Continuing to rattle through the Gameweek 6 Scout Notes, now we focus on Manchester City 5-1 Burnley.
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HAULAND
There’s not much more needs to be written about Erling Haaland (£14.4m), so we’ll keep this brief.
His 16-point haul took him 30 points clear of Mohamed Salah (£14.5m), also stretching his lead at the top of the FPL table.
It was a close-run thing on Saturday, as it looked for a long time that a solitary assist for Matheus Nunes‘ (£5.3m) strike was going to be his only return in Gameweek 6. A 90th-minute brace later, he’s delivered his fifth return of 9+ points in six matches.
The Gameweek’s leading man – so far – for shots (seven), he is also second for xG (1.17).
Season-wide, those underlying stats are on a different planet to the rest of the league. Just look at his non-penalty xG (NPxG) figure compared to the other top players:
And, of course, he’s yet to get a single spot-kick this season so far!
IN PRAISE OF DOKU
Jeremy Doku (£6.5m) may well be in the form of his City career at present. He’s delivered a goal and four assists in his last four starts in all competitions, supplying two of his side’s goals on Saturday.
Tricking his way down the left flank and sometimes just barreling through defenders with the ball barely under control, he fired off three shots on target against Burnley, the first leading to an assist as Maxime Esteve (£4.0m) inadvertently prodded the rebound in. That was one of two own-goals from the luckless Burnley defender.
The Belgian winger later teed up Haaland for his first goal of the game.
Racking up a ridiculous 22 penalty box touches (by far the most of the weekend and more than eight teams managed in Gameweek 6!), Doku’s dribbling around the box caused havoc:
“I had the feeling that Jeremy, his decision-making in the final third, improved like, wow. Comparing in the past, making assists to Erling and the goals and seeing the channels. Of course, he has incredible threat against teams that have a low block and are deep. Jeremy is really, really important. When the team is more transitional, maybe he kind of struggles a little bit.” – Pep Guardiola on Jeremy Doku
Praise from Pep Guardiola, then, and well over 130,000 transfers in ahead of Gameweek 7.
We’ve been here so many times before with City midfielders – especially wingers – in FPL, of course. While he’s got momentum, and the lowish blocks of Brentford and Everton may be to his and Pep’s liking in the next two Gameweeks, will he be still as fancied against “transitional” teams like Bournemouth and Liverpool (and even still be in such good form) come early November?
Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) and Rayan Cherki (£6.3m) will be back then, too.
A fine short-term punt but little more than that at present.
NOTHING MUCH FOR FODEN + REIJNDERS
At least Doku delivered on Saturday. ‘Dual eights’ Phil Foden (£8.1m) and Tijjani Reinders (£5.6m) not only failed to return but also didn’t muster a single shot in the box between them, with the Dutchman reduced to three cracks from distance.
Foden would, of course, have tapped in had Esteve not put through his own net at 1-0. And he was frequently getting into the area – just look at the screenshot below left for Nunes’ goal. Haaland’s header could go backwards to an onrushing, unmarked Foden; instead it loops up apologetically for the right-back.
Below right, he’s again unmarked, arms outstretched, waiting for a cut-back that never comes.
He’ll probably start in Gameweeks 7 and 8, with tight-space alternatives in short supply, but like Doku and countless others, the medium-term risk is obvious.
ANOTHER RODRI INJURY WORRY
Just when it looked like he was ‘back’, having started three games in a week and delivered DefCon points against Arsenal, Rodri (£6.4m) disappears back off to the treatment room.
We await Pep’s next presser on Tuesday for more information but any length of absence would be a blow to City, especially at the rear.
The worry is that, as his manager confirmed on Saturday night, it’s the same knee that he suffered a torn ACL in last season.
“Rodri, yesterday in training, said, ‘I’m not able to play. I have a lot of pain in my knee. I cannot play. I cannot play’.
“And I said, ‘You cannot play. You don’t play. So another one is going to play.’
“I don’t know yet [how serious it is]. I don’t know.” – Pep Guardiola on Rodri
ANTHONY SCORES AGAIN!
Sitting a bewildering fifth in the FPL points standings is Jaidon Anthony (£5.6m).
His fourth goal of the season came on Saturday and while it took a deflection on the way in, he was there, bang centre of the box, ready to pounce.
We mentioned last week how Quilindschy Hartman‘s (£4.0m) width-offering from the left encourages Anthony to move closer to goal. True enough, it was Hartman who advanced down the City right to cross for Anthony on Saturday.
Among the top eight midfielders for big chances, xG and shots in the box this season, he’s certainly a nice old-fashioned attacking alternative to the DefCon-gobbling sub-£6.0m midfielders that most of us have looked at this season.
He’s got some decent fixtures coming up, too:
THE LATE BURNLEY WILT
Burnley were, again, plucky underdogs here, offering a bit of threat on the break. The first hour, especially, was impressive, with Haaland et al frustrated.
Not for the first time this season, however, they just couldn’t sustain it.
The xG was 0.87-0.45 after 57 minutes; it finished 2.38-0.45:
Indeed, nine of the 13 goals they’ve conceded this season have come from the 57th minute onwards.
As Haaland and Salah have shown in recent weeks, owning 90-minute men may be especially important when targeting fixtures against the Clarets.
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