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Here, two-time Indian FPL champion Lateriser looks at Manchester City’s best FPL options for their great fixture run.
Manchester City are a team that a lot of FPL managers will be targeting in the next few Gameweeks – especially if, like me, you will Free Hit in Gameweek 32.
This is how their schedule currently looks:
They have a great run of fixtures until the end of the season but are also involved in the Champions League and the FA Cup, meaning that Pep Guardiola’s rotation is always going to loom.
In case you were even remotely worried about their underlying numbers, they are top of the league for minutes per expected goals (xG) and minutes per expected goals conceded (xGC) since the Gameweek 17 restart. Given those fixtures, their players will top the shopping lists of many managers until the end of the season.
Let’s have a quick look at their minutes since the restart:
Erling Haaland (£12.0m) basically plays when fit and, despite his recent groin problems, I think you simply just get him when fit. He has been pictured in training but we’ll get more clarity after Guardiola’s press conference on Friday.
TRANSFORMED GREALISH
The name that stands out is Jack Grealish (£6.9m), who has gotten into the line-up and made it his place to keep. This is what Guardiola had to say about him after the last game:
“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.”
From a minutes perspective, he looks very secure at the moment having started the last 10 league games plus both legs against RB Leipzig. Now that makes you wonder whether he might be rested in the ‘easier’ league games but that is always the risk with a Man City asset. I’m not too worried about it at the moment because they’re very much in a title race.
Additionally, I like the last line where Pep mentions he has to score more goals at home because for me Grealish at Man City player has always been a better player in real life than in FPL. Now let’s have a look at the numbers of City players since restart:
That is all from me this week, I hope this article helped you. On a personal note, my last couple of FPL weeks haven’t been fun. Players with decent underlying numbers but no points.
This is how Gameweek 29 treated me, where you have no other option but to shrug your shoulders and move on. I had a green arrow from 230k to 195k but feel very underwhelmed with where I am ranked. It is what it is.
On an exciting note, we have fellow Pro Pundit Pras joining Zophar and I on this week’s episode of The FPL Wire, which you can view here.
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