We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Burnley in our Scout Notes summary.
Any numbers you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture.
DE BRUYNE OUT FOR ‘A FEW WEEKS’
Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) will be out for “a few weeks” after suffering a hamstring injury against Burnley.
Despite starting brightly, the playmaker limped off after only 23 minutes to be replaced by Mateo Kovacic (£5.0m).
“It’s the hamstring again. Same position. I don’t know [how long he will be out] it depends on the magnitude of the injury but it will be a few weeks. Of course, he’s down because he fought a lot. He felt really good and I spoke with him. He wanted to start. To play for 45 minutes was the idea. Maybe it was a mistake. But when someone is injured after 15-20 minutes, it’s not about that, it’s about something wrong. If it happened after 60-65 minutes it could be fatigue of the muscle.
We have to talk with the doctor and with him. He has to free his mind and he’ll be back for sure. I remember one year I think in our second Premier League together he was injured for a long time. He knows a little bit what it’s like. He lost the final of the Champions League after 25 minutes. He felt really good and I spoke with him and he said he felt perfect. He wanted to start, play 45 or 50 minutes that was the idea. Unfortunately, it happened and of course he’s disappointed but he is strong and he will be back. He came back from that position and he will be back now.” – Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne
STONES/DIAS INJURY UPDATES
Man City were also without centre-back duo John Stones (£5.5m) and Ruben Dias (£5.5m) in Gameweek 1.
It’s understood that Stones has picked up an abductor injury, while Dias was missing with concussion.
“In training the other day, John [Stones] made a pass to Dias, he went too early in his run. Ruben has a tough concussion and the protocol of the Premier League says you need seven days off and that’s why he’s not here today.” – Pep Guardiola
There was, however, a positive update on Stones later in the evening, which suggests he ‘could’ be fit for next weekend’s clash against Newcastle United.
HAALAND’S BRACE
Erling Haaland (£14.0m) didn’t manage a shot at Wembley last weekend, but it took him just three minutes and four seconds to find the net at Turf Moor.
The Norwegian scored with his first touch of the match, before adding a second with an excellent left-footed strike into the top corner.
The latter was teed up by Julian Alvarez (£6.5m), who took on more of a creator role here, creating six chances for his team-mates. His previous best in a single match was two, with interest in the Argentinian set to pick up in light of De Bruyne’s injury.
As for Phil Foden (£7.5m), he was threatening running in behind all game and switched flanks following the injury, with Bernardo Silva (£6.5m) moving into a deeper-lying role in the middle.
Next up for Man City is Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla.
“We are still away from our best form but we have to try to not drop points in this period with this amount of games. How you solve this lack of preparation is a question of mentality. We were fortunate to break the game early with the goals from Erling [Haaland]. But after we created problems for ourselves, against man to man that was not correct.
There was a moment after 30-35 minutes when Julian [Alvarez], Bernardo [Silva], Mateo [Kovacic], Phil [Foden] dropped and we attacked with full backs on the outside and made a lot of passes. In the second half we were perfect trying to isolate Erling 1 on 1. The first game away against a newly-promoted team with the passion and love they have to be back in the Premier League, always it’s so tricky. We behaved exemplary. We gave away the ball in different positions but they showed the heart and passion.” – Pep Guardiola
BURNLEY UNDONE BY SET-PIECES
Vincent Kompany gave debuts to five summer signings against Man City and, as a result, warned before the match that his Burnley side would be at their “worst”.
Still, they did show flashes of why they won the Championship with 101 points last season.
Their six shots amounted to just 0.31 expected goals (xG), yet there were a few nervy moments for City, as Lyle Foster (£5.0m) and debutant Zeki Amdouni (£5.5m) threatened.
However, the Clarets were susceptible from set-pieces last season and conceded two from such situations here, which will interest owners of James Maddison (£7.5m), who faces Burnley in Gameweek 4.
Anass Zaroury (£5.0m), meanwhile, was sent off late on after a dangerous tackle on Kyle Walker (£5.0m). It was almost the last action of the game, with the previously announced six minutes of added time being extended to eight. That followed five minutes of injury time in the first half.
“We had five guys starting for the first time for the club, one guy starting his first debut in his career. Overall, we had chances, we knew it was going to be tough so I think we need to take the positives from this game. You can’t feel good with a defeat, but I have seen enough to know we have made progress since the last time we played them. This is going to be the worst we play this season; this team is only going to get stronger.” – Vincent Kompany
Burnley XI: Trafford, Roberts, Al Dakhil, O’Shea, Beyer (Benson 74), Vitinho, Koleosho (Larsen 61), Berge (Brownhill 90+1), Cullen, Foster (Redmond 90+1), Amdouni (Zaroury 61)
Manchester City XI: Ederson, Walker (McAtee 90+5), Akanji, Ake (Laporte 79), Lewis (Gvardiol 79), De Bruyne (Kovacic 23), Rodri, Bernardo, Alvarez, Foden, Haaland (Palmer 80)
10 months, 13 days agoWhen the Royal Commission commences, I fully expect to see Geoff, face pixelated and voice disguised, providing evidence of the time he was forced to play Soare against his will!