Manchester City’s recent upturn in form has brought their assets back on the radar for Gameweek 23 in Fantasy Premier League.
Four of their players netted a double-digit haul in their thumping 6-0 win against Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon: Phil Foden, Mateo Kovacic, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku.
After a couple of months of their assets flattering to deceive, is it time to start buying City players again?
Phil Foden’s rising popularity is no surprise
City playmaker Phil Foden (£9.3m) is the second most-bought midfielder going into Gameweek 23, with the England international the highest-scoring player in the game over the last four gameweeks.
In this period, he has produced double-digit hauls against Brentford and Ipswich Town, registered five goals and two assists, and earned seven bonus points.
His purple patch has contributed to an upturn in form for Manchester City, who are unbeaten in their last five league games, scoring a league-leading 15 goals.
Foden’s underlying numbers have been encouraging, too — in the past four gameweeks, he has taken 10 shots, including five Opta-defined big chances, and made eight key passes for his team-mates.
Foden remains a differential in FPL, with an ownership of around 7.8 per cent, but that figure will already be higher by the time you’re reading this. He has the potential to match Cole Palmer (£11.4m) for output.
Foden racked up a hearty 19 FPL points in Gameweek 22 (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
He’s a tricky price point for a third premium midfielder, alongside the template picks of Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) and Chelsea’s Palmer.
However, he has an incredibly high ceiling, having produced 27 goal involvements from 33 starts in the 2023-24 season. Minutes were his biggest barrier to points this campaign, but he’s back to his highest level.
City’s fixture list isn’t for the faint-hearted
City lead the form charts in the Premier League but their upcoming run of fixtures are tough.
They do not have a ‘green’ fixture according to FPL’s fixture difficulty rating in the next seven gameweeks. In this spell, they face Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A), Newcastle United (H), Liverpool (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A), Nottingham Forest (A) and Brighton & Hove Albion (H).
In previous seasons, we would have viewed a tough run of fixtures for City as insignificant — under Pep Guardiola, this side have regularly been fixture-proof. City beat Chelsea and Nottingham Forest in the reverse fixtures and drew against Arsenal and Newcastle.
The potential for investment in City players will depend on your risk appetite, with plenty of FPL points on the table for backers. I personally put more weight on form than fixtures.
What other City attacking assets are worth considering?
Foden is dominating the transfers-in column for City players, but there are other routes to Guardiola’s attack.
Erling Haaland (£14.8m) remains their highest-scoring fantasy asset by some margin and the highest owned (29.9 per cent), although plenty of these will be inactive teams.
He sits one behind Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) in the Golden Boot race, with 17 goals this season. Ten of those strikes came in the opening five gameweeks of the season, but Haaland does have four goals in his last four games, showing his best form is returning.
-We’ve seen an improvement in his underlying numbers in this spell, too, where he’s back on top among City players for shots on target (11), big chances (eight) and expected goals (xG, 3.62).
Haaland’s new contract is also significant and could have a positive impact on his performances. His high price tag in FPL is an obstacle, though.
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For a budget-friendly way of tapping into City’s attack, consider midfielder Savinho (£6.5m). He’s also in good form, with one goal and five assists in his last three league appearances.
His minutes are the biggest problem. The Brazilian was an unused substitute in the 6-0 win against Ipswich Town, but he had started City’s four previous league games.
Savinho has been in good form but didn’t play in Manchester City’s win over Ipswich (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
City were keen to keep key players fresh for their midweek loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. How they fare in Europe will shape their season run-in.
A mention also has to go to Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m)who has been a key creator in recent games, ranking third for key passes (14) and big chances created (four) in their last four.
The challenge here is that he comes in very similarly priced to Foden, who carries a more consistent goal threat. De Bruyne has the edge on set pieces, though.
Be wary of investing in City’s defence
Another route into this Manchester City side is their back line and with tougher games usually meaning tighter affairs, we could see them keep some clean sheets over the next few weeks.
Guardiola’s side have kept five clean sheets this season, with two coming in the last four gameweeks (against Leicester City and Ipswich).
During City’s troubled spell in November and December, their underlying defensive numbers were equally alarming, among the worst in the league for big chances conceded.
However, these numbers have improved in the last four gameweeks, with just 11 big chances conceded. They are vulnerable from set pieces, however, conceding five times from dead-ball situations.
We should be looking to invest in cheaper picks from form defences, including Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, in the coming gameweeks.
If Gvardiol (£6.0m) remains the best pick from City’s defence given the attacking output he can provide. He has registered 30 shots — the highest for a defender in the Premier League this season — and scored four goals.
(Top photo: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
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