There was much disappointment for Sergio Aguero (£11.5m) owners even as Manchester City beat West Ham at a canter on Saturday afternoon.
His blank was also a blow to those who had opted to captain him instead of the eight-point Mohamed Salah (£13.0m).
The constantly evolving Fantasy situation at Pep Guardiola’s side is the subject of this next Scout Notes article.
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
Goals: David Silva (£8.6m), Leroy Sané x2 (£9.3m), Raheem Sterling (£11.3m)
Assists: Sterling, Sané, Gabriel Jesus (£10.1m)
Two points for Aguero proved hugely frustrating for the large number of Fantasy managers who had hoped for more in Gameweek 13. However, it followed the trend of his form away from home this season as it was his third blank in a row on the road and his fifth from a possible six in total.
In the build-up to Manchester City’s trip to West Ham, we discussed the stark contrast between Aguero’s displays at the Etihad Stadium and those away from it. The Argentinian has virtually been half the FPL asset when not playing in front of his own fans. Between Gameweek 1 and 12 he registered 38 shots, 29 in the box and 12 on target in home matches. For all three of those statistics, he has been the best in the league. Away from home in that time, it was 16 shots, 12 in the box and seven on target.
That trend continued at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Aguero had just one effort on goal, which was off-target. With two more away fixtures in the next three Gameweeks, Fantasy managers may start to lose patience with Aguero, especially as a midweek Champions League start now looks on the cards. Gabriel Jesus (£10.1m) was not considered fully fit and therefore has not been included in the travelling squad.
While it could take some surgery to accomplish, the case for removing Aguero and signing Raheem Sterling (£11.3m) appears to strengthen with each passing Gameweek. His goal and two assists made for a 16-point haul against West Ham and there have certainly been no signs of Sterling suffering from the same Jekyll and Hyde affliction as Aguero does as far as match venues are concerned. Six of the England international’s 14 attacking returns this season have come on his travels, and he now averages 6.67 points per away game compared to Aguero’s 2.5. The fact that Sterling also outperforms his Argentinian colleague at home (11 points per game to 9.57) does suggest he is the more complete package.
Of course, the threat of rotation does remain for Sterling after he was rested for appealing home matches against Huddersfield and Burnley earlier this season. Interestingly, manager Pep Guardiola implied after the win on Saturday that Riyad Mahrez (£8.6m) is the key competitor for his place whenever a decision has to be made. They are quotes that will potentially temper interest in Sterling a little. The fact that the Mahrez came on for him with 15 minutes left of play could also suggest Sterling may start in the Champions League.
“Riyad has to play well, because Sterling is there, and Sterling has to play well, because Riyad is there.” – Pep Guardiola
Leroy Sané (£9.2m) has also emerged as another explosive option among Manchester City midfielders after his two goals and an assist made for a 19-point haul. Almost everything went through the German international on Saturday afternoon as no player finished the match with more penalty box shots or chances created than him. Of course, any potential owners may want to see a little more from him before signing him given that he has started just three of the last six Gameweeks. The absence of Benjamin Mendy (£6.3m) may play into Sané’s hands as he will be required to provide width on the left flank, although it was Fabian Delph (£5.3m) who actually took on the left-back berth against West Ham.
“We never had doubts about Leroy when he was not in the squad. I said I don’t have one doubt about his quality but he is young. He has ups and downs, it is the first time he won a title in the Premier League and it is normal. [David] Silva, [Vincent] Kompany, [Nicolas] Otamendi, for example, don’t have these problems because you gain these kinds of things over time and age. The important thing is he realises what he has to do to be consistent to get the chance to be a better player. When you achieve something, there is always another one in front of the door if you want to take it. That is the reason why we are here, to let them see because we have more experience. We have lived that situation before. My old manager taught me that and I try to help them. If they get it, they get it. If they don’t, it will be their problem.” – Pep Guardiola
Curiously, Manchester City had just nine shots in this 4-0 win, which was the same number as their hosts. Crucially, they landed six on target to West Ham’s one. Interestingly, that figure was far below both the average for the season so far and away matches too. Over the first 12 matches of the campaign, Guardiola’s men were recording 20.5 shots per game and 15 per away from home. With Gameweek 13 now factored into the data, there are actually four teams to have registered more shots on their travels than the defending champions, while Spurs (15) and Arsenal (16) have scored more than them away from home. However, the mitigating factor on this particular occasion may be the fact that City were already comfortably 3-0 up after 34 minutes, and they largely took their feet off the gas after that. Guardiola was not hugely worried but did admit that Man City could have played better, always an ominous thought.
“The biggest risk is to believe that we cannot do better. You can improve, today we saw it because we were lucky in some moments. They had two or three chances in the last four minutes before half-time, we conceded corners more than ever you saw the quality of West Ham with [Marko] Arnautovic, [Michail] Antonio and Felipe Anderson. [Declan] Rice will make a top player in the future for the club and English football. We were a little bit less stable, I think from the international break. From my experience, that always happens.” – Pep Guardiola
Aymeric Laporte‘s (£6.1m) status as the most nailed-on Manchester City defender was solidified on Saturday. He started his 13th successive Premier League match, but it was a first Nicolas Otamendi (£6.1m) since Gameweek 7 which truly cemented his position in Fantasy terms. John Stones (£5.3m) had emerged as a much cheaper alternative to Laporte in recent weeks, starting every match between Gameweeks 8 and 12, but he was an unused substitute at West Ham.
It was another match without a clean sheet for the Hammers, although that was hardly unexpected for this match. They are now without a shutout for the last seven Gameweeks, and there were no consolation points for Lukasz Fabianski (£4.5m) either. The goalkeeper normally surpasses expectations in matches against the bigger clubs with his ability to rack up save points, but he ended Gameweek 13 with a round score of zero points. The fact that Manchester City’s shot was lower than usual meant that Fabianski only made two saves, one short of the required amount for an additional point. The West Ham defence was also not helped by the fact that their attacking players opted for a much more open style.
“(I was) disappointed (with the defending for the goals) because they are all different crosses. Maybe one is a fast cross into the box, another arrived from the second line and they scored, another they were allowed so much time in the box to score. A movement or two or three passes and they score, it is too easy. If we conceded maybe because we attacked too much and left a lot of space, but if you review them, we had seven or eight defenders there.” – Manuel Pellegrini
Left-back Arthur Masuaku‘s (£4.4m) below-par performance was one of the key reasons Sterling was able to thrive on his right flank of attacking midfield. This was likely why he was replaced by Aaron Cresswell (£5.1m) at half-time, although Manuel Pellegrini denied that suggestion in his post-match press conference.
“I analyse the game tomorrow, maybe when you as a manager decide your team it is because, for different reasons you think that is the best starting XI, every player can have a bad day. I think we had too many problems in that side, I think that Cresswell… they are both playing the same amount of games. That was not a change because he was responsible for the goals because we also lose the marking in the middle of the goal. I think we had too many problems on that side.” – Manuel Pellegrini
Hopes that Marko Arnautovic (£7.1m) would reward Fantasy managers who started him did appear to be well grounded, even if he didn’t deliver any points. He had the same number of efforts on goal as the game’s other top shooters in Sané and David Silva (£8.6m). None of them were on target, but it was a continuation of the intent he has shown in recent weeks. There was more angst for his 20% ownership late in the game as he was forced to limp off the pitch after West Ham had used all their substitutes. As per usual, he will be assessed at a later date and it looks like we’re in for more blurred lines when Manuel Pellegrini gives his next press conference. The return to full fitness of Andy Carroll (£5.4m) may cause some worry for Arnautovic owners.
“Marko finished with a pain at the end of the game. We will see tomorrow.” – Manuel Pellegrini
Interestingly, club captain Mark Noble (£4.9m) did not return to the side after returning from a three-match suspension. He remained an unused substitute while Declan Rice (£4.4m) and Pedro Obiang (£4.4m) made up a deep midfield pairing, in contrast to the 4-1-4-1 formation used of late.
The main beneficiary of Robert Snodgrass‘ (£5.3m) one-match suspension was Michail Antonio (£6.8m) who started the match as a number 10, with Grady Diangana (£4.5m) holding onto the right-midfield berth. The fact that the youngster was used there instead of Antonio does bode well for his future involvement but this was the second match in a row where Diangana was replaced by Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez (£6.2m) early in the second half.
West Ham United XI (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Masuaku (Cresswell 45′), Diop, Balbuena, Zabaleta; Rice, Obiang; Anderson (Pérez 68′), Antonio, Diangana (Hernandez 55′); Arnautovic.
Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Delph, Laporte, Otamendi, Walker; Gündogan (Foden 69′), Fernandinho, D Silva; Sané, Aguero (Jesus 81′), Sterling (Mahrez 74′).
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