Pep Guardiola threw the Fantasy Premier League community some clues to his Gameweek 18 team selection in Manchester City’s League Cup win at Leicester.
The defending champions made a string of changes as they eliminated the Foxes in a penalty shoot-out.
We’ve got all the talking points in this Scout Notes article.
Leicester City 1-1 Manchester City (1-3 on penalties)
Goals: Marc Albrighton (£5.1m) | Kevin de Bruyne (£9.7m)
Assists: Wilfried Ndidi (£4.9m) | Nicolas Otamendi (£6.1m)
Leroy Sané (£9.7m) looks in line to start for Manchester City when they host Crystal Palace in Gameweek 18. The German international was not even in the matchday squad on Tuesday night as the Citizens progressed in the League Cup. That will massive boost his credentials as a captain candidate given his remarkable consistency this season. He has blanked in just one start this season, scoring 10 points in his most recent Etihad Stadium.
There might be slightly mild concern for options such as Raheem Sterling (£11.6m) and Sergio Aguero (£11.2m) who both played their part at the King Power Stadium. The Argentinian striker started the match but was replaced in the 75th minute by Gabriel Jesus (£10.1m), suggesting that Pep Guardiola was at least trying to manage his minutes.
Meanwhile, Sterling owners would have been in high spirits when they saw that he was benched against Leicester but he did enter the fray in the 66th minute, coming on for Brahim Diaz (£4.7m). The fact that he featured only in the last 24 minutes against Everton should mean that he is sufficiently rested to start on Saturday. The fact that his main competitor for the right-wing position Riyad Mahrez (£8.5m) played the whole 90 minutes on Tuesday, also plays into Sterling’s hands too. He will have a point to prove in Gameweek 18 too as he missed his penalty in the shootout.
Kevin de Bruyne (£9.7m) reminded us all of the quality he has to offer as he scored Manchester City’s only goal of the tie. It was a spectacular effort which will have some Fantasy managers eyeing him up for inclusion as soon as he looks to be returning to the first-team situation.
“I’ve been out, so long so to play 70 minutes is a really good sign for me personally. I feel a little bit stiff but I’m happy to contribute again.” – Kevin de Bruyne
John Stones (£5.3m) returned from his injury doubts to play in central midfield. That’s not the first time he has fulfilled that role in a cup match, but it may be some time before we see him do it in the Premier League. Fernandinho (£5.4m) and Bernardo Silva (£7.5m) were two more players absent from the matchday squad while Ilkay Gündogan (£5.4m) was involved only as a substitute against Leicester.
Aymeric Laporte (£6.1m) was not involved at all while Fabian Delph (£5.3m) was an unused substitute. However, Kyle Walker (£6.5m) played the full 90 minutes, after completing a 90-minute outing against Everton, so it will be interesting to see if he holds onto the right-back berth on Saturday. Vincent Kompany‘s (£5.2m) absence was due to an injury, according to Guardiola.
Jamie Vardy (£8.8m) was absent for Leicester City with Claude Puel keen to not to aggravate an injury. The Foxes manager is hoping to have him fit in time for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea though.
“I hope we can have him on Saturday. He wasn’t fit enough for today. He has trained once and then played against Palace in the Premier League for 90 minutes. It was important to keep him fresh. We have to be careful to avoid another injury. I hope he can play against Chelsea on Saturday.” – Claude Puel
There were plenty of changes made for Leicester although first-team regulars Harry Maguire (£5.4m) and Demarai Gray (£5.4m) both played the full 90 minutes.
Marc Albrighton (£5.1m) and James Maddison (£6.8m) featured as substitutes but should be fresh enough to remain in the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge.
Leicester City XI (4-5-1): Ward; Fuchs, Maguire, Söyüncü, Simpson; Gray, Ndidi, Iborra (Albrighton 61′), Choudhury, Ghezzal (Maddison 53′); Iheanacho (Pereira 81′).
Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Murić; Zinchenko, Otamendi, Garcia, Walker; Foden, Stones, De Bruyne (Gündogan 71′); Diaz (Sterling 66′), Aguero (Jesus 76′), Mahrez.
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