Guardiola says Aguero is “exhausted” as Mahrez and Sane disappoint

Manchester City – and Sergio Aguero‘s relieved owners – were reliant on a soft-looking penalty to overcome a stubborn West Ham United side on Wednesday evening.

Fantasy managers who owned City assets could have been forgiven for feeling a little short-changed given that the Hammers were dispatched 4-0 at the London Stadium in November but a combination of excellent defending from Manuel Pellegrini’s side and perhaps the ill-effects from a gruelling EFL Cup final on Sunday made this a tighter affair than anticipated.

Pep Guardiola had plenty to say on Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and City’s injury situation, which we cover in our Scout Notes below.

We also run the rule over Arsenal 5-1 Bournemouth and Southampton 2-0 Fulham.

Manchester City 1-0 West Ham United

• Goal: Sergio Aguero (£11.7m)
• Assist: Bernardo Silva (£7.5m)

Pep Guardiola said Sergio Aguero (£11.7m) was “exhausted” after the Argentinean striker followed up his exertions in the EFL Cup final with an 85-minute run-out against West Ham United on Wednesday.

Aguero had played the full two hours of Sunday’s gruelling clash against Chelsea and was back in the City line-up again last night, with Gabriel Jesus‘ (£10.7m) hamstring injury again keeping the Brazilian striker out of action.

Aguero scored from the spot after Bernardo Silva (£7.5m) had been felled by Felipe Anderson (£7.2m) but otherwise didn’t get too much change out of West Ham’s impressive defence, with Angelo Ogbonna (£4.2m) blocking his only other significant effort of the match.

Guardiola said in his post-match press conference:

We cannot live, for example, with just Sergio. The last 10-15 minutes he was exhausted. We need Gabriel as quick as possible to come back.

Those comments may unnerve existing and prospective Aguero owners ahead of Gameweek 29 but there was no indication from Guardiola that Jesus would be back for Saturday’s trip to the Vitality Stadium, with the City boss having this to say on the club’s injury situation:

That’s why it is a final for us, the game against Bournemouth, to arrive after the international break, with the people coming back, like John [Stones], Aymer [Laporte] and Gabriel [Jesus]. When you play every three days, in March and April, it is demanding, we need everybody.

Aguero’s cause last night certainly wasn’t helped by the displays of Riyad Mahrez (£8.2m) and Leroy Sane (£9.5m) either side of him, both of whom were sacrificed before the hour-mark as Guardiola threw on the rested Bernardo and Raheem Sterling (£11.3m) with the game still goalless.

The difference in City’s goal threat was palpable, with Bernardo’s driving run leading to the decisive penalty award and Sterling being presented with two excellent chances – one saved, one poked wide – after his introduction.

Those two players will now surely start at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday and Guardiola could even use Sterling as a “false nine” if he wishes to hand Aguero a breather.

Guardiola explained why he had made those two substitutions:

Another pace. We needed a little bit more. We arrived in the positions of the wingers and we didn’t finish what we created.

Bernardo is so aggressive – going with the ball he attracts two or three opponents and creates space for Danilo, Kevin and the others. He’s a master. He’s an incredible player reading those situations.

The game was 0-0 and we needed that step forward.

The hosts had only had one shot on target before Aguero’s penalty as Sane and the fragile-looking Mahrez toiled on the flanks but Guardiola defended the Algerian winger after full-time, citing his lack of match sharpness as a mitigating factor:

Riyad played good. He took some risks and unfortunately he hit the first player often. Normally he is so clinical, such a good player at finishing in the first action with the right foot, but of course, sometimes you need time to connect between the players and that is going to happen.

Sane has now been hauled off before the hour mark in each of his last two Premier League starts and his latest performance – the German winger didn’t register a single shot or key pass – will do little to stem the mass exodus among his existing Fantasy owners.

Another nail in his coffin could be the return to fitness of Benjamin Mendy (£6.1m), whose availability has often determined Sane’s game-time in the past.

The French full-back was an unused substitute at the Etihad on Wednesday though Guardiola stressed after full-time that Mendy is “not completely ready”.

Kevin De Bruyne (£9.7m) and David Silva (£8.5m) had lively starts to the match before their influence waned somewhat.

Silva should have been on the scoresheet at least once but turned De Bruyne’s cross onto the post from close range and then saw an effort cleared off the line in the second half.

“El Mago” recorded an astonishing 18 touches in the West Ham box last night (11 more than Aguero) though there was again the sense that the veteran midfielder was struggling to recapture his top form.

Both De Bruyne and Silva had also started the EFL Cup final and Guardiola may be forced to play them again on Saturday, with Ilkay Gundogan‘s (£5.4m) services required in the Fernandinho (£5.3m) role.

Guardiola said of Gundogan:

It is his natural position. The other players have to adapt to that. Fabian [Delph] could play there but is injured again. Gundo played many times in that position last season so normally he has to help us in the next few games.

City’s defence had a comfortable evening as West Ham mustered only two shots on goal, though Ederson (£5.6m) had to be alert to push out an excellent Andy Carroll (£5.4m) chance in the second half.

Carroll led the line in the absence of Marko Arnautovic (£6.8m), who had been set to play before illness struck on the day of the match.

Manuel Pellegrini said:

We were very unlucky that Marko Arnautovic woke up ill with a fever because we wanted to have a good recovery in our box, have three fast players up front with Antonio and Anderson to make good counter-attacks.

Anderson and co predictably saw little of the ball as the Hammers were penned back in their own half, though the visiting defence impressed as they limited City’s goalscoring opportunities.

Ryan Fredericks (£4.5m) particularly excelled at right-back, while teenage debutant Ben Johnson (£4.0m) did well enough on the opposite flank.

Pellegrini explained his decision to start Johnson, who was himself forced off on 62 minutes.

Masuaku is injured, Cresswell broke his toe in the last game, Zabaleta is just coming back from a back injury that he was not able to play the full game. Unfortunately for him, this was his first game!

But he didn’t do so bad, he had good answers every time they tried to attack down his side. I changed him not for his performance, he had a calf problem.

Pellegrini hailed his side’s defensive efforts in his post-match presser:

We defended very well as we walked on all their moments in attacking well. I think the first big save from Lukasz Fabianski was minute 61, after that, they had a couple of chances so if we lose that way maybe you can accept it more.

They had lots of shots at the beginning of the game but they had to rush them as we always had a defender near them, they had a lot of offsides also. I think that we played very well in defending, not so well in attacking because we didn’t have the possession we wanted.

Especially, well, we played this game with eight players injured and four players rested for the game on Saturday.

Those rested players included Javier Hernandez (£6.1m), Mark Noble (£4.8m) and Robert Snodgrass (£5.0m), who may come into the reckoning when Newcastle visit east London on Saturday.

Manuel Lanzini (£6.4m) got another 45 minutes under his belt, too, as he continues to build up match fitness.

Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Danilo, Kompany, Otamendi, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Gundogan, David Silva; Mahrez (Sterling 55′), Aguero (Foden 85′), Sane (Bernardo Silva 57′).

West Ham United XI (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Johnson (Zabaleta 63′); Obiang, Rice; Antonio, Nasri (Lanzini 46′), Felipe Anderson (Diangana 77′); Carroll.

Arsenal 5-1 Bournemouth

• Goals: Mesut Ozil (£7.9m), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£6.7m), Laurent Koscielny (£5.4m), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m), Alexandre Lacazette (£9.5m) | Lys Mousset (£4.9m)
• Assists: Sead Kolasinac (£5.1m), Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan x2, Lucas Torreira (£4.8m) | Dan Gosling (£4.7m)

Unai Emery provided an update on Sead Kolasinac (£5.1m) after Wednesday’s 5-1 win over Bournemouth.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international was substituted after 57 minutes of Arsenal’s comprehensive victory over the Cherries but Emery seemed to downplay any suggestion that Kolasinac would be a doubt for the north London derby on Saturday.

The Gunners’ head coach said:

Kolasinac has been having a problem in his [leg] muscle and sometimes he is telling us to rest some matches and some minutes.

The first half he finished it well, but in the dressing room he was saying he can continue, but he was feeling some pain. He could continue but I preferred to change him for a rest and also he played on Sunday with a big intensity.

Today I think we could do this change and carry on with another player in this match.

The rampaging defender again found plenty of joy at left wing-back as Emery switched to a 3-4-2-1 and it took just three minutes of Wednesday’s match for Kolasinac to register his seventh assist in 16 Gameweeks when he teed up Mesut Ozil (£7.9m) for Arsenal’s opener.

Kolasinac had a shot of his own blocked and laid on a couple of opportunities for Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£6.7m) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£11.0m) before being hooked, perhaps with one eye on the trip to Spurs on Saturday lunchtime.

Mkhitaryan is another player who may have been preserved for that fixture when substituted on 64 minutes.

By that point, the Armenian had got on the scoresheet and assisted a further two goals and it was both he and Ozil who particularly caught the eye at the Emirates.

Operating just behind Aubameyang in a 3-4-2-1, Ozil and Mkhitaryan were gifted plenty of space by a generous Bournemouth backline and combined beautifully to score Arsenal’s second goal.

Mkhitaryan then assisted goals for Laurent Koscielny (£5.4m) and Aubameyang to bring his FPL points tally to 30 for the last two Gameweeks.

It is doubtful Arsenal will encounter an opponent as obliging as Bournemouth again this season and the Gunners next face their north London rivals and Manchester United before blanking in Gameweek 31.

Nevertheless, Mkhitaryan is a mid-price midfielder to monitor for the season run-in: Arsenal avoid any of their fellow “big six” clubs from Gameweek 32 onwards.

Emery was asked about whether Ozil and Mkhitaryan’s displays have made them tough to drop for the derby at Wembley but offered his usual rambling answer in reply:

We are speaking and we want to get our identity first, be competitive – and being competitive how? First is being organised with our quality and skills, our combinations with different players in different systems and it depends in each match.

After is the intensity with the ball and without the ball. The last matches we are doing this. Saturday is the same, but with every player can be okay. This is what we want and I think every player is convinced to do that, and we can use different players in different matches, but the idea is that every player can play with this idea.

Now, I am going to watch this match for the analysis and I am going to watch Tottenham and after decide our gameplan against them with every player. We need the players in the first 11 and on the bench, and we need a big commitment from every player to help us.

Aubameyang and Lacazette traded places for this victory over Bournemouth, with the French striker starting on the bench but emerging to seal Arsenal’s victory with a beautifully taken free-kick.

Aubameyang’s owners endured a frustrating Gameweek 27 and yesterday evening threatened to be just as irksome, with the Gabon international seeing his first three shots blocked and coming within a whisker of an assist when Ozil struck the post following a swift break. Aubameyang then looked to have scored Arsenal’s third goal, only for replays to confirm Koscielny’s initial shot had passed way over the goal-line.

The premium forward duly got the reward his persistence (and owners) deserved when he latched onto Mkhitaryan’s through-ball and rounded Artur Boruc (£4.0m), before his evening drew to a close when being substituted on 71 minutes.

That early-ish withdrawal will provide some encouragement to his owners regarding his involvement in Gameweek 29, though second-guessing Emery and his ever-changing formation is nigh impossible.

The Arsenal boss meanwhile said Granit Xhaka (£5.2m) was merely rested and expressed hope that Koscielny would be fit for the weekend after the veteran centre-back received a “kick” late on.

This was deja vu for Bournemouth, who have now lost their nine away league matches in a row, conceding 28 goals in that time.

Their defensive display at the Emirates will give plenty of hope for owners of Manchester City assets ahead of the reigning league champions’ trip to the south coast on Saturday, though the Cherries are an altogether tougher prospect on home soil: Eddie Howe’s side have kept clean sheets in three of their last five matches at the Vitality Stadium and are unbeaten in that time.

Lys Mousset (£4.9m) poked home what turned out to be a consolation goal after an error from Matteo Guendouzi (£4.4m), while Ryan Fraser (£5.8m) wasted an excellent one-on-one opportunity in the first half.

It is now seven straight blanks for the Scottish midfielder, though the Cherries’ fixtures improve drastically from Gameweek 30 onwards and Callum Wilson (£6.3m) may be returning to fitness around that point.

One Bournemouth asset who is ahead of schedule in his recovery is David Brooks (£5.0m), who was an unused substitute last night and who may come into contention on Saturday.

Dominic Solanke (£4.7m) missed the defeat with a thigh injury, however.

Howe was bullish when asked if he would change his tactics:

No, I don’t see an alternative. We have to be better at delivering what we’re trying to do. We started poorly and you can’t start games in that manner against anyone. The ownership is fully on us, the style of play is not the issue it’s a combination of different things.

It [the away form] hasn’t been enjoyable at all and I speak on behalf of the players for that. Results have to change, they will at some point but we are giving everything to put things right.

Howe also commented on Mousset’s display:

He did OK, the team didn’t have a lot of the ball and we were reliant on the counter-attack, but he took his goal well. He did have other moments of joy but it was a tough night.

He’ll be judged on goals and those moments and he took it well, they look easy but they never are as easy as they look. But ultimately I can’t shell out too much individual praise on a tough night.

Arsenal XI (3-4-2-1): Leno; Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal; Jenkinson, Guendouzi, Torreira, Kolasinac (Iwobi 57′); Mkhitaryan (Lacazette 64′), Ozil; Aubameyang (Suarez 72′).

Bournemouth XI (4-4-2): Boruc; Clyne, Mepham, Ake, Smith (Rico 70′); Ibe (Daniels 56′), Gosling, Surman, Fraser (Surridge 80′); Mousset, King.

Southampton 2-0 Fulham

• Goals: Oriel Romeu (£4.2m), James Ward-Prowse (£5.1m)
• Assist: Nathan Redmond (£5.3m)

Fantasy managers who are planning on bringing in Chelsea assets ahead of Blank Gameweeks 31 and 33 would have been further encouraged by Fulham’s meek display at Southampton on Wednesday.

The Blues head to Craven Cottage on Sunday to face Claudio Ranieri’s strugglers, who have now conceded two or more goals in each of their last eight Premier League matches.

No top-flight club has conceded more goals, shots in the box or “big chances” than the relegation-threatened Londoners in 2019.

The Cottagers occasionally threatened on the south coast, with Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.5m) twice firing shots over from acute angles and Ryan Babel (£5.5m) hitting the bar with a deflected effort, but Angus Gunn (£4.3m) wasn’t seriously troubled by any of the visitors’ four shots on target.

Indeed, only West Ham (away at Manchester City) registered fewer penalty box touches than Fulham in Gameweek 28.

The fact that the “Tinkerman” has frequently switched personnel and formation in recent weeks suggests he is, several months into his appointment, still uncertain as to his best starting XI and system.

Ranieri chose what was surely a must-win game to trial a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond, bringing the likes of Kevin McDonald (£4.2m) and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (£4.4m) in from the cold, with the cries of “you don’t know what you’re doing” from the visiting support highlighting just how desperate the situation now is in west London.

The Fulham manager said after the match:

I played the diamond because they are used to playing in the middle and after if they don’t find a solution they go on the flank then make a cross and I want this because if I put the wingers, they are more powerful than my wingers and then we go always behind, behind, behind.

If I play with the diamond, I have two strikers and Cairney forward to try to do something.

Tonight, they [Southampton] first shoot at goal and score and I think when this happens the confidence goes down, we try to do our best but that’s it, the maximum my players can do.

There will perhaps be limited interest in Southampton assets over the coming month, with the Saints facing a Blank Gameweek 31 and matches against Manchester United, Spurs and Liverpool around it.

James Ward-Prowse (£5.1m) was perhaps the pick of Southampton’s players last night (registering three shots and as many key passes) and got on the scoresheet for the fourth time in seven Gameweeks, tucking home the rebound after Nathan Redmond‘s (£5.3m) shot had been saved.

Ralph Hasenhuttl hailed Ward-Prowse after the game:

I think he shows in every game that he’s not only a hard-working guy, but he can also come into positions where he has the chance to score.

Against Arsenal, he had two situations where he could score, so it’s not a coincidence that he’s scored four times – maybe he’s in a position that’s a little bit more offensive-orientated that allows him to score a little bit more.

He’s the complete package at the moment that fits perfectly in our game.

Budget FPL midfielder Oriel Romeu (£4.2m) had earlier opened the scoring when his shot found its way through a crowd of players following a half-cleared corner.

Having been deployed “out of position” as a central striker in recent weeks, Redmond was moved to a wider role in a 3-4-3 on Wednesday, with Ward-Prowse operating on the opposite flank.

The Southampton striker situation continues to give Hasenhuttl headaches, though: already without the injured Danny Ings (£5.4m) and Michael Obafemi (£5.0m), Charlie Austin (£5.5m) again failed to stake a convincing claim to the centre-forward role and it could well be that Redmond is moved back centrally when the Saints visit Old Trafford on Saturday.

Hasenhuttl said of his strike options ahead of last night’s match:

We have a few options in the back and I think Redmond showed that he can be a striker who scores. He is very flexible, and I am positive. I trust every player I have.

Longy has shown that he can score.

I think it’s also a part of quality that when you come on in a match and show that you can always be part of a scoring situation.

I think Chaz [Austin] showed this. He is a very good substitution player and I think it’s easy if you come in the game after 60 minutes when the opponent is a little bit tired.

You come in fresh and fully motivated and know that you can put some pressure on them.

Maya Yoshida (£4.1m) returned to the Saints defence for the first time since the Asian Cup, while Ryan Bertrand (£4.8m) was recalled at wing-back and looked a threat down the left flank.

Southampton XI (3-4-3): Gunn; Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard; Valery, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Austin (Long 64′).

Fulham XI (4-1-2-1-2): Rico; Odoi, Nordtveit, Ream, Bryan; McDonald (Sessegnon 69′); Chambers, Anguissa; Cairney (Vietto 69′); Mitrovic, Babel.