Liverpool and Manchester City were involved in high-scoring home victories in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on Tuesday.
As ever, we’re here to dissect what these European ties mean from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
We start, in this article, with City.
The stats and graphics in this article come from our UCL Match Centre.
GOALS/ASSISTS
| Result | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Man City 5-1 AEK | Anderson, Foden x3, Cherki | Fernandez, Lewis x2, Foden, McAidoo |
SELECTION/ROTATION
| Team | No. of starting XI changes made from GW7 | Players who kept their places (mins played) | Mins for other players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man City | 8 | Donnarumma (90), Foden (90), Dias (83) | Lewis (90), Khusanov (90), Anderson (90), Allan (90), Cherki (90), Gvardiol (72), Fernandez (72), Samba (62), McAidoo (28), Ait-Nouri (18), Reis (18), Braithwaite (7) |
MAN CITY
- The obvious place to start is Erling Haaland (£15.7m), who was among the substitutes against AEK. He didn’t get onto the pitch but the fact that he made the matchday squad was a good sign for Gameweek 8 – and Enzo Maresca’s pre- and post-match comments further eased concerns.
“No, no injury. It’s just to manage a little bit [his] minutes.” – Enzo Maresca on Erling Haaland, speaking before Tuesday’s win over AEK Athens
“Yeah, he’s okay. He’s okay to start on Saturday. As I said, we had five, six players on the bench that they were ready to go inside, but at the same time, they had a rest. That is good.” – Enzo Maresca on Erling Haaland, speaking after Tuesday’s win over AEK Athens
- And there were rests for plenty of other players, too. Maresca made eight alterations from Gameweek 7, with Phil Foden (£6.8m) and Ruben Dias (£5.5m) the only outfield survivors.
- Iliman Ndiaye (£5.8m) and Jeremy Doku (£7.5m) were among the others who didn’t kick a ball, which suggests they were being held back for Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa. Antoine Semenyo‘s (£8.3m) two-month lay-off looks set to present them with increased game-time between now and mid-December, and breathers here were a welcome.
- The spanner in the works? Foden’s performance on Tuesday night. The England international started on the right flank, and went on to plunder a hat-trick. Yes, two of his goals did come after he had switched to a centre-forward role on the hour, but with Haaland expected back against Aston Villa, how does Maresca accommodate the versatile midfielder – if at all – in Gameweek 8? Operating in the hole instead of Rayan Cherki (£8.0m) is one option, but the mercurial Frenchman was at his best on Tuesday, so the City boss faces a welcome headache at Villa Park. At the moment, Doku and Haaland look likeliest to start, with two of Ndiaye, Foden and Cherki joining them.
“Yeah, a lot. Especially when I changed into that false nine role, I really enjoyed it a lot. I could find space in between the lines, in the pockets where I like to be, and then link the play. So, yeah, I really enjoyed that role tonight.” – Phil Foden on how much freedom Enzo Maresca gives him
“I was very happy with Phil, even before the red card [in the derby], to be honest. I said since day one that I consider him one of the best English players, for different reasons. In the last two years, three years, he was not good enough but I know how good he is, so we are just trying to help him, because we are sure that he’s going to help us this season.” – Enzo Maresca on how much Phil Foden’s form has improved since his dismissal in the Manchester derby
- Foden’s first two goals were teed up by Rico Lewis (£4.3m), who made inside runs from right-back. It was something he did all night, and the full-back ended up creating more chances than any other player:
- Foden’s first two finishes were excellent, while he showed predatory instincts in the striker role to tap in his hat-trick goal from substitute Ryan McAidoo‘s (£4.4m) cross. That point-blank-range strike swelled his xG to 0.89, the highest on the night, although Cherki did outdo him for shots:
- The two combined beautifully for City’s third goal, with Cherki controlling and finishing superbly. The Frenchman was a Man of the Match contender until Foden sealed his hat-trick.
“I think Rayan, since we started, is doing well in terms of numbers, goals, assists. So, I’m very, very happy with his performances since day one.” – Enzo Maresca on Rayan Cherki
- Elsewhere, Allan (£6.0m) deputised for Doku on the left, doing okay without setting the world alight. He hit the bar with one rising effort in the first half. Floyd Samba (£4.4m) led the line for the first hour, but it’d be a surprise to see him anywhere near a Premier League XI.
- Matheus Nunes (£5.9m), Mateo Kovacic (£5.3m) and Nico O’Reilly (£6.3m) all missed out. That trio had been forced off in Gameweek 7, subsequently missing training on Monday. Maresca had seemingly given them the all-clear in his pre-match presser, but they failed to show against AEK. There was no post-match update, either.
- Josko Gvardiol (£5.8m) replaced O’Reilly but he too had his own fitness scare, coming off after 72 minutes. Maresca did assuage any worries after full-time.
“He’s okay. He had a small problem during the warm-up in his back, but he could play and he was okay.” – Enzo Maresca on Josko Gvardiol
- Finally, Elliot Anderson (£6.3m) bagged his first City goal, converting the rebound after Enzo Fernandez‘s (£6.9m) free-kick hit the bar. Both players had their rests in Gameweek 7, so there’s little question they’ll start on Saturday.
