A brace from David Silva confirms the red-hot form of the midfielder as Manchester City make short work of struggling Swansea City.
In the six Gameweeks leading up to last night’s 4-0 victory, Silva scored twice and provided two assists.
Priced at 8.5, only Raheem Sterling was a cheaper route into a quartet of Man City stars dominating the top echelons of the midfield charts in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
And yet over that time frame, the Spaniard was in the process of losing almost half his ownership – down from a Gameweek 9 peak of just under 1.5 million to 794,000 when he opened the scoring in the Manchester derby last weekend.
Two goals and maximum bonus at the Liberty Stadium produced a season-high 16 points for Silva, taking him over 100 points for the campaign and propelling him to third in the midfielder standings, behind just Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne.
Only the Belgian has played more minutes than Silva’s 1,426 among City’s midfielders. Meanwhile, the mix of season-long consistency and a recent explosion of form in which he’s scored four of his five goals for the campaign has finally persuaded FPL managers to reverse the sales trend.
More than 91,000 bought him going into Gameweek 17 and 94,000+ have already acted after it, making him the most popular purchase ahead of the weekend deadline.
Both Silva and, to a lesser extent, De Bruyne had been the fall guys in the rush to secure the services of either Sterling or Leroy Sane, with the German almost doubling his ownership as the Spaniard’s came close to being halved.
Silva now costs just 8.2, and City’s schedule (TOT BOU new cry WAT) and his blistering form suggest price, points and ownership are going only way for the foreseeable future – up.
Sane Misses Out
The City quartet are all among the top seven most productive and most popular midfielders in the game.
De Bruyne’s strike against Swansea made it three goals and two assists over the last six Gameweeks, while Sterling provided a brace of assists and has three of those, plus two goals, over the same period.
The Belgian has started every league match this season, Silva all but one and Sterling the last seven, suggesting the England international is closing in on the “untouchable” status of the more senior pair.
The same cannot be said for Sane, who has featured in just two of the last four Gameweeks and has provided only one assist since Gameweek 11.
He watched from the bench as his midfield team-mates ran riot last night and coach Pep Guardiola seems to be managing the young German’s minutes since he picked up a fourth booking of the season in Gameweek 13.
Guardiola might well be protecting his starlet ahead of Saturday evening’s meeting with Spurs, but the 17.7% of managers still with Sane will again be considering an exit plan.
He has lost over half a million managers in the past four Gameweeks and, with another 55,000 sales following Wednesday’s blank, is the second most sold player heading into Gameweek 18.
Returns both front and back
Sergio Aguero scored late at the Liberty to appease a 16.9% ownership that has endured a six-Gameweek run of just four starts and two goals.
The Argentine has started 11 matches this season and scored in nine of them, but Guardiola’s consistent rotation of him and Gabriel Jesus up front continues to keep us guessing.
Aguero remains a clinical striker – his 7.1 points per match (PPM) easily leads the field among forwards, with Spurs’ Harry Kane a distant second on 6.0.
But Aguero’s restricted pitch-time is a serious issue for a striker who costs 11.6.
Only Kane is more expensive among the forwards, and there are a number of alternatives – including Jesus (10.3) – within ten points of Aguero, but who cost considerably less.
Aguero has played 951 minutes this campaign, Jesus 874, suggesting that their job share will continue. That surely rules Aguero out as a reliable captain option, making it very difficult to justify faith in the striker.
At least there are no such worries over his compatriot Nicolas Otamendi.
The centre-half moved up to second in the defenders’ standings as City kept a clean sheet for the first time since Gameweek 12.
The Argentine’s 22.2% ownership had been insulated from that defensive fragility thanks to their man’s back-to-back goals prior to last night, and injuries to key defensive partners continue to make Otamendi an almost guaranteed starter.
That was not the case for Kyle Walker at the Liberty Stadium.
The 14.1% who own him had to stomach the England international failing to start in the league for the first time since a Gameweek 3 suspension.
His night on the bench should mean he plays a significant part in the rest of the festive schedule, but a six-point loss is a big one for an asset, at 6.7, so expensive.
Abraham’s stock sinks further
Swansea City frontman Tammy Abraham’s stint as a valid third striker option looks to have faded to nothing.
The 5.8-priced forward has just one assist from the last seven matches and he’s started only once in five Gameweeks as Wilfried Bony continues as Paul Clement’s preferred option up front.
The Swansea coach did bring Abraham on at half-time last night as he switched to a two up front, but the England international has lost close to half of his ownership in the past five Gameweeks and now resides in just 9.9% of FPL squads.
Since his last league goal, way back in Gameweek 8, any number of strikers have surpassed his meagre output – and for less money – with Leicester City’s Shinki Okazaki (5.4) and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin (5.3) currently in the top five for transfers-in among forwards ahead of Gameweek 18.
