps we just can’t lose.