Dugout Discussion
28 August 2026 769 comments
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Gameweek 2 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) kicks off with a re-run of the 2025 FA Cup final: Crystal Palace v Manchester City.

Kick-off in tonight’s encounter is at 20:00 BST.

That 1-0 success at Wembley was the Eagles’ only victory over City in the last 10 attempts. The Cityzens won this fixture 3-0 both home and away last season.

This is a match that Erling Haaland loves: he’s scored in all five of his previous league meetings with the south Londoners.

Naturally, all historic records are to be taken with a pinch of salt – especially with two new managers in the dugout this season.

TEAM NEWS

It’s straightforward enough team news for City, who make the one expected alteration: Rayan Cherki in for Rico Lewis.

Nico O’Reilly likely reverts to the ‘inverted full-back’ role, with Cherki coming in as the ’10’.

Marc Guehi appears to be in central midfield again.

That’s a spot that new signing Ayyoub Bouaddi will have designs on in the medium term but for now, he’ll have to make do with a place among the substitutes.

As for Palace, head coach Pierre Sage makes four alterations from the Gameweek 1 loss at Everton.

Two are enforced as Chadi Riad and, as rumoured on Friday afternoon, Jean-Philippe Mateta miss out due to injury.

Daniel Munoz and Dwight McNeil drop to the bench.

In come Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Anan Khalaili and Yeremy Pino.

LINE-UPS

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Canvot, Richards, Tomiyasu, Khalaili, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Nketiah, Strand-Larsen, Pino.

Subs: Benitez, Munoz, Disasi, Lerma, McNeil, Gozo, Hughes, Guessand, Mingueza.

Manchester City XI: Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Anderson, Guehi, Foden, Cherki, Semenyo, Haaland.

Subs: Rulli, Kovacic, Ait Nouri, Reis, Echeverri, Bouaddi, McAidoo, Braithwaite, Lewis.


LIVE GAMEWEEK PAGE + MATCH CENTRE

You can follow all the day’s action via the Live Gameweek page, which you can find in the all-new FPL Toolkit section.

Here you can follow the scores, watch the defensive contribution (DefCon) points roll in, see who the leading players are for xG and more as the games play out.

And there’s also the all-new Match Centre to explore.

A snapshot of this page is below; it’s basically a condensed version of the one in the Members Area.

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769 Comments Login to Post a Comment
  1. Moon Dog
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 1 Year
    1 hour, 41 mins ago

    Cherki swearing on Sky 😆

    1. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      1 hour, 11 mins ago

      Suspended for Coventry! 😀

    2. F4L
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 10 mins ago

      he reminds me abit of moutet

    3. Kevin and Perry go
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      1 hour, 8 mins ago

      Bless him he genuinely didn’t realise

  2. Sun Jihai
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    1 hour, 41 mins ago

    Semenyo 1 shot and 0.06 xG in both games so far, maybe not the best for the price

    1. Morrissey1986
      • 17 Years
      1 hour, 8 mins ago

      Just not involved enough from out wide lovely assist but never looked likely afterwards

    2. Bolivian Seaman
      • 15 Years
      1 hour, 7 mins ago

      maresca wants his wingers wide, and if doku doesn't play then semenyo has to be even wider

  3. Morrissey1986
    • 17 Years
    1 hour, 40 mins ago

    Seems to be running joke between Haaland & Cherki about Cherki giving him an assist!! Clearly speaking about FPL in the dressing room!

  4. Wolfman180
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    1 hour, 38 mins ago

    Planned in to WC this GW, however, I could to Isak, Mbuemo, Bruno, Semenyo to Haaland, Cherki, Palmer, Slater for -8 and save the WC potentially. Might just make this move and then see what happens in the other games

  5. Flynny
    • 11 Years
    1 hour, 38 mins ago

    Is haaland and cherki enough for the coventry game?

    Might even tc haaland

    1. TheTinman
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 37 mins ago

      Yes

    2. F4L
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 36 mins ago

      for sure imo

      its one game. theres no way coventry are as open as palace were today. that fourth goal was pretty appalling especially from a defensive pov

      1. Utopsis
        • 6 Years
        1 hour, 28 mins ago

        It's one game, but look at their next 3 home games in particular

    3. theshazly
      • 3 Years
      1 hour, 34 mins ago

      Yes

  6. Netters2018
    • 7 Years
    1 hour, 36 mins ago

    Sorry quick question.

    I took a -36 then clicked wildcard afterwards.

    I had 2 fts so do i get 1, 2 or 3 transfers in gw4?

    Thanks

    Thanks

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 16 mins ago

      2 fts in gw4 I believe

  7. theshazly
    • 3 Years
    1 hour, 36 mins ago

    Mbuemo to Cherki now before price rise tonight ?

    1. TheTinman
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 35 mins ago

      No dont chase 0.1 what if Mbuemo scores a hatty?

      1. Utopsis
        • 6 Years
        1 hour, 28 mins ago

        He'll still get his points

    2. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 34 mins ago

      Surely you can sell someone else? Mbeumo still great. One blank doesn’t ruin him

    3. The Knights Template
      • 12 Years
      1 hour, 28 mins ago

      No to knee-Cherking!

  8. TheTinman
    • 11 Years
    1 hour, 35 mins ago

    It is still too early to wc. If you're doing it already you fukkked up

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 14 mins ago

      Amen to this

    2. FPL_trail_runner
      • 6 Years
      1 hour, 14 mins ago

      Last years winner dissagrees.

      1. Mr Turnip 1
        • 1 Year
        1 hour, 11 mins ago

        GW2 wildcard works a lot better when your original team was utter trash and you get 5FTs mid-season…

      2. TheTinman
        • 11 Years
        1 hour, 11 mins ago

        Winning is mainly luck

        1. FPL_trail_runner
          • 6 Years
          11 mins ago

          Winning is luck for sure

          Finishing top 5-10k many times isnt. Going early if you see parts of the template isnt a bad move. Worse to stay on players who dont return and drop in price, and then you are losing value constantly.

    3. F4L
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 12 mins ago

      used to agree but genuinely think being able to save up to 5FTs now really mitigates the damage an early wc can do long term

      1. TheTinman
        • 11 Years
        1 hour, 9 mins ago

        Yeah i dont mind an early one, but GW3/4 after transfer window has closed and starting teams are established is better.

        1. The Tinkerman
          • 11 Years
          1 hour, 7 mins ago

          The window will be closed before GW3

          1. TheTinman
            • 11 Years
            1 hour, 5 mins ago

            Yeah but most new signings wont play GW3. More settled weak 4 or 5

    4. theshazly
      • 3 Years
      13 mins ago

      No

  9. Qaiss
    • 10 Years
    1 hour, 35 mins ago

    Btw for those buying Haaland this week

    You’ll want him to blank next week with all the triple captains

    1. Qaiss
      • 10 Years
      1 hour, 14 mins ago

      For those buying using a chip *

    2. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 13 mins ago

      Yup

      Still think it’s better to do it than not own him

    3. The Suspended One
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      1 hour, 11 mins ago

      diFFerENtiaLLLL

  10. The Suspended One
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    1 hour, 34 mins ago

    Haaland under 100 EO?

    Nobody watched the world cup?

  11. FPL_trail_runner
    • 6 Years
    1 hour, 34 mins ago

    Cherki went from 80% to 257% to rise between goal 1 and goal 2 somehow.

    1. Qaiss
      • 10 Years
      1 hour, 14 mins ago

      Price changes on fpl site are good

      Means the nerds can’t get an unfair advantage

    2. The Suspended One
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      1 hour, 12 mins ago

      maybe its the 90k people who bought him

      1. FPL_trail_runner
        • 6 Years
        20 mins ago

        Yes i got that, it was more the fact his transfers in didnt move much after goal 1, and then exploded after goal 2. Lots of knee jerking.

    3. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      1 hour, 11 mins ago

      Could be more expensive than Mbeumo come the next deadline! Crazy volume of transfers already

      1. Mr Turnip 1
        • 1 Year
        1 hour, 9 mins ago

        Don’t think price can rise more than 0.3 in one week

        1. Sun Jihai
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 14 Years
          1 hour, 6 mins ago

          Cherki will be 7.8m
          Mbeumo could be 7.7m, although probably won't drop as much as this

          1. Mr Turnip 1
            • 1 Year
            1 hour, 3 mins ago

            It takes A LOT of transfers to hit that 0.3 limit btw. Even a 0.2 change is rare in one week

  12. Mr Turnip 1
    • 1 Year
    1 hour, 32 mins ago

    Elliot Anderson is still a viable FPL pick it seems

    1. The Suspended One
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      1 hour, 12 mins ago

      for defcon..

      1. Mr Turnip 1
        • 1 Year
        1 hour, 10 mins ago

        Oh for sure it’s not the most exciting, but I didn’t really expect DefCons from him at City. He’s ticking along at about 0.25 xGI per 90 so far as well so some attacking returns will come too. He could be in for another very tidy season

  13. JBG
    • 8 Years
    1 hour, 30 mins ago

    No fcking way JP is a spy in GW2 -_-... this game

    1. Qaiss
      • 10 Years
      1 hour, 9 mins ago

      Only player that was underpriced tbh. So far

    2. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 7 mins ago

      A spy? Wdym?

      1. Zimo
        • 8 Years
        1 hour, 2 mins ago

        His points hurt your rank unless u captain him

      2. TheTinman
        • 11 Years
        1 hour, 2 mins ago

        He is over 100% effective ownership. So if you didnt captain he costs you points.

  14. Totalfootball
    • 9 Years
    1 hour, 29 mins ago

    I want to see tomorrows games before deciding on WC or not but the price changes are forcing my hand to pull the trigger 🙁
    What to do ?

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 9 mins ago

      Are they really forcing your hand? Couldn’t one of your planned players go to someone 0.5 cheaper for the sake of making sure you actually want to wc this early?

    2. Raoul Nogues
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 7 mins ago

      At first it's satisfying but you know you will regret it after

  15. HuttonDressedasLahm
    • 16 Years
    1 hour, 28 mins ago

    Mbuemo dropping too? Might have to pull the trigger

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 8 mins ago

      Mbeumo not dropping

    2. Flynny
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 7 mins ago

      Not tonight he won't. No where near

      Despite the urge best to wait

    3. TheTinman
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 1 min ago

      Who cares he is pretty much a season keeper

      1. George Sillett
        • 10 Years
        just now

        I doubt it .

  16. The Knights Template
    • 12 Years
    1 hour, 27 mins ago

    How many knee-Cherkers out there? C’mon, reveal yourselves!

    1. Flynny
      • 11 Years
      1 hour, 24 mins ago

      Holding knee tight

    2. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 24 mins ago

      I would be a knee-Cherker if it wasn’t more important to get Haaland.

      I’ve settled for picking him on FH3 instead, which was always the plan

    3. Raoul Nogues
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 24 mins ago

      I had him on GW1 of last season... not going back there

    4. GreennRed
      • 14 Years
      1 hour, 18 mins ago

      Yip. For Mbeumo. Here for a good time not a long one.

    5. GreennRed
      • 14 Years
      1 hour, 14 mins ago

      KT, is a native of Melbourne called a Melbournian?

      1. The Knights Template
        • 12 Years
        1 hour, 9 mins ago

        Yes

        1. GreennRed
          • 14 Years
          1 min ago

          Do you watch the AFL?

  17. Gudjohnsen
    • 9 Years
    1 hour, 25 mins ago

    Semenyo or Foden with Cherki and Haaland?

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 4 mins ago

      Gvardiol probably?

  18. Moon Dog
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 1 Year
    1 hour, 25 mins ago

    I've seen many FPL legends come and go over the years, from Shearer and Henry, to Salah & Haaland. We might be watching the rise of the next one in Rayan Cherki.

    1. Raoul Nogues
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 19 mins ago

      You can see some of Éden Hazard magic soletimes but he needs to prove he has tge consistency during a whole season

      1. Moon Dog
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 1 Year
        1 hour, 15 mins ago

        Yeah too soon to know with Cherki, but they do tend to spring up very quickly.

        I remember Bale and Kane explosions coming out of no where.

    2. ZeBestee
      • 12 Years
      1 hour, 19 mins ago

      He can be a legend if he can safeguards his professionalism, something players like him fail.

      1. Moon Dog
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 1 Year
        1 hour, 17 mins ago

        Talking of Hazard. He had zero professionalism. Horrible trainer apparently.

        Some players are just gifted with magic.

        1. ZeBestee
          • 12 Years
          1 hour, 13 mins ago

          Yeah he is amazing, lets see..

  19. The_FF_King
    • 13 Years
    1 hour, 24 mins ago

    Cantona could pull off that celebration.

    Cherki can’t. He’s just too ratty am I right?

  20. sk24
    • 8 Years
    1 hour, 23 mins ago

    Wirtz > Cherki tonight?!

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 2 mins ago

      If you have Haaland already and nothing ITB then I would tbh

    2. Ajax Hamsterdam
      • 12 Years
      59 mins ago

      What is Wirtz hauls v forest?

      1. Mr Turnip 1
        • 1 Year
        56 mins ago

        Then it probably won’t be sustainable with the early subs.

        I’m genuinely worried he could lose his place and Szob could go 10 with MacAllister in midfield if Liverpool continue to look so vulnerable on the counter

        1. Mr Turnip 1
          • 1 Year
          55 mins ago

          I’m a Wirtz owner btw

      2. Utopsis
        • 6 Years
        49 mins ago

        Cherki has already hauled. So Wirtz also hauling is unlikely to remove the desire to get him ahead of COV.

  21. Sun Jihai
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    1 hour, 23 mins ago

    With 115k transfers in already, Rayan Cherki looks on track to surpass the FPL transfer in record for a Man City midfielder set by Tijjani Reijnders in GW2 last season (1.2m).

    1. GreennRed
      • 14 Years
      1 hour, 2 mins ago

      Just kneeCherkers.

    2. Ajax Hamsterdam
      • 12 Years
      1 hour, 2 mins ago

      I'll have to suffer the price rise(s), no way I'm buying before the end of the gw

    3. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 2 mins ago

      Everyone will be making kneejerk moves now. It will slow down again midweek, then pick up again near the deadline.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened though

  22. Jstap94
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 2 Years
    1 hour, 22 mins ago

    What looks better at this point (obvs could change after tomorrow).

    A) Bruno and Isak to Slater and Haaland TC
    B) FH3 with Haaland, Foden and Cherki. Move to Haaland in 4 or 5

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour, 1 min ago

      I’m on B

      1. Mr Turnip 1
        • 1 Year
        1 hour, 1 min ago

        Haaland actually only on 0.4 xG tonight

        1. Utopsis
          • 6 Years
          59 mins ago

          That's usually enough for a hatty

          1. Mr Turnip 1
            • 1 Year
            58 mins ago

            He often slightly overperformance, but not by that much! XD

            1. Mr Turnip 1
              • 1 Year
              58 mins ago

              *overperforms

              1. Utopsis
                • 6 Years
                4 mins ago

                Bit tongue-in-cheek tbf! 😀

        2. Mr Turnip 1
          • 1 Year
          59 mins ago

          Allows me to bring in Chelsea gw4 vs Hull and not worry about an unpredictable Manchester derby. Utd always seem to do well in that game even when they’re trash vs everyone else and I think City might be quite vulnerable on the counter which is Utd’s main strength

  23. ZeBestee
    • 12 Years
    1 hour, 21 mins ago

    Did Bruno, Isak and Mbeumo to Haaland, Foden and Cherki. I have seen enough from City, even Foden will do very well and looks like Maresca loves him, always gets close to 90.

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      1 hour ago

      Yikes.

      GL

    2. Recency bias

      1. ZeBestee
        • 12 Years
        just now

        It could be but its Coventry next, and given I brought them for a hit, I was looking to maximize the points before WC soon.

    3. Yep it’s actually a sound plan

  24. Powers106
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    1 hour, 20 mins ago

    Obviously my season over already since I have Semenyo and Isak and no de Cuyper, but I really thought Semenyo would be a force, looks like he’s just checking the sideline chalk during the match

    1. Utopsis
      • 6 Years
      26 mins ago

      Maresca clearly wants him holding the width to make space for Haaland and whoever's in #10

      1. GreennRed
        • 14 Years
        24 mins ago

        He did tonight.

        1. Utopsis
          • 6 Years
          20 mins ago

          As well as GW1

          1. GreennRed
            • 14 Years
            12 mins ago

            Fair point but just points on the graph. Semenyo didn't impress, slow and cumbersome, compared to Foden and Cherki but a long season ahead for Maresca. He has and will need flexibility with positions. He wants balance and City results, he rates Semenyo's game tonight more than we look for from last season's FPL season. Was a better pick as the dominant Bournemouth attacker.

            1. Utopsis
              • 6 Years
              8 mins ago

              I think Semenyo is a phenomenal player, but he will get more assists than goals playing in this system.

              If the system changes, then yes I could look at him again. But for now, looks like making space and goals for Haaland is the instruction. Cherki said as much in his post-match interview.

              1. GreennRed
                • 14 Years
                1 min ago

                Yip. There's better value mids now, City and others.

    2. GreennRed
      • 14 Years
      26 mins ago

      Yip. Your season's gone. Ignore the remaining 36.9 GWs.

      1. Ajax Hamsterdam
        • 12 Years
        22 mins ago

        Surely he was being sarcastic???

        1. GreennRed
          • 14 Years
          20 mins ago

          You think so?

          1. Ajax Hamsterdam
            • 12 Years
            18 mins ago

            Actually not so sure lol

            1. Powers106
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 11 Years
              1 min ago

              Yes sarcasm mixed with the dread of a long season mired in the 8 millionths

    3. Jstap94
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 2 Years
      22 mins ago

      Its way to early to say it is over. You only ever need one differential haul to claw a bunch of ground back. Isak is a good player and could easily do well tomorrow. Semenyo could easily do well against Coventry, the sample size is too small

  25. FPL_trail_runner
    • 6 Years
    1 hour, 18 mins ago

    We are at game 1 of week 2, and already Haaland and Pedro are the top scoring forwards.

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      57 mins ago

      Let’s see if that’s still true by the end of gw2

    2. GreennRed
      • 14 Years
      57 mins ago

      11/380.That's that then.

  26. Totalfootball
    • 9 Years
    1 hour, 15 mins ago

    Mbeumo or Wirtz to Cherki ?

    1. Ajax Hamsterdam
      • 12 Years
      53 mins ago

      Wait until gw is over

    2. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      51 mins ago

      Deffo Wirtz with the early subs for me if you are picking one to sell

    3. Utopsis
      • 6 Years
      43 mins ago

      I like Liverpool fixtures, so Mbeumo for me

  27. Mr Turnip 1
    • 1 Year
    1 hour, 12 mins ago

    We should probably all remember that Palace were decimated tonight by wantaway players and injuries. This is probably a bit like the Villa game vs Brighton where you won’t get too many easier games all season. The score line probably flattered City slightly as well, even if the result did not. I know it’s Coventry next, but I don’t think we should expect City to score like this every week

    1. GreennRed
      • 14 Years
      50 mins ago

      What game did you watch? City could have scored 6 or 7.

      1. Mr Turnip 1
        • 1 Year
        45 mins ago

        The game where City got 1.5 xG. Just because something is a chance doesn’t mean it’s likely to go in. It’s very easy to estimate the likelihood of scoring a chance

        1. Mr Turnip 1
          • 1 Year
          44 mins ago

          * overestimate

        2. GreennRed
          • 14 Years
          37 mins ago

          You didn't watch the match. The xG was well underestimating rather than City outperforming it. One is an algorithm, the other a well organised team of human elite athletes. Palace defence was poor and an algorithm can't reflect the random factor of Cherki. Palace's attack was also brutal. Down the right, great positions, brutal crosses. One very good cross and Nketiah was asleep. Palace should improve but there's a hill to climb.

    2. FPL_trail_runner
      • 6 Years
      50 mins ago

      Agreed, but its all about identifying who can be targeted for such scores. Pity we didnt have any news on Cherki prior to kickoff was too risky with his potential benching to go there.

      Coventry , Fulham , Palace , all long vulnerable currently, Chelsea and United also could be giving up goals.

  28. leo_messi
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    1 hour, 10 mins ago

    Is Gvardiol nailed??

    1. JBG
      • 8 Years
      18 mins ago

      Probably

    2. Moon Dog
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 1 Year
      14 mins ago

      The early sub has me spooked. But heard he was limping. So maybe he is nailed, just still building fitness...

      But I don't understand how Dias(C), Guehi, Gvardiol, O'Reilly fit together with all these big midfielders coming in for City. Rotation is a concern, and City haven't looked water tight yet...

      Glad I'm not WCing this week. Too many questions still...

    3. Utopsis
      • 6 Years
      14 mins ago

      Yes

  29. jonnybhoy
    • 13 Years
    1 hour, 9 mins ago

    Got exact cash and tempted to do the following, thoughts?

    Ndiaye, Bruno + N Williams to O'reilly, Palmer + Szoboslai -4pts.

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      48 mins ago

      Buying Palmer for a hit ahead of Arsenal away? Not for me

    2. Sun Jihai
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      41 mins ago

      Wouldn't do a -4 before all the other teams have played for the current GW

      I'm actually looking to sell NOR btw!

  30. MIGHTY JOE
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    1 hour, 9 mins ago

    So is this a FH or WC…?

    Lammens Roefs
    Maguire Gvardiol Gabriel Calafiori Branthwaite
    Ndiaye Bruno Foden Ødegaard Wirtz
    Thiago Pedro Brobbey

    1. Mr Turnip 1
      • 1 Year
      46 mins ago

      You have two City already. I think I’d go Bruno and Thiago to Haaland and Slater and TC Haaland. I wouldn’t FH or WC that this week

      1. MIGHTY JOE
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        1 min ago

        Appreciate the tip! Will definitely consider it.