Best picks from the Man City midfield
Sitting at the top of the Premier League table means that Man City are popular targets for FPL managers. The Man City midfield is always a rotation headache. However, with many decent options, a Double Gameweek to be scheduled and a nice set of fixtures risking the Pep roulette looks wise. We take a look at the Man City midfield to assess who is the best purchase for FPL managers.
Man City’s progression to the semi-final of the FA Cup means that they will no longer play twice in Double Gameweek 33. This means that their fixture against Wolves will need to be rescheduled in to a later Gameweek.
With the prospect of a Double Gameweek as well as a nice set of fixtures to the end of the season investing in Man City seems wise. Especially with Liverpool only one point behind them in the race for the League title. The battle to be champions is good news for FPL managers. It will ensure that Man City are focused on winning matches and not prioritising on other competitions.
Form
Currently captain Kevin De Bruyne is the Man City midfield player in the best form. He has returned three double digit hauls and an eight point return in his last seven Premier League matches. His four goals, two assists and 12 bonus points make him the third most in form midfielder in the league. Only Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Chelsea’s Kai Havertz are in better form currently.
However De Bruyne is also one of the most expensive midfielders in the game. This may make affording him difficult for FPL managers. Riyad Mahrez is the second most in form City midfielder and priced at £3m cheaper than his City team mate he is much easier to budget for in FPL squads. Managers looking to invest win Mahrez should be mindful of rotation however. Mahrez started the last two Premier League games, however the two matches prior to that he played just 14 and 22 minutes. Indeed in the last ten Gameweeks Mahrez has started just five matches, he has also failed to register any minutes in three games.
Total FPL points
Bernando Silva is Man City’s top scoring midfielder in FPL so far this season. The midfielder went on a fantastic run of returns between Gameweek 8 and 16 where he returned in seven of the nine matches. However his recent form has dipped, partially as a result of a change of position when De Bruyne is fit to play.
However, Bernando has returned in two of the last four matches in the Premier League. At £7.1m he is £4.6m cheaper than De Bruyne and has played 90 minutes in every game bar one since Gameweek 18. The game he failed to play 90 in he still played 74 minutes. Bernando may not have the explosively of other members of the Man City midfield, however he has security of starts and is budget friendly.
Underlying stats
For the purpose of these underlying stats we assess the Man City midfield players over the last six Gameweeks.
Mahrez and Raheem Sterling are top for goals in this period with three each, De Bruyne and Phil Foden have each registered two.
Foden and Mahrez are top for goal attempts with 16 each. Budget enabler Bernando is just two behind with 14 goal attempts.
Foden is also top across not just the Man City midfield but also City players for expected goal involvement (xGI). His xGI tally is significantly higher that Sterling in second and Mahrez and Bernardo who are tied third.
Community Chatter
FPL Detail H had a poll running for who the FPL community expect to win the Premier League. As part of his poll he also included a thread of stats on the City assets and performances.
Overall
As with always with Man City we should be mindful of the impact the Champions League could have. Man City will need to win in both competitions if they want to be in with a chance of winning both. This means that Pep will have to field strong teams consistently, Tom from Fantasy Football Scout has had a look at which Gameweeks have the biggest risk of impact by European competitions. This is worth readying before investing in Man City or any team involved in Europe.
If budget allows investing in De Bruyne looks like a wise decision.
However, there are cheaper alternatives such as Foden and Bernando who could be good options also and save budget. Foden is top for a number of key underlying stat. Therefore, alongside De Bruyne, he is the most attractive Man City midfield investment option.
Mahrez has potential to be an excellent differential for managers wanting to take a chance on his minutes in the final eight Gameweeks of the season.
Thinking of investing in a forward who plays twice in Double Gameweek 31? We compared Weghorst, Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison to assess who is the best buy for FPL managers.
