The FPL Eye Test: Who are the best Man City players for Gameweek 36?

Stevie of EyeTestFPL casts the spotlight on more Fantasy Premier League (FPL) options that have caught his attention, using ‘eye test’ screenshots and information from our Premium Members Area.

Manchester City, who are among 12 teams to ‘double’ in Gameweek 36, are the focus of his latest piece.

It is extremely difficult to predict Pep Guardiola’s line-up on a match-to-match basis as the Catalan coach often picks a team not only tailored to the opposition but with an eye on minutes in between domestic and UEFA Champions League games.

Due to the amount of rotation expected across Wednesday’s tie in Madrid and then in Double Gameweek 36, I am going to focus on the more ‘nailed-on’ assets and exclude the likes of Gabriel Jesus (£8.6m) and Riyad Mahrez (£8.6m), who despite being in great form, might be rotated interchangeably on the right flank.

Talismanic Kevin De Bruyne

In spite of his weekend benching (or even because of it, as his occasional ‘rest’ is now out of the way), Kevin De Bruyne (£11.9m) is, in my opinion, Manchester City’s best asset to own given the amount of influence he exerts on the whole team.

As evident in Gameweek 33 when playing against a rather expansive Brighton team, the Belgian was at his devastating best when released on fast breakaways.

When given the space, he always looked to make runs towards the half-space area, exposing the full-back’s blindside.

However, given how Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are expected to shut up shop defensively against City in Gameweek 36, the amount of space in behind for De Bruyne to exploit is likely to be reduced.

Despite this, as evident from his inch-perfect delivery to assist Gabriel Jesus, the Belgian playmaker is more than capable of unlocking any low-block defence. 

Having created a league-high tally of 11 chances over the last four Gameweeks, almost every passage of play has come through De Bruyne and he is very likely to be involved in City’s goals one way or another.

After a dip in form in the opening half of the campaign, his Fantasy goal involvement stands at 46% in 2022 – meaning that, when he’s been on the pitch, he has scored or assisted almost half of the reigning champions’ goals this calendar year.

Above: The FPL goal involvement of premium midfielders in 2022. De Bruyne is nearly level with Riyad Mahrez and Son Heung-min, with Diogo Jota the only player featured who has an FPL goal involvement of over 50%.

Multi-functional Phil Foden