Gabriel Jesus is in the goals again as Sergio Aguero gets accustomed to life on the Manchester City bench. Gylfi Sigurdsson’s renaissance under Paul Clement continues, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan delivers his biggest haul of the season as both Manchester clubs impress ahead of their looming blank Gameweek.
Gabriel Jesus
Retaining his role as City’s central forward at home to Swansea City, the Brazilian required just over 10 minutes to find the net once again.
Subject to more acquisitions than any other Fantasy Premier League asset ahead of Gameweek 24 after his midweek goal and assist at West Ham, Jesus also went on to grab a late winner in another superb showing. He’s now set for a collision with a Bournemouth defence that’s just been hit for six at Goodison Park.
Already, over 48,000 FPL managers have swooped for the Samba starlet since yesterday’s deadline, yet a blank Gameweek 26 and another likely in Gameweek 28 will surely slow the bandwagon, despite a favourable trip to Sunderland sandwiched between those fixtures.
Nonetheless, Guardiola’s teamsheet certainly indicated that the new arrival has barged his way into the first XI, ensuring there will be huge interest in his services once the double Gameweeks scheduled.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
A goal and assist at the King Power Stadium helped the Armenian to a first double-figure haul of the season as his influence on United’s attack continues to grow.
After drawing blanks in his first six appearances over the opening 14 Gameweeks, Mkhitaryan now has three goals and an assist in his subsequent eight league outings.
Similar to Manchester City, though, United’s lack of a Gameweek 26 fixture, allied with the fact that they would also miss Gameweek 28 if they progress to the FA Cup quarter-finals, quashes their immediate appeal.
With a mere 2% FPL ownership, Mkhitaryan is clearly shaping up as an enticing differential option for our five-man midfields once those blanks have been navigated.
Antonio Valencia
The right-back is another who’ll surely find his way into many managers’ plans once the double Gameweeks are confirmed.
After failing to produce any attacking returns in the opening 20 rounds of fixtures, Valencia has since supplied an assist in two of the last four Gameweeks.
With Jose Mourinho shuffling his options elsewhere in defence, the Ecuadorian appears to be the most secure route into a rearguard that has now served up three clean sheets in the last five, conceding just two goals over that spell.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Swansea’s playmaker goes from strength to strength under new manager Paul Clement.
Bagging the consolation in today’s narrow loss at City, Sigurdsson has now racked up three goals and two assists in the five matches since Bob Bradley departed the Liberty Stadium.
That resurgent form has helped him climb into fifth spot in the FPL midfield standings as the Welsh side prepare for a superb run of upcoming fixtures.
Clashes with Leicester City, Burnley, Hull City, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough in the next six, added to the fact that Swansea are one of only six clubs currently set to play in both Gameweek 26 and 28, have already brought plenty of new owners Sigurdsson’s way.
Among FPL midfielders, only Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has earned more transfers since the passing of yesterday’s deadline.
Luciano Narsingh
The Swansea new boy came off the bench to impress once again, strengthening his claim for a starting role at home to Leicester next time out.
Utilised as a late substitute for the second successive Gameweek, Narsingh has now provided assists in both his appearances for the to suggest there is more than just Sigurdsson to consider among Clement’s charges.
If he can cement a role in the first XI next weekend, a price of 5.5 may well turn a few heads as we look for budget-friendly methods to navigate the tricky fixture schedule.
In Decline
Sergio Aguero
After benching him against West Ham, Pep Guardiola was quick to point out that the Argentine could easily play alongside Gabriel Jesus in his front three.
With a home clash against Swansea up next, the vast majority of Aguero’s 19% FPL owners subsequently kept the faith – he was subject to just 39,450 sales ahead of Gameweek 24.
Yet Pep named Aguero among the substitutes once again, affording him just a handful of minutes off the bench as City went chasing a late winner.
Priced at 12.8 and without a fixture in Gameweek 26, the Aguero exodus is well and truly up and running as Jesus’ impact puts pay to his “essential” tag once and for all.
