FPL notes: Haaland relief + why De Bruyne was benched

The key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Brentford are covered in this Scout Notes article.

HAALAND WINNER

Erling Haaland (£14.4m) banished the memory of his poor performance against Chelsea by netting the winner on Tuesday, much to the delight of those who Triple Captained him.

The goal finally arrived on 71 minutes, when he got on the end of a lovely Julian Alvarez (£6.7m) pass.

While there may have been disappointment at not adding a second (he later scored again but the flag went up for offside), a 10-point return in Double Gameweek 25 is nothing to be sniffed at.

However, it could have been so much more, having racked up a combined 15 shots and 2.44 expected goals (xG) across his two fixtures.

Above: Erling Haaland’s xG shot map in Double Gameweek 25

“If I had to choose one [striker for that moment] I prefer to choose this one. When I was young, I was told about top strikers, don’t criticise them because he will shut your mouth, that’s for sure. Sooner or later always they are there.

“He was out for two months [injured]. He had an incredibly tough week last week, he lost his grandmother and it’s not easy for a human being. But he scored when he’s not in his best shape at the moment. He’s so tall, out for two months.

“We spoke about the moment but he didn’t say anything about the passing of his grandmother. We talked a little about how he feels and of course [it was tough] for his father. In these types of games, especially against Brentford you need Erling.” – Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland

This wasn’t a great Man City display by any stretch but they got the job done.

Of the 25 shots they attempted, Phil Foden (£8.1m) took six and looked a threat coming in from the right with Kyle Walker (£5.5m) overlapping.

As for Alvarez, he remains the only Man City player to have started every Premier League game this season and is now up to nine assists – only Ollie Watkins (£8.7m), Pedro Neto (£5.7m) and Kieran Trippier (£6.9m) have claimed more.

WHY DE BRUYNE REMAINED ON THE BENCH

Kevin De Bruyne (£10.8m) was an unused substitute for Man City after reporting a slight “niggle” in his hamstring.

Pep Guardiola later confirmed that he took no risks with the playmaker, having previously missed five months of the campaign with a serious hamstring injury.

“Today we can’t use Kevin because he has a niggle in his hamstring and we didn’t want to take any risks.

“He’s OK. It’s more prevention than anything.

“The doctor said it’s a little uncomfortable so after five months out so we don’t want to take any risk.” – Pep Guardiola on Kevin De Bruyne

FRANK: “WE ARE BACK ON TRACK”

Brentford were much more organised than they were in the heavy defeat against Liverpool at the weekend.

They were disciplined throughout and posed a threat on the counter, with Ivan Toney (£8.2m) a handful and strike partner Yoane Wissa (£5.6m) using his pace to make dangerous runs in behind.

The only thing lacking was end product, with central midfielder Frank Onyeka (£4.9m) particularly wasteful.

Still, the counter-attack threat was always there, making Man City look open in transition.

Goalkeeper Mark Flekken (£4.5m) impressed, too.

He racked up nine saves in total and claimed five points, having secured one bonus for his actions.

“We were perfect, we were just unlucky. The players deserve so much praise for a top defensive performance. We only gave two chances away before the goal. We were very good defensively.

“I thought we really created some dangerous situations that lacked the final spark.

“The Wolves game was very good defensively in many ways. We needed the top level again defensively so we stepped forward. We are back on track I would say.” – Thomas Frank