Manchester City are usually an easy team to invest in for Fantasy Premier League managers but this season they have proved a trickier prospect.
The 2020/21 campaign has, admittedly, not been kind to Pep Guardiola’s men with Sergio Aguero (£10.4m), Kevin De Bruyne (£11.5m), Gabriel Jesus (£9.3m), Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m), Benjamin Mendy (£6.0m), Nathan Ake (£5.5m), and Fernandinho (£5.5m) all missing out with injuries at various stages.
And let’s not forget that Riyad Mahrez (£8.4m) and Ilkay Gundogan (£5.4m) tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) within the last few months, so it is no surprise things have not been plain sailing for Manchester City.
We asked members of the Scout Academy to give us their thoughts on what to do with their assets in the coming Gameweeks.
Manchester City pictured in their game against Leicester City in September
While there have been issues for Manchester City so far, I think they are starting to ease up, mostly in midfield. The recent return of De Bruyne really bolsters their attacking potential and, my view is that Sterling will benefit playing as a false-nine, as well as being safer from Pep Roulette until Jesus is fit again.
The fixtures are nicer than they look too. Sheffield United are yet to keep a clean sheet this season and, after that, it’s Liverpool, who have been defending poorly for a while anyway, even before they lost Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) to injury.
If you can cope with the possibility of rotation, I think the best value could be in Phil Foden (£6.6m). I think it’s only a matter of time before Manchester City explode with goals – I will be looking to invest especially with the lack of clean sheets in the Premier League so far.
FPL In The Dug Out
Sergio Aguero
We hold Sterling currently and now that Aguero is injured once more, we expect Sterling to play as a false-nine where he had two great chances vs West Ham.
The Englishman will need the creativity of De Bruyne and Foden behind him though to break through the stubborn defensive line-ups they are having to come up against. Foden is great value though if you can handle the possible rotation.
Footboxx
Cancelo and Sterling Celebrate a Champions League goal for Man City last season
My choice for Man City is a defensive one in João Cancelo (£5.4m), priced at just £5.4 he got an assist in Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with West Ham.
The full-back looked very attacking during the game, getting forward a lot and registering five crosses and two key passes. He also put up 24 passes in the final third with seven touches inside the box.
This shows just how much he manages to get forward, very good on the eye test with Sheffield United up next.
If Manchester City can sort out their defensive problems, which the return of Laporte should help facilitate, we could see value at both ends of the field for Cancelo.
FPL Focus
Kevin De Bryune scores a penalty against Wolves
Manchester City’s start to this season has not been promising. The lack of creativity in the midfield and injuries has really hampered their attacking output.
That said, I am still excited about the prospect of Sterling playing at false-nine for the next couple of weeks before Jesus comes back.
Other options include De Bruyne who should now be fit to start, Foden a differential pick but there’s a risk of rotation and Cancelo whose numbers over the last two matches look decent: two attempts on goal, five key passes and had 10 touches in the box.
Now the question arises whether is it really necessary to get in a Manchester City player the answer according to me is to wait and watch the game against Sheffield and then decide.
With the likes of Kane, Son, Mane, Salah and the other premium players looking in good form it really will cause trouble again to fit in a premium Manchester City asset.
Fantasy Football Academy
Phil Foden celebrates scoring for Manchester City
Manchester City have yet to hit the form we know they’re capable of with regards to both league perfomance and FPL returns. However, after a tough run of fixtures, coupled with injuries to crucial players, it’s not all doom and gloom.
We saw the return of De Bruyne in Gameweek 6 and, while Aguero may have succumbed to yet another injury, the kindly-priced Jesus is also not far from a return to action.
This sees them possibly returning to a starting XI that put Wolves to the sword in Gameweek 2 and where De Bruyne, Foden, Sterling and Jesus all got in among the attacking returns.
Combine this with a lovely run of fixtures between Gameweeks 10 and 15 and it’s not difficult to make a case for some Manchester City assets in our squads.
This also coincides with the a very nasty run of fixtures for the heavily owned and similarly priced Spurs assets. Any FPL managers that are trying to stay ahead of the curve may well look to a Spurs/Man City switcheroo.
FPL Hangover Podcast
Foden, Sterling and Aguero discuss a conceded goal for Manchester City
Hot Take #1: Manchester City have peaked. Every year they seem to lose more big names than they bring in. Their strikers can’t stay fit. We all know that Pep seems to get jaded and bored after a few seasons. Their attacking numbers are falling off a very steep cliff.
Hot Take # 2: Manchester City are a ticking time bomb of FPL points absolutely waiting to explode the moment we forget about them. It appears that a ridiculously good run in fixtures starting in Gameweek 10 will coincide with a return into the side for Jesus (depending on how we interpret his own Twitch Live stream).
The truth is likely somewhere in the middle. In fact, literally in the midfield. Poor value in defence and unreliable strikers means that the Manchester City midfielders will be our only options in the near-term. It will only take a few hauls from De Bruyne to remind us how much of a season-keeper he is. Couple that with a few blanks from the Spurs men, and we will be ripping up our template very quickly. Simply put, Kevin is the only Man City player I am considering until their Double Gameweek is confirmed.
FPL Talking Points
What has been happening in the Scout Academy?
Interested in becoming part of the Scout Academy – get in touch!
The guys from American’s Talk FPL have launched a new video series dedicated to the official UEFA Champions League Fantasy game. In the series they provide a helpful rundown on the rules and how to get started, as well as analysing our top player picks, budget options, differentials, and our chip strategies. Will be providing content to recap each Matchday as well as preview the next throughout the season.
iTD continues to ready a POWERPLAY squad for each week, aiming to be the top points scoring FPL Manager of the Gameweek. With this, it shares potential points scorers across all positions hoping to help those who may be struggling for some transfer inspiration. iTD also vlogs the goings on over the Gameweek’s events highlighting potential key FPL assets to try and squeeze into your teams for short-term potential.
Footboxx release two videos every week on their YouTube channel. There is a weekly watchlist video usually out on Tuesday where they look at potentially lucrative picks in the next few weeks. There is also a weekly review and preview video where they reveal their team including potential transfer options and Captain picks.
This month FPL Focus has had a rebrand and indeed has gained a new name. Alongside these big changes there have also been Gameweek review and preview videos as well as brand new weekly Captaincy videos
This month FPL Focus has also joined the FPL WildCats for their live stream just in time to highlight his 94 point haul in Gameweek 5. He also joined FPL Nymfria on one of weekly her Dream Team Stream
During the international break the guys at Fantasy Football Academy released a new episode of the podcast covering what had happened in the first four gameweeks of the season and analysed the various Wildcard options. Additionally they also had a live-stream on YouTube with FPL_Sheikh talking all things about Gameweek 5.
FPL Chip Chat have been releasing an Instagram and YouTube mini-series aiming to gets the fans back closer to the football as Charles and Wicks tour the Premier League grounds, reporting live their club-by-club insights. FPL Road Chip.
October has been a busy month, for both the FPL Talking Points website as well as seeing him expand his contributions within the FPL community but writing articles for Jumper for Goalposts, the new website from Scout Network member, El Statto. The first two articles of the Overcoming FPL series, where we analyse how mental shortcuts and cognitive biases affect our FPL decisions, were published this month. Article one and article two.
FPL Talking Points has also been busy adding 15 new podcasts to his interactive map during the month of October. This included content creators from the UK, Wales, Norway, Gambia. Pakistan, India, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, and our most recent addition in Hungary!
The boys at the FPL Hangover Podcast release a weekly episode which airs every Tuesday morning. In their recent podcasts throughout October they have been reviewing previous Gameweek and looking ahead to the next round of fixtures. On October 29th the FPL Hangover Podcast are guest appearing on Lama Lounge’s The FPL Debate
LESSONS LEARNED FROM FPL GAMEWEEK 6
- Aston Villa 0-3 Leeds United
- West Ham United 1-1 Manchester City
- Fulham 1-2 Crystal Palace
- Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea
- Liverpool 2-1 Sheffield United
- Southampton 2-0 Everton
- Wolves 1-1 Newcastle United
- Arsenal 0-1 Leicester City
- Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
- Burnley 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
3 years, 6 months ago
Start Justin. Fairly attacking. Taylor first sub I guess