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Fantasy Football Scout: Is any Man City defender ‘nailed’ without Cancelo?

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Our latest Fantasy Football Scout preview features a post from editor Skonto Rigga on whether any Man City defender is nailed-on now that Joao Cancelo is gone.

After three-and-a-half seasons, five goals, 17 assists, 44 clean sheets and 457 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points, we’ve said auf wiedersehen to Cancelo.

A nailed starter until Gameweek 16 and then deemed dispensable by Gameweek 22, his fall from Man City regular and FPL royalty status was a sharp one.

He’s been packed off on loan to Bayern Munich for the rest of 2022/23 but looks unlikely to be wearing the sky blue of City again, with an ‘option to buy’ clause also tagged onto this deal.

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Now we turn our attention to how Pep Guardiola will shape up his City defence without him.

And the key Fantasy Football question: is anyone ‘nailed’ as a result of Cancelo’s exit?

THE OPTIONS IN EACH POSITION

Right-backRight centre-backLeft centre-backLeft-back
Lewis, Walker, Stones, AkanjiStones, Akanji, Dias, WalkerAkanji, Laporte, AkeAke, Laporte, Gomez

Above is a very rough indication of who can play where in the City backline. Cancelo’s departure and Rico Lewis’s (£3.9m) rise to prominence probably make some tactical choices slightly less likely. For example, John Stones (£5.4m) or Manuel Akanji (£5.0m) starting at right-back, given there are no real trusted candidates to ‘invert’ on the left.

However, proving that anything is possible in Pep’s world, Stones did indeed invert from right-back in the second half of Gameweek 21. It meant four recognised centre-backs stationed in the defence.

Of course, the positions listed are nominal ones. A full-back is often not really a full-back in Guardiola’s teams. Even the centre-backs can shift about – as we’re about to discuss in the section below.

CHECK OUT THE FULL ARTICLE, WHICH LOOKS AT GUARDIOLA’S DIFFERENT DEFENSIVE SET-UPS OF THIS SEASON


Meanwhile, we have a round up of Transfer Deadline Day to end this January transfer window.

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