Dugout Discussion

City players missing with COVID-19 revealed as fit-again Ziyech returns

A Manchester City squad hit by injury and illness take on Chelsea in the second of today’s two Premier League fixtures.

Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 16:30 GMT.

The visitors are missing six of their squad because of COVID-19 positive tests.

The unavailability of Kyle Walker (£6.1m) and Gabriel Jesus (£9.1m) we were already aware of, while social media posts from Ederson (£6.0m) and Tommy Doyle (£4.4m) all but confirmed that they too were among those self-isolating.

Ferran Torres (£6.9m) and Eric Garcia (£4.7m) have reportedly been added to that list, with the latter still struggling with injury, too.

Despite the shortage of options, Sergio Aguero (£10.3m) is still only among the substitutes for this afternoon’s fixture.

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen (£4.4m) makes his Premier League debut as Pep Guardiola makes three changes to the City side that beat Newcastle 2-0 in Gameweek 15.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.5m) and Phil Foden (£6.2m) are also recalled, with Ederson, Torres and Nathan Ake (£5.4m) dropping out.

Ake is absent because of “fitness issues”, while Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m) misses out because of a tight hamstring.

Benjamin Mendy (£5.9m) is on the bench, despite his off-field misdeeds.

Frank Lampard makes five changes to the Chelsea team that drew 1-1 at home to Aston Villa last Monday.

Timo Werner (£9.2m) is recalled, while Hakim Ziyech (£8.1m) makes his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury in early December.

Thiago Silva (£5.6m), Kurt Zouma (£5.8m) and Mateo Kovacic (£5.3m) also return to the side.

Reece James (£5.2m) is again absent through injury, while Olivier Giroud (£6.7m), Andreas Christensen (£4.7m), Antonio Rudiger (£4.7m), Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.7m) and Jorginho (£4.7m) drop out of the starting XI.


Chelsea XI: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Thiago Silva, Chilwell, Kanté, Kovacic, Mount, Pulisic, Werner, Ziyech.

Manchester City XI: Steffen, Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Foden, Bernardo, Sterling

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2,436 Comments Post a Comment
  1. diesel001
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    One thing about Dias is he actually likes to head the ball. City been missing someone like that since Kompany left.

    1. Steve The Spud
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Yes, they’ve needed a komoany type for a while instead of clowns like otomendy

      1. diesel001
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Seems to be an organiser too. Always pointing and telling the players in front of him where they need to be.

    2. Make United Great Again
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Spot on

  2. Steve The Spud
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Aguero hobbling

  3. Right In The Stanchion
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Mahrez coming on and taking my Soucek points

    1. Salah’s Sonnet
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Music to my ears lmfao

      1. Right In The Stanchion
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Mate you got a buttplug for Christmas.

        1. Salah’s Sonnet
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          I did!! Even engraved off ya mother lmao!

      2. MIGHTY JOE
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Wow!! Love it

        1. Salah’s Sonnet
          • 12 Years
          3 years, 2 months ago

          Couldn’t happen to a better person lmao! What a loser

  4. HNI
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Would you rather have Grealish + Robbo or Kdb + Kyle Peters(-4) in dgw and son forth

  5. ⚔★Vibudh★⚔
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    A) GW 18 : Salah to KDB(C) for a hit and and GW 19 : KDB to Salah, keep DCL on BB

    B) GW 18 : No hit(go with only Gundogan as City attacker and Bruno(C)
    GW19: DCL to Martial/Ings with FT

    1. Vazza
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      A without a doubt

  6. Paul Psychic Octopus
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Has Mahrez slept with Pep's wife or something? Cannot get hardly any minutes of games time, despite the Festive schedule and congested fixtures.

    1. HNI
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Nope, he had fling in November with his niece though...

  7. Woy_is_back
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Time for a TAA haul tommorrow

    1. Forever In Our Shadow
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      I hope so.

    2. Top Lad Dakes.
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Salah and Robbo show

    3. Salan
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Hope you are right.

  8. Hazz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    KDB/Brewster > Vardy/Soucek success.

    Oh wait, I benched Soucek 😀

    Blasted Chelsea bias in me!

  9. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Werner 😆

    Hahja

  10. fusen
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Dias hasn't moved off 29 BPS for about 10 minutes.

  11. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Hilarious

    1. The Train Driver
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Stop spamming

  12. blind faith
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Another Free Hit question, extending from an earlier post.

    What if I use a free transfer to transfer Adams in now (for the DGW) and then use my Free Hit to make a team for blank week. Will Adams still be there after?

    1. Bobby Digital
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      No

      1. blind faith
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Well that's annoying. Thought I'd found a sneaky loophole. Crafty FPL people ruining my fun!

    2. Forever In Our Shadow
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      No. You now will be your team in 19.

  13. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Werner hahahaha

    Omg

  14. Top Lad Dakes.
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Can’t really see a viable way to get 2 starters in for BB19 (preferably want Stones as the defender) without a further downgrade somewhere - the likes of Robbo or Son. 1.7 ITB rn

    Martinez Areola
    Robbo Coufal Dallas Pieters Mitchell
    Salah KDB Bruno Son Soucek
    Bamford Watkins Davis

    1. It’s gonna Ben Mee
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Pieters > Stones

      1. Top Lad Dakes.
        • 7 Years
        3 years, 2 months ago

        Doesn’t solve the Mitchell Davis problem. And then would have to play Stones over Coufal/Soucek/Dallas

  15. The Train Driver
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    102 points all out! Had a horrible season, what a breathe of fresh air...

    1. TyroneGAA
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Class

    2. Forever In Our Shadow
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Nice

    3. Iwantmorepointsthanks
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Congrats!

    4. DARK SIDE OF THE LOON
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      95 with Salah to play. I hope it happens.

    5. Big boy Bowen
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Big green arrow, enjoy

  16. EmreCan Hustle
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    OMG Werner. Nothing going right for him

  17. Right In The Stanchion
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Werner just injured himself taking a corner

  18. La Roja
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Oh dear timo

  19. Bruce Lee
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Werner Motm?

  20. Royal5
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Werner 😆

  21. Steve McCroskey
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    If anyone is going to mess up defensively it's going to be Zinchenko isn't it.

  22. Steager
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    on a WC.

    Alioski and Gundogen

    or

    Coufal and Soucek

    1. EmreCan Hustle
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Alioski and Soucek

    2. mr messi
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      The latter

    3. JJO
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      B

  23. Steve The Spud
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Werner confidence must be rock bottom

    1. have you seen cyan
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Cant believe what a flop he has been, so over-hyped pre season. People like Camzy wanted Havertz and Werner from GW1 xD

  24. Gudge
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Hi all,

    I would appreciate some advice please for dgw19 here’s my current team.

    McCarty Forster
    Robertson stones Dallas cancelo coufal
    Son grealish Fernandes salah soucek
    Kane bamford Davis

    I would ideally like to get de Byrne in if possible and I’m thinking the following

    A- Kane grealish > de Byrne Watkins/Adams -4
    B- grealish Davis > raphina Watkins/Adams -4
    C- stick with what I got
    D - any suggestions

    Thanks

  25. That Was Easy!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Contrarian WC18 BB19 seems quite intriguing.

  26. Kodap
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Werner hahahaha

  27. Ajax Hamsterdam
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Cant believe I am considering foden again haha

    1. Forever In Our Shadow
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 2 months ago

      Bad but imo.

  28. Forever In Our Shadow
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Blow that whistle ref.

  29. el polako
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Suffering of young Werner.

  30. McSauce
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 2 months ago

    Best pick for GW 18

    A) Saiss
    B) Holding
    C) Bailly