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. The Senate
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Rash! save it for the weekend!

  2. Iceball
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    KDB captain (almost) every week might work. Is Salah worth it then? Spread funds to afford Jesus, double Liverpool defense and so on. What do you think of that strategy?

    1. ThisPostsOnFire
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Captaining anyone EVERY week will not work.

      Salah is also more explosive - so better captain material.

  3. AnfieldLad
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    7 penalties in the 4 carabao cup games tonight. It’s out of control

    1. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      With no VAR

  4. DAZZ
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    7 penalties in the 4 cup games. Crazy

    1. AnfieldLad
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Snap

  5. Lovren an elevator
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    How are Greenwood, Rashford and AWB looking tonight?

    1. Zimo
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Rash Greenwood came on last 15 minutes. Rash scored a goal and greenwood a goal and assist.

  6. Chilli Heatwave
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Any thoughts on the troops? Well balanced enough?

    Martinez Steer
    VVD Lamptey James Castagne Mitchell
    Podence Salah KDB Son Rodríguez
    DCL Jiménez Brewster

    Cheers

    1. Snooze ya lose
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 15 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Beaut

    2. dunas_dog
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Yes it’s very good.

    3. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      It's good.

      I've gone off Rodriguez a bit after seeing his stats vs West Brom. 1 penalty area touch, 1 shot on goal from outside the box. Great player, not convinced he's worth the money when Foden and Barnes have better stats and fixtures.

      Just food for thought.

  7. Zimo
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    I only have 5 penalty takers. Is that enough?

    1. Iceball
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      If you already have Lundstram 🙂

    2. Pukkipartyy
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Who are they?

  8. Jullepuu
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    A) Son and Wood
    B) Werner and Foden

    1. Hansel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

      1. Jullepuu
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Cheers

    2. Chilli Heatwave
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A

  9. dunas_dog
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    No TAA WC team- what are views ? Makes a difference up top.

    Martinez
    James Säiss Keane
    Salah KDB Rodriguez Podence
    Werner Jesus DCL

    Button Lamptey Justin Burke

    1. Chilli Heatwave
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Posted mine a minute ago, allows a good distribution of funds, I included VVD though

      1. Chilli Heatwave
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Like the Werner pick

    2. ThisPostsOnFire
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Going with both Werner and Jesus with Jimenez' fixtures is a mistake for me.

      1. ThisPostsOnFire
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Also, defenders with attacking threat but part of a leaky defence are a no go for me.

        Lampard doesn't do defence, James out.

    3. THFC4LIFE
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Prefer Pulisic(if fit) and Jimenez to Hamez and Werner

      1. dunas_dog
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Good suggestion - let’s hope for positive news at presser and like this

    4. Rinseboy
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Prefer Jimi over Jesus mate. Starting to think Bruno should be the WC now!

      1. dunas_dog
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Thanks. Yes think Jiménez has to be in with those fixtures. How’s your team going?

        1. Rinseboy
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          still on

          Matinez Werner
          TAA James Saiss Lamptey Mitchell
          Salah KDB Son Podence Foden
          DCL Werner Brewster!

          Still undecided on having Jimi or not but the above is about as template as it gets!

          1. dunas_dog
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 9 Years
            4 years, 1 month ago

            Template fine ( I will end up close to this) and gives you good price points to jump on Jiménez, get on form Chelsea mid early once fit from Son, jump onto premium mids depending on fixtures etc. I would give Werner WBA game and if blanks move to Jiménez

          2. dunas_dog
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 9 Years
            4 years, 1 month ago

            PS Double Werner too........ assuming it is 4 m goalie

            Actually somehow I am .5 m short of this team unfortunately. Not sure how I have lost that much value! Not a good start ....

            1. Rinseboy
              • 12 Years
              4 years, 1 month ago

              cheers mate yes Werenr goalkeeper is Steer!

              I've realised I am 0.1 short of this ha. Need a Werner drop badly!

  10. rokonto
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    So is Calvert-Leein injured then?

    1. rokonto
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      *Lewin

    2. Atimis
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      What?

      1. camarozz
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Ban 🙂

  11. TheDragon
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    KDB, Salah, Fernandes, Klich
    Jimenez, Ings

    Penalty taking front 6 a viable strategy? The number of penalties is incredible

    1. Camzy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Wood over Ings and yeah it's doable.

      1. Chilli Heatwave
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Any thoughts on my above team camzy (asking yourself as didn’t follow something you mentioned last week and failed 🙂 )

    2. Chilli Heatwave
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I think it’s credible so many pens this year

    3. ClassiX
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      you could add Mitro and Jorginho, too...

    4. Brosstan
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      One of my drafts is KDB, Salah, Zaha, Klich, Jimmy, Ings, Wood. But I think I will go with another slightly less penalty heavy lineup

      1. TheDragon
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        It’s very tempting to do isn’t it

  12. Sid07
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    1) auba to kdb (-4)
    2) asm to podence (-4)
    3) both(-8)

    1. Hansel
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      3

  13. g40steve
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    GW G

  14. Zimo
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Greenwood Goal
    Bruno Assist
    3-0

  15. Sarri-ball
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Done son to rashford lastweek -4

    Planning rashford to kdb -4

    Keep rashford? dont think can take a other big mistake
    Or it only luton

  16. Ser Davos
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    FPL Wire, so immersive, so insightful. Only 23 minutes in, but it's confirming my hunch not to chase EVE's points immediately

    cpa BRI LPL

    is tougher than it first appears. May just stick with one though

    1. DAZZ
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      They can breakthrough that LFC defence IMO.

      1. Ser Davos
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Agreed. Pool's defence is one I least trust these days. If that oen had gone in I think there'd be an exodus

    2. FPL Blow-In
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Palace and Brighton will both be very tough.

      1. Ser Davos
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Yeah, deceptively so. They may still do okay, difficult to predict atm. Not too bothered by getting them in later even if .1s are lost.

        Going to need to be a fluid season

    3. TheDragon
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Next you’ll be telling me Bamford isn’t going to score 38 goals this season

      1. Ser Davos
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Haha I'll keep listening

  17. konrad.sygula95
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    What would you do with this team ?
    2ft 0.0 itb
    Was thinking about Auba/Asm to Kdb/Podence move what do you reckon? Or should I get rid off Davies in the first place?

    Mccarthy/Nyland
    TAA/ Davies/Holding/Douglas/Mitchell
    Auba/Salah/Havertz/ASM/Stephens
    Ings/Werner/Mitro

  18. Chippo, Hadji, Aloisi.
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Simple question money no object.
    DCL or Jiminez

    1. TheDragon
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Jimenez and it’s not close

    2. ᶠᶦˡᵗʰʸLucre $$$
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Jimmy

    3. Miguel Sanchez
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Jimenez

  19. FPL Blow-In
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Greenwood goal and assist I own Rash and Martial... If united don’t sign Sancho, Greenwood is going to be great value

  20. Brosstan
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    United players no longer due. Unlucky owners

    1. TheDragon
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Martial is 😉

  21. PepSala
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Who's the best 4.5 defender to get on WC? Lamptey?

    1. Jullepuu
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Taylor

  22. jonnybhoy
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Which one?

    A) Son, Pondence, DCL and Brewster
    B) Burke 5.2m mid, Werner and DCL

  23. xHaTr
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Which is better on WC?

    A: Castagne and Wood

    B: Justin and Hamez

    1. Miguel Sanchez
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      B

    2. tim_oriordan
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      B

    3. Iceball
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      A long term but not this week

  24. Ci Siamo
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Is this true?

    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.

  25. waltzingmatildas
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Hmm how about this attacking 7 on wc?
    Salah kdb greenwood foden podence
    Jimenez dcl

    1. bitm2007
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Risky three of your mids aren't nailed.

      1. ThisPostsOnFire
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Greenwood is 100% nailed unless United go for someone other than Sancho (who is not going anywhere)

  26. CheesyZoot
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Just got here, any reason why Martial wasn't in the squad tonight?

    1. Zimo
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Rested probably

      1. CheesyZoot
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        That's what I was hoping

    2. TheDragon
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Resting for his upcoming hattrick vs Brighton

  27. corderz
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Already done Havertz + Auba > Son + KDB......

    Should I also do ASM > Podence for a minus 8?

    1. ThisPostsOnFire
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Either this week or next I would definitely be making that move.

  28. tim_oriordan
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    How is this wildcard looking?

    Martinez
    Robertson James Saiss
    Salah De Bruyne Son Rodriguez Podence
    Jimenez DCL

    Steer Lamptey Mitchell Brewster

    1. Babit1967
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Like mine mate, hopefully u do well

      1. tim_oriordan
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Cheers, likewise lol

    2. ThisPostsOnFire
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      For me, James' attacking threat is not good enough to cover Chelsea's woeful defence.

  29. R.C.
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    yikes United to face Brighton twice next

  30. Pommie22
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    2020/21 year of the penalty?
    4 games in Carabo cup tonight 7 penalties!
    Covid strikes again Spurs match cancelled an now Moyes and two players infected. Wolves game could be a threat.