Dugout Discussion

Aguero, De Bruyne start for Man City as Sterling, Cancelo on bench for Double Gameweek 26 opener

Sergio Aguero (£10.3m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m) both start for Manchester City in their first Double Gameweek 26 fixture at home to West Ham.

Aguero makes his first appearance in a City starting XI since Gameweek 6 – in the reverse fixture against the Hammers – while De Bruyne made his full injury return by starting in the 1-0 win at Arsenal in Gameweek 25.

Ferran Torres (£6.9m) is another longer-term absentee making an injury comeback, which means a host of FPL assets find themselves on Pep Guardiola’s bench.

Raheem Sterling (£11.6m), Gabriel Jesus (£9.2m), Phil Foden (£6.1m) and Bernardo Silva (£7.4m) are all out of the XI, as is Joao Cancelo (£6.1m).

Rodri (£5.3m) is also on benchwarming duty as Fernandinho (£5.4m) earns a second consecutive league start, anchoring a midfield three also featuring De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan (£6.2m).

Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m) drops out of the starting line-up after beginning in the Champions League, as FPL managers’ favoured duo of Ruben Dias (£6.1m) and John Stones (£5.2m) are flanked in defence by Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.5m) and Kyle Walker (£6.1m).

On his rotated side, Guardiola told BT Sport ahead of kick off:

Many games, we have two days recovery. We have a fantastic squad. Everyone deserves to play, all doing incredibly well, fresh legs and a very good mentality.

On West Ham, the Man City boss added:

Looks like they will play five at the back, previous seasons they did it as well, we knew it. They can do normal shape but they’ve done five at back at Old Trafford. The ideas are the same, good runners up front, two incredible holding midfielders. We try to impose our game.

Fabianski is absent for the Irons

Lukasz Fabianski (£5.0m) is the big name missing from West Ham’s starting line-up, with the Poland keeper ruled out due to a training-ground injury.

“Unfortunately one of the players just stood on Lukasz’s arm yesterday (in training). It’s swollen up, he’s just not been able to extend his arm. It’s a real blow, he’s been in really good form.” – David Moyes

Ireland international Darren Randolph (£4.3m) is between the sticks for the Hammers, behind a back five of Ben Johnson (£3.9m), Aaron Cresswell (£5.8m), Craig Dawson (£4.5m), Issa Diop (£4.3m) and Vladimir Coufal (£4.7m).

Declan Rice (£4.7m) and Tomas Soucek (£5.3m) will hope to add to the spoiling effect of Moyes’ five-man defence, behind a front three of Jesse Lingard (£5.9m), Pablo Fornals (£5.9m) and Michail Antonio (£6.5m).

Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Zinchenko, Dias, Stones, Walker; Gundogan, Fernandinho, De Bruyne; Torres, Aguero, Mahrez.

West Ham United XI (5-2-2-1): Randolph; Johnson, Cresswell, Dawson, Diop, Coufal; Rice, Soucek; Fornals, Lingard; Antonio.

1,312 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Rash
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Big Ruben finally delivering!

  2. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Kdb looking essential here

    1. SAKA AND EMILE SMITH ROWE
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Been piss poor before that

    2. Bubz
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      😎

    3. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Unfortunately Gundogan, Dias, Stones/Cancelo also essential!

  3. Catastrophe
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Incredible pass from KDB

    Go on Ruben!

  4. Cilly Bonnolly
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Dreamland.

  5. Bobby Digital
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Ruuubeen!!!

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

    Christ almighty, why are Stones & Dias playing CF?

    1. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Fluidity

  7. Freshy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Stones close to taking it away

  8. Hooky
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Offside check?

    1. Catastrophe
      • 13 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      No..

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

      No

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

    Dias finally scores for me! Stones next.

  10. Captain_Shirokov
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    that goal has been so overdue

  11. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Dias G was overdue.

    Kevin still magic...

  12. Holmes
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssss, finaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

  13. Big boy Bowen
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    KdB & Dias juuuuhuuuuuu

  14. Says
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Terrific assist by apparently the worst player in the league

  15. Ruinenlust
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Dias was due to be fair

  16. FPL price manipulators are …
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Finally!!!

  17. Royal5
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    First time i own him this season. Get in.

  18. REDMOND IN SANDALS
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    finally some justice for people owning dias over stones

  19. Flair
    • 3 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    RUBEN DIASSSSSSSSS YOU ABSOLUTE BEAUTY THE GOAL HAS FINALLY COME

  20. Nightcrawler
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Dias casual darling strikes. Unbelievable

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

      Hahahhahah

  21. Champions League Varane
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    DIASSSS

  22. Abusive_Sgt_Daelrhos
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Yesssss

  23. Das Boot
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    lol. Is that the same KDB everyone was slagging off 3 minutes ago. Some place this on a Saturday

    1. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Wait until the 3rd or 4th game!

  24. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Stones & Dias throwing themselves at it 😆

    FPL dream!

  25. Cantona's Kung Fu Kick
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    I've had Dias in my team since week 3, I WC this week and take him out and NOW he scores!

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

      Silly billy

    2. Collie01
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      I'm sorry but taking out Dias before his double DGW was not the best move.

  26. Deulofail
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    FFS Stones you shortarse

    1. Deulofail
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      Should get an assist for that

    2. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      They’d have given Bruno that assist

  27. GinjaWhinja
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    What a ball by KDB!

  28. seewhyaxe
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    doesn't own either player..

    1. Utopsis
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 1 month ago

      With you mate, with you

  29. MIGHTY JOE
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    DIAAAAAS!!! *pass out*

  30. Collie01
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 1 month ago

    Dias yess!!

    Surprisingly quite a bit lower owned than Stones and Cancelo!