Scout Notes

How De Bruyne’s new Man City role affects his FPL credentials

Wolves 1-3 Man City

  • Goals: Raúl Jiménez (£8.5m) | Kevin De Bruyne (£11.6m), Phil Foden (£6.5m), Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m)
  • Assists: Daniel Podence (£5.5m) | Raheem Sterling (£11.5m), De Bruyne
  • Bonus points: De Bruyne x3, Foden x2, Jesus x1

Kevin De Bruyne‘s (£11.6m) new role at Manchester City looks set to have a massive impact on Fantasy Premier League managers this season.

Having spent much of 2019/20 in a central midfield trio, the Belgian was deployed as an out-and-out number 10 in Monday night’s 3-1 win over Wolves, something that heavily influenced his 13-point haul.

De Bruyne registered a goal and assist at Molineux, spending the evening causing unending problems for a defence that has been the Premier League’s best since Gameweek 25 of last season.

In that time, Wolves had ranked best for shots in the box conceded, big chances conceded, shots on target conceded, expected goals conceded (xGC) and clean sheets. But De Bruyne’s more attacking role helped Manchester City dismantle Nuno Espirito Santo’s men with relative ease.

The Belgian’s number 10 duties were facilitated by the addition of Nathan Aké (£5.5m) to Pep Guardiola’s squad. That meant, despite Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m) missing the game, that Fernandinho (£5.5m) was free to return to midfield, where he formed a defensive patrol alongside Rodrigo (£5.5m).

“Fernandinho will be really important. He’s 35 years old and he cannot play every three days. Last year he struggled a lot to be fit for most of the season but he played really well with Rodri [against Wolves]. They were both good with and without the ball.” – Pep Guardiola

They were an effective pair in terms of protecting Manchester City’s back-four from Wolves’ attackers for most of the game, allowing De Bruyne to focus only what was in front of him. As already mentioned, the result was a man-of-the-match performance from the premium midfielder, as he tormented Wolves all night long, scored a fifth penalty in all competitions since February, and threw himself into the captaincy conversation for a Gameweek 3 visit to the Etihad Stadium for Leicester City.

“Not just today but since we came back, every training session I feel (De Bruyne) is incredibly committed. Right now, he is an incredibly important player for us. He always was but with the situation, we are in now he is so important. He played really well, shot an incredible penalty, he was strong and he did it perfectly. The amount of assists, how he runs. He played really well, like the whole team.” – Pep Guardiola

The question is, will Guardiola continue to use De Bruyne as a number 10? It is always impossible to second-guess the Manchester City boss, of course, but considering how effective his 4-2-3-1 formation was at Molineux, it would make a lot of sense to deploy it against Leicester too.

In many respects, Guardiola will be restricted in how much he can tweak his team selection for Gameweek 3 considering the number of absent players right now. Bernardo Silva (£7.5m) is out until the international break, while Ilkay Gundögan (£5.5m) has tested positive for coronavirus.

“Joao (Cancelo), Bernardo (Silva), Oleks(andr Zinchenko) and Sergio (Aguero) will be longer probably after the international break. That is the situation today but it will maybe change a little bit.” – Pep Guardiola

Those absences should leave Guardiola with no option but to roll with Fernandinho, Rodrigo and De Bruyne in midfield against Leicester. Meanwhile, the City manager has done his Fantasy counterparts a favour in terms of peace of mind, by revealing on Monday night that the Thursday-evening EFL Cup match would mostly feature younger and academy players instead of key first-teamers.

Meanwhile, Aguero’s ongoing absence boosts the FPL credentials of Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m), who got his first goal of the season in Monday night’s win.

While Raheem Sterling (£11.5m) and Phil Foden (£6.5m) still have to compete with Riyad Mahrez (£8.5m) and new signing Ferran Torres (£7.0m) for starting berths on the flanks of attacking midfield, there is a lot more certainty of starts for Jesus until Aguero returns.

The Brazilian made the most of his first outing of the campaign at Wolves, acting as a tireless member of the attack and going close to finding the net before his stoppage-time goal.

In the 42nd minute, he provided an excellent cushion header for De Bruyne to ghost past Willy Boly (£5.5m) and get one-on-one with Rui Patrício (£5.5m). The Wolves goalkeeper produced a fantastic save to deny the Belgian, who would have earned an assist for Jesus.

In the 52nd minute, De Bruyne played an outside-of-the-boot pass to Jesus, who came back across Conor Coady (£5.0m) and saw his left-foot shot saved by Patrício again.

Then, late in the game, the striker surged forward on the counter-attack and fired a powerful shot from distance that Patrício did well to tip around the post. It looked as if it would be a night of bad luck for Jesus owners in terms of attacking returns, until De Bruyne rolled the ball to him on the edge of the box, allowing him to blast home a deserved goal.

With Leicester, Leeds, Arsenal and West Ham the next four matches for Manchester City, an attacking double-up would certainly have its merits. As already mentioned, Jesus looks the most nailed-on option outside of De Bruyne for anyone looking for such a set-up.

As much as Manchester City kept Wolves at bay for most of the game, the home side did force their way into proceedings during the last half an hour, a spell which helped fine-tune how best to invest in their assets moving forward.

Nuno’s men face an excellent run of upcoming games, putting them against West Ham (away), Fulham (home), Leeds (away), Newcastle (home) and Crystal Palace (home) between now and Gameweek 7.

Perhaps the safest bet has to be Raúl Jiménez (£8.5m), whose headed goal against Manchester City means he has two in as many appearances at the start of this season.

But with his price still causing a few issues for the big spenders in midfield, Fantasy managers are considering Daniel Podence (£5.5m) for their teams, and with good reason.

Like Jiménez, Wolves’ number 10 has two attacking returns in two. In his case, they are both assists but Podence’s first goal of the season does not look a long way off.

In the 53rd minute, makeshift wing-back Adama Traoré (£6.5m) got the better of Benjamin Mendy (£6.0m), squaring the ball early to an unmarked Podence hovering in the middle of the box. His shot on the turn was off-target, but this passage of play was indicative of the positions Podence has been drifting into from the flanks of Wolves’ front-three.

Pedro Neto (£5.5m) found some joy behind Mendy a few minutes later, cutting back to Podence in the box. While he let the ball run for Ruben Neves (£5.5m) with a dummy, it was another promising position taken up by Wolves’ number 10.

Then in the 59th minute, Podence was put through one-on-one with Ederson (£6.0m) and came close to finding the net with a lob that landed on the roof of the net.

And nobody will forget the way Podence helped put Wolves back in the game. It was him who produced the exceptional cross for Jiménez’s header… just seconds after nutmegging De Bruyne (?!).

Podence’s ability is there for all to see and we are likely to see investment in the £5.5m man over the next few days based on form, price and fixtures.

However, it is worth just keeping our readers informed of the caveats that come with transferring the former Olympiacos man for Gameweek 3.

It seems fair to say that Podence’s chances of further starts are, to some extent, reliant on the shape Nuno chooses each week. So far, he has operated in a 3-4-3 formation, which accommodates two wingers, while a switch to 3-5-2 could put Podence in competition with Neto and Traoré for the right wing-back slot.

While Wolves are without a recognised like-for-like replacement for Matt Doherty (£6.0m) in that position, a new signing at right wing-back could also put Traoré back into contention for a place in the front-three.

Meanwhile, Vitinha (£5.0m) offers competition on the flanks of attacking midfield, and Wolves are expected to unveil the signing of Nelson Semedo very soon.

For the short-term, Podence has probably earned a start in at least the next match based on merit, although it is interesting to note that, despite two strong performances, Nuno wants him to improve moving forward.

“I think (Podence) is improving. It’s about the complicity with his teammates. He has more knowledge and the talent of Daniel is huge. He is very talented, has quality and is a fighter. He did well. He must improve like everybody. He must be more clinical in the box and that will be beneficial for us. We are going to work. Every day is a day to improve. Of course, the more games, the more complicity, the better we can be.” – Nuno Espirito Santo

Meanwhile, options in the Wolves defence took an interesting turn in Gameweek 2. After it appeared Ruben Vinagre (£4.4m) had lost his place from the start of the campaign, Marçal (£5.0m) was forced off with an unspecified injury eight minutes into the Manchester City match.

Nuno could not reveal the extent of the problem post-match, but anyone still holding Vinagre should pay close attention to his Gameweek 3 press conference later in the week for updates.

“We must assess (Marçal’s injury). It was just at the beginning of the match. He felt something and now we are going to assess. Let’s see. He said that he felt something and was not able to continue, so we immediately made a substitution so things didn’t get worse.” – Nuno Espirito Santo

Wolverhampton Wanderers XI (3-4-3): Patrício; Saïss, Coady, Boly; Marçal (Vinagre 8′), Neves, Moutinho (Dendoncker 78′), Traoré; Neto (F Silva 78′), Jiménez, Podence.

Manchester City XI (4-2-3-1): Ederson; B Mendy, Aké, Stones, Walker; Rodrigo, Fernandinho; Sterling (Torres 82′), De Bruyne, Foden; Jesus.

PREMIUM MEMBERS ANALYSIS

PREMIUM MEMBERS AREA HOME PAGE

FPL Lessons Learned from Gameweek 2

3,103 Comments Post a Comment
  1. GOONER
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Podence or Klich?

    1. Runaway
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Podence because of the fixture

    2. Chilli Heatwave
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I went for Podence

    3. Dire Souffle
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Klich - Wolves games will be tight, whereas Leeds seem to be of the view that all out attack is their best chance of getting results.

  2. Runaway
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Who would you bench this week ?

    A) Lamptey (MUN)
    B) Taylor (SOU)
    C) Ayling (shu)

    1. GOONER
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      C

      Bec A & B has better attacking threat

      1. Pukkipartyy
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Taylor better attacking than Ayiling?...

  3. R.C
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    What's happening with Brewster?

    1. Hazz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Stuck in limbo somewhere.

    2. Seanigula
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Punky Brewster will get more game time

  4. Carcetti
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    You reckon Pereira (CHE, sou, BUR) can match Hamez (cry, BHA, LIV) over the next 3 fixtures?

    1. Brehmeren
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      No

    2. GOONER
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      No

    3. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      No.

  5. rokonto
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Is Bruno now going to play deeper as van de Beek is now at Man utd????

    1. OLB
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Need another two games monitoring to find out, too small sample to say. Might just be mixing strategies.

  6. Bubz
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Any chance the Whu v wol match gets postponed?

    1. Hansel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Why?

      1. Bubz
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Covid

    2. Brosstan
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      no worst case scenario they outright lose the game on walkover

      1. JamTart
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Jimi and Podence hauls incoming....

    3. THFC4LIFE
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I think so. Moyes and 2 players have COVID, highly likely more players and staff have contracted it

      1. Brosstan
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        The rules clearly state that the game is only called off if they literally cant field a full team of professional players. They also have routine testing very often and unless somehow covid has spread through the entire squad in the time it took a few individuals to show symptoms they will have enough players to field an 11 and 3 subs for the game.

  7. Garfield1001
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Foden or Podence?

    Cheers

    1. R.C
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Podence

    2. Gazza2000
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Foden

    3. Hansel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Foden better pick if you have the funds

    4. ThisPostsOnFire
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Foden has the highest ceiling obviously, but he'll be competing for a spot in the team throughout the season (max 20 starts I reckon) - so fine if you have a decent sub to cover those games.

      Podence has great fixtures, is nailed and is showing real promise coming into those great fixtures.

  8. Baked baines
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Activated the WC and after a few days playing around with the team have ended up with this for the next few gw's.
    Any constructive criticism would be welcome.

    Martinez
    Ake Saiss Lamptey
    Podence Son Salah KDB
    Jesus Jimenez DCL

    Steer Justin Mitchell Burke
    0.4 ITB

    1. Pegboy
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Laporte back soon to take Ake's place. Rest looks fine.

  9. Hansel
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Adams -> DCL for another hit? Already on -4

    1. Gazza2000
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      no

  10. Now I'm Panicking
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Gollum brings all his big players on for last 15 minutes for no apparent reason. Hope they warmed up properly.......

    1. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      lol I had never heard him called that but now I can't unsee.

      1. Brosstan
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Jarvish calls him that every single day 😛

        1. Now I'm Panicking
          • 9 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          It's fine - I don't read Camzy's posts either.

    2. Zimo
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Probably to improve their match fitness.

      1. Now I'm Panicking
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        In 15 mins? I've had longer tommies.

    3. ClassiX
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Wants them to get used to winning a game again...

    4. FOO FIGHTER
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      My precious...

  11. g40steve
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    WC rip it up?

    Martinez,
    Trent, Castagne, Saiss,
    Salah, KDB, Son, Podence, Costa
    Richarlison, DCL

    4, Bamford, Justin, Mitchell,

    1. FFSbet.com
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Costa or Bamford to 4.5,Castagne/Saiss up

      1. g40steve
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Castagne > Virgil

        Saiss > Digne

        Saiss has nice run of fixtures

    2. ThisPostsOnFire
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Much rather have Jimi in than Richarlison

  12. Neo-Viper
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    McCarthy
    Taa CTaylor Bavies
    Podence KDB Salah Hamez
    DCL Werner Mitro

    Button Mitchel Justin Soucek

    Good lads?

  13. Eat my goal!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    De hea would have let that in!

  14. dicky2014
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    What a save that was

  15. Zimo
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Henderson showing why he deserves to start over de gea

    1. Zimo
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      And why bailly deserves to start over lindelof

      1. FOO FIGHTER
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        It is Luton...

        1. Zimo
          • 5 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          Foo lindelof is a joke of a defender. At least bailly can defend no matter how injury prone he is

  16. TRIPOS TOPPER
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    is the COVID Hammers news affecting anyone's WC decision?

    I'm inclined to keep mine a bit longer. Every week I burn it in GW3 and regret it about 2 weeks later

    1. TRIPOS TOPPER
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      every season*

      1. amonito
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Already did Holding, Soucek to Saiss, Podence, so I am not removing them unless Nuno make official statement that they will not play...

    2. camarozz
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Had my mind made up to do it earlier, now not so sure.

      Have Davies/jwp/Bertrand/
      Havertz I may need to offload asap

    3. ClassiX
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      This year,more than ever, hold your WC for as long as possible.

      1. amonito
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Exactly, I can see the panic if they postpone a game of Liverpool, Man C or Man U in the last moment... That will hurt!

      2. Salah’s Sonnet
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Why? no need when we can create a great team now.

  17. amonito
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Took -8 hit before GW2 and already took -8 again. Not happy, but still ranked around 200k after GW2 which is not that bad after all. Really afraid that due to pandemic WC could be vital later in the season.

    What would you prefer:
    1) to trigger WC early on to accommodate early risers and hot prospects
    2) to take hits when necessary to accommodate them
    3) to limit your transfer activity to FTs and risk to waste opportunities

    1. TRIPOS TOPPER
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      nicely done

      I am terrible with hits - took 6 last season and only one paid off (Vardy in around GW10)

      In principle I think 2) of the above

    2. Slitherene
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      No, just take another -8 hit and you'll be fine.

  18. camarozz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    I mentioned on here that my rival TC'd Doherty in gw1.

    This wk he got 124pts

    Kane(c) 42
    Son 24
    Allisson 12
    Zaha 15.

    He's 1st
    I'm dead last in a 15 man league.

    1. thepoet85
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Only matters where you are at the end of the season. Play the long game and trust yourself.

      1. camarozz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Won it 4 times in a row 🙂

  19. Slitherene
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Took a hit for,

    Auba -> KdB
    Willian -> Salah
    JW-P -> Jorginho

    Made the moves under pressure of getting priced out last night.

    Having second thoughts now!

    1. Scots Gooner
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Good moves man, don't sweat.

      1. Slitherene
        • 6 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Thanks Thierry!

  20. Ci Siamo
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    reckon the West Ham v Wolvwes game is safe despite the three positive tests?

    1. Hanso Lo
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      David Moyes, Issa Diop & Josh Cullen...with that news one would expect it to be safe. Who knows what might develop...

  21. Chippo, Hadji, Aloisi.
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    On a WC
    Calvert-Lewin or Jimenez?
    Ryan Steele
    Justin Castagne Mitchell Taylor Dunne
    Salah Bruno KDB klich anguissa
    **** Kane, Bamford

  22. AnfieldLad
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    ASM -> Podence for a hit yay or nay

    1. PompeyUpNorth!
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I’m in the same position and not getting many answers tbh.. I’m tempted as ASM Will drop very soon, probably tonight..

    2. Hansel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I’m doing it

    3. xHaTr
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Yay

  23. Babit1967
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Guys what do we think? My new wildcard team and I think I’m settled

    Martinez

    Robbo Saiss Taylor Lamptey Mitchell

    Salah KDB James Son Klich

    Richarlison Jiménez Brewster

    Wc active 0 itb

  24. Brosstan
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Surely Jimmy gets credit for all 3 goals as Wolves top scorer when Wolves win 3-0 on walkover? But who gets the assists??

    1. Obi Wan Elokobi
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Saiss

      1. Brosstan
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Sounds fair Obi!

    2. ClassiX
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Not so much baiting as chumming tonight, Bros...

    3. aleksaa2
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Saiss 2 and Podence 1 lol

  25. Obi Wan Elokobi
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    I really don’t know if I can be bothered with fantasy this year. Games are going to be postponed all over the place. Players dropping out randomly. Just getting ridiculous

    1. Babit1967
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Fpl is something fun, a distraction for all that is crap in the world right now

    2. ClassiX
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      No postponements - new protocols say that if a team can field 14 fit professional players (from ANY of their squads, including youth teams) they have to play the game, otherwise forfeit the match.

  26. abaalan
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    ASM or Bissouma out for a hit?

    2.5M ITB - who are best options?

  27. Assisting the assister
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    On a WC

    A. Foden + Brewster
    B. Podence + Bamford
    C. Castagne + Bamford

    Thanks for help!

  28. Camzy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    This whole penalty thing is real.

    Just tonight, there have been 5 penalties given in the 3 games involving PL teams.

    West Ham got one. West Brom got two (their opponents got one). MUN got one of course.

    That's crazy. I think I might need to rework my team to have more PK takers. Wood and Jimenez are in then I guess...

    1. ClassiX
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I played around with this last week:
      Ryan/4.0
      Robbo Lamptey JWP Mitchell 4.0
      Salah KDB Klitch Jorginho Auba
      Mitro Jimi Maupay

    2. Hanso Lo
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Worked out for Mitro too...Ings...Zaha (although you’d expect Mitro to be back taking them).

      1. Hanso Lo
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Who takes them for Everton now?

  29. Zimo
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Rashford Goal
    Greenwood Assist

  30. Jet5605
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Hey guys, Should I hit the panic/WC button or roll with this? Already did Auba > Son. I assume Bruno and Martial were rested tonight and should play v Brighton

    McCarthy
    Digne - Saiss - Mitchell
    Bruno - Son (c) - Soucek - Havertz
    Werner - DCL - Martial

    Steer - Taylor - Egan - ASM    

    1. Dire Souffle
      • 3 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I’d hold off on the wildcard for as long as possible. Despite not having one of the top-end mids the team looks decent overall. I’d swap soucek out for a Leeds mid if you have any spare funds.