We’ll be ‘Scouting the Doubles’ for the teams playing twice in Gameweek 37, identifying the pick of the players for Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Following our looks at Chelsea and Manchester United, as well as opposition weaknesses, attention now turns to Manchester City in this, the final instalment of a four-part series.
We’ve again been using Opta data from our Premium Members Area, where you can still ‘try before you buy’ with a free trial.
FIXTURES IN DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 37
This pairing would be deemed a tricky set of fixtures for most other clubs but Man City have just demolished Real Madrid 4-0 so won’t fear anyone right now. Chelsea are having a mediocre campaign, Brighton and Hove Albion are a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ team of late and, although Brentford won the reverse fixture 2-1 at the Etihad, star forward Ivan Toney‘s (£7.2m) ban means he won’t be around to repeat the brace.
Another big complication for FPL managers is that Pep Guardiola’s side could be crowned champions after the Chelsea match – either through their own victory or Arsenal losing at Nottingham Forest beforehand.
As explored in Neale’s look at previous late-season ‘Pep Roulette’ situations, it’s likely that most Man City players won’t play in all three remaining league matches. There is an FA Cup final and Champions League final coming up – Pep tends to use Gameweek 38 to go fairly strong and build rhythm but the trip to Brighton could see heavy rotation.
ATTACKING NUMBERS
| Total (rank v other clubs) | |
| Goals | 92 (1st) |
| Shots | 555 (4th) |
| Shots in the box | 376 (4th) |
| Shots on target | 206 (1st=) |
| Big chances | 126 (1st) |
| Expected goals (xG) | 75.53 (1st) |
| Non-penalty expected goals (xG) | 67.65 (1st) |
We know how it is with this exceptional Man City team – so many goals. They lead the way for most team attacking stats, such as shots on target, big chances and minutes per chance.
Curiously, they’re only fourth-best for taking shots and from inside the box but 37.1% of attempts are on target – a rate only bettered by Brentford. Their 16.6% goal conversion rate is number one.
Their expected goals (xG) delta of +16.47 suggests huge overachievement but is most likely explained by having such a high-quality set of players.
On 20 occasions, Man City have scored at least three times.
DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
