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Here, five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman talks about Man City and his short-term transfer plans.
“Our display was almost perfect from the first minute to 93 in the way we played against a team who was our biggest rival in the last few seasons.” – Pep Guardiola
Manchester City picked apart Liverpool on Saturday, converting all four big chances, with two players, in particular, catching my eye from an FPL perspective.
JOHN STONES
In his last two Premier League outings, plus the 7-0 win over RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League, John Stones (£5.4m) has been used alongside Rodri (£5.6m) in defensive midfield, in a role reminiscent of Rico Lewis’ (£3.9m) earlier in the season.
Pep Guardiola has always liked one of his full-backs to wander into midfield in possession, and for now, it does feel like he is willing to trust Stones in this role.
“It’s not easy for him. I thought when I arrived that he has the quality to play there. It is different when you see all the game in front of you. In that position he is surrounded from Henderson, Salah, Fabinho, Elliott, Gakpo. He is surrounded like a bubble. To play there is not really easy. You have to have a lot of personality. A lot may be difficult, but alongside Rodri and Nathan [Ake] and Ruben [Dias], they helped us to understand the process.” – Pep Guardiola on John Stones
There has been a lot of changes to the Man City backline this season, but they have now kept five clean sheets in their last six matches in all competitions, with Stones, Manuel Akanji (£5.0m), Ruben Dias (£5.9m) and Nathan Ake (£5.0m) preferred of late, only missing the FA Cup win over Burnley.
When Stones’ touch heatmaps from Gameweeks 29 (left) and 27 (right) are compared, we can see is allowed to venture quite far forward, with a lot of his touches coming in the opposition half.
Stones looks very comfortable in this role. He rarely loses the ball, and with Southampton up next, who are having problems defending set-pieces (an area Stones often thrives in), he is a player I’d like to bring in.
JACK GREALISH
Jack Grealish (£6.8m) is in his best form for Man City at present.
Like so many new signings under Guardiola, he struggled to convince at first but has now started 10 league games in a row and produced an excellent performance against Liverpool on Saturday, with a goal and assist.
“I love it, man. I love football, I love playing, I love training. When it’s going well like this there’s nothing better. I feel back to my normal self, I’m playing with confidence, I feel fit. Scoring today and getting the assist is perfect.” – Jack Grealish
“All this season he has been playing really well. Now it’s the Jack we thought. Aston Villa fans know this Jack. Nothing changed it’s just a question of believing ‘I am part of that, and I can be here’. Now he has more minutes. The way he behaved in the beginning when he was not playing was exceptional. We are so satisfied for his performance. Today was amazing, he was really good. I like the standing ovation from our fans. He really deserved it.
Not just that, all season he has been playing well. Football is more than stats, it’s many things. The way he gives us the tempo to play and to make extra passes. I could not imagine with the big name he is and the price the club paid to have this humility to run like a teenager. That means a lot to me and the team. At the same time, he has to score more goals at home. Definitely.” – Pep Guardiola on Jack Grealish
Grealish now looks fully at home in Guardiola’s team and the attacking returns have been flowing quite nicely since the World Cup, with three goals and six assists in 12 starts (from a possible 14).
He has gone under the radar somewhat, with his ownership sitting at just 2.4%, but I’m finding it increasingly hard to ignore Grealish, given his strong all-round numbers from Gameweek 17 onwards:
