We might have been goal-starved on New Year’s Day but we weren’t short of talking points from the evening’s four matches.
Kicking off the day’s Scout Notes, one of three stalemates: Sunderland 0-0 Manchester City.
O’REILLY EARLY SUB + TWO OTHER INJURY CONCERNS
City banked their fourth clean sheet in five Gameweeks on Wearside. This was their ninth of the campaign, the joint-highest tally with Arsenal:
Nico O’Reilly (£5.3m) didn’t benefit from the clean sheet points this time, however.
He was taken off after 57 minutes of Thursday’s game, with Josko Gvardiol (£6.1m) – surprisingly benched in the first place – brought on at left-back.
The Sky commentary team said O’Reilly had an issue before coming off but we’ve not seen that confirmed elsewhere. The Manchester Evening News merely said that he’d annoyed his manager.
Pep Guardiola’s post-match interviews didn’t elicit any quotes on O’Reilly. Neither did his brief post-match presser, although there is an embargoed section to come at 1.30pm GMT on Friday. That will serve as Guardiola’s pre-match press conference for Gameweek 20.
The City boss did, however, confirm that Savinho (£6.9m) and Nico Gonzalez (£5.9m) had sustained injuries. The latter came off at half-time, having attempted to play through an issue in the first half, while the former hobbled off shortly after the interval.
“Savinho, it doesn’t look good, I would say. And Nico [Gonzalez], we’ll see.” – Pep Guardiola
One boost for City was the first minutes for Rodri (£6.3m) since Gameweek 10. Very good, he was, too.
“He changed the game. He proved in 45 minutes and in his position, he is the best.
“With Rodri, we struggled less. So, we break the lines and we were more fluid, arrived better and moved better. Hopefully, you know, one year and a half without him, we miss him a lot, so hopefully he can stay [fit] because he makes us a better team.” – Pep Guardiola
DOKU + GVARDIOL THREAT
Thanks to O’Reilly’s emergence, we’ve not seen Gvardiol at left-back much this season. As a result, he’s not been the gung-ho threat of previous years in 2025/26.
Thursday’s performance was old-school Josko. Brought on at left-back, the Croat racked up four attempts – his highest number all season – in little more than half an hour.
They were good ones, too. There was a glorious 66th-minute headed chance that Robin Roefs (£4.8m) saved, followed by another header and then a clever flick that hit the woodwork. Finally, with two minutes to go, a scuffed effort that was blocked near the goalline.
Did Gvardiol do enough in those 30+ minutes to give Guardiola food for thought at left-back?
Above: Josko Gvardiol’s heatmap in Gameweek 19
The fit-again Jeremy Doku (£6.4m) was a bright spark further up the left flank, too. Brought on for Savinho, he delivered more successful take-ons than anyone on show, despite his limited minutes. One superb jinking run into the box nearly resulted in a 69th-minute goal, only for Nordi Mukiele‘s (£4.2m) face to get in the way.
Again, has Guardiola seen enough to give him a start against Chelsea? If so, is it alongside Phil Foden (£9.0m) and Rayan Cherki (£6.7m) – or at the expense of one of them?
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Sunderland deserved the plaudits for their rearguard effort on Thursday, as well as their front-foot aggression in the first half.
But even though few would begrudge the Black Cats their point, and even though City were below par, the visitors still probably should have won.
Take Foden: a 6/10 performance (at best) but he still should have had a return. Erling Haaland (£15.1m) and Savinho both had big chances saved from Foden passes, while the England international himself nearly scored from the aforementioned rebound off Mukiele’s hooter.
Cherki meanwhile saw an assist go up in smoke when Savinho blazed over a sitter from the Frenchman’s cross.
Not the greatest City display but one that still could have resulted in three points and precious Fantasy returns. And a Caicedo-less, managerless Chelsea might actually be more of a favourable opponent than the well-drilled Mackems.
We’ve just got to hope that, after two months of teamsheet consistency, Thursday – with Savinho and Nathan Ake (£5.3m) handed their first league starts since October – doesn’t mark the return of Pep Roulette.
MARVELLOUS MUKIELE
Only City and Arsenal have conceded fewer goals than Sunderland (18) this season.
This clean sheet was their seventh of the campaign and preserved one of just two unbeaten home records in 2025/26.
Mukiele handled Haaland superbly and was justly rewarded with three bonus points. He and the equally impressive Omar Alderete (£4.0m) both banked DefCon points – and now average 5.0 points per match this season. That’s more than James Tarkowski (£5.6m) and Marcos Senesi (£4.9m)!
Above: Players banking DefCon points at the Stadium of Light, with Cherki doing so for the first time this season
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, either, at least not in the first half. Bryan Brobbey (£5.5m), later to go off with muscle tightness, should have scored with a breakaway chance, while full-back Trai Hume (£4.5m) did a Gvardiol and ghosted forward to have a couple of very good opportunities.
With seven players to return from injury and international duty in the next fortnight (five of them likely starters), the Black Cats may only go from strength to strength.
