Assessing the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth and Crystal Palace 4-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers, including Kevin De Bruyne‘s (£9.6m) Etihad farewell, it’s our final Gameweek 37 Scout Notes.
DE BRUYNE’S ETIHAD GOODBYE
In his final Etihad appearance before his summer departure, Kevin De Bruyne so nearly marked the occasion with a goal.
His close-range effort, however, which carried an expected goals (xG) value of 0.82, somehow clattered off the bar.
On an emotional night, De Bruyne was heavily involved, with three shots and two chances created.
Still, it wasn’t to be, with the playmaker departing on 68 minutes following Mateo Kovacic’s (£5.4m) red card.
“I wanted to play with creativity, I wanted to play with passion. I wanted to enjoy football and I hope everyone enjoyed it.” – Kevin De Bruyne
Instead, goals from Omar Marmoush (£7.4m), Bernardo Silva (£6.1m) and substitute Nico Gonzalez (£6.0m) kept City’s UEFA Champions League destiny in their own hands.
Marmoush’s strike was an absolute belter from 30 yards out, his third goal from outside the box since joining the club.
There was further good news, too, with Rodri (£6.2m) making his long-awaited return as a second-half substitute. He replaced Erling Haaland (£14.9m) on 82 minutes, who registered just one shot on goal and has now blanked in back-to-back Gameweeks.
City looked more dynamic than they did in the FA Cup final, but they were careless at the back in the closing stages, with Daniel Jebbison (£4.5m) wiping out the clean sheet.
Elsewhere, Josko Gvardiol (£6.5m) was deployed at left-back, but Savinho (£6.0m) couldn’t even make it into the matchday squad. No injury has been reported, either.
“I said to the club I don’t want that [a bigger squad]. I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay. It’s impossible for my soul to give my players in the tribune [stands] that they cannot play. Now it happened to add players immediately.
“Maybe [for] three, four months we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After people come back but next season it cannot be like that. As a manager I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club. I don’t want that.” – Pep Guardiola
City’s UEFA Champions League qualification is now in their own hands ahead of Sunday’s trip to Craven Cottage, where a point will be enough to secure a top-five finish.
BOURNEMOUTH OUT OF RACE FOR EUROPE
Bournemouth, however, are out of the race for Europe.
Brighton and Hove Albion will now finish eighth if they get a draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, while Brentford will be hoping the Seagulls slip up.
Crucially, there are still two ways that the eighth-place team can qualify for the UEFA Conference League:
- Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League
- Chelsea finish sixth and win the Conference League, while Newcastle finish seventh
On Tuesday, Andoni Iraola recalled Justin Kluivert (£5.9m) to his starting XI, but the Dutchman was hooked at half-time after an ineffective first 45 minutes.
The Cherries showed a bit of threat on the counter in the early stages, mainly down the left, but after that initial surge, there was a lack of spark, with no fluency or pattern to their play.
Evanilson (£5.8m) came the closest to scoring when he hit the post after being played in by Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m).
Still, it was a poor overall display, with Lewis Cook (£5.0m) sent off for serious foul play.
A home fixture against already-relegated Leicester City at least provides a chance for Bournemouth to finish strongly on Sunday.
GLASNER’S DEPUTIES IMPRESS
Fresh from winning the FA Cup, Oliver Glasner made six changes to his line-up, with fringe players such as Ben Chilwell (£4.6m), Romain Esse (£4.7m) and Eddie Nketiah (£5.9m) handed starts.
Eberechi Eze (£7.0m) and Jean-Phillipe Mateta (£7.5m) were among those dropping to the bench as a result, but it didn’t seem to matter, with Glasner’s deputies stepping up.
With plenty of room down the left, Chilwell and Esse showed real promise.
Chilwell, whose deflected free-kick gave Palace a two-goal cushion, racked up three shots and two chances created, while Esse supplied a pair of assists.
Nketiah, meanwhile, only had one Premier League goal this season before Tuesday, but had two in the space of five first-half minutes here.
Ismaila Sarr (£5.6m), who started with Daniel Munoz (£5.2m), also got in on the act with an assist, and there was late joy for Eze owners, too, when he put the match beyond reach with a signature run and finish.
Eze has now scored in four consecutive Premier League games.
Any chance of there being an FA Cup hangover were well and truly put to bed, then, with Palace running out deserved winners.
In doing so, they have achieved their highest-ever Premier League points tally. That’s despite failing to win any of their first eight matches.
PEREIRA: “I WANT TO ANALYSE PLAYERS FOR NEXT SEASON”
The visitors had 10 days to prepare for this fixture, but that didn’t stop Vitor Pereira from also freshening up his starting XI, with Matheus Cunha (£7.1m) the most notable absentee.
The Brazilian was one of six changes from Gameweek 36, the most Wolves have made from one match to another this season.
Explaining his process, Pereira said:
“Because they deserve [it]. We are in a moment of the season that I must give minutes for some players because they deserve with the work that they give all the season. And because I want to see players on the pitch to analyse to think about the next season.” – Vitor Pereira
In contrast to Palace, the changes failed to pay off, however.
“My team is one with organisation and tactical maturity. Today there were too many mistakes for one game.” – Vitor Pereira
Wolves did at least score a couple, with both goals arriving from corners, a surprise given that they had only scored three from such situations before Tuesday.
Pereira’s troops grabbed the opener through Emmanuel Agbadou (£4.0m), before Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.2m) peeled away from his marker and powerfully headed into the net.
Strand Larsen has now scored 14 Premier League goals this season without penalties.
As for Cunha, he emerged from the bench on 67 minutes and was busy, registering three shots and two chances created.
It’s also worth noting there was a slight tweak in the system at the break, with Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.1m) moving over to the right flank after a poor first-half showing from fellow wing-back Rodrigo Gomes (£5.1m).
Jose Sa (£4.4m), meanwhile, missed out altogether, with Pereira’s post-match interviews failing to provide an update. The Express & Star did suggest he was rested rather than injured, however.
