Player Focus: The form and fixtures of Joao Cancelo
One of this season’s star FPL players, Man City defender Joao Cancelo has both the form and fixtures to end it strongly.
Joao Cancelo: Season so far
As the top-scoring Man City player and fourth-most throughout all of FPL, it’s been a fantastic season for Cancelo. 17 clean sheets, one goal, nine assists and 27 bonus points have arrived for the full-back. Consequently, he is the season’s biggest price riser, beginning at £6.0m and now costing £7.1m.
His ownership peaked at 4.19 million by Gameweek 25 – typically the only time he was rested this season. Perhaps Cancelo’s biggest selling point is that he’s so important to the team, he is almost immune from ‘Pep Roulette’ – only missing one other league game, due to suspension.
Of his six double-digit hauls, the highlight of his FPL season came in Gameweek 18. At Newcastle, he bagged a clean sheet, assist and his only league goal so far.
Recent form
The main surprise is that the 27-year-old has scored no more. Cancelo has far more goal attempts than any other defender, also ranking top for touches in the final third and penalty area. Furthermore, he has more overall touches than anyone else.
To see 34 defenders score more often suggests that his great season might still be a case of underachievement. Indeed, two goals have arrived in the Champions League. Although owners have been lost due to chip strategies, Cancelo has blanked in only one of his last five matches and needs to get back into FPL squads for the final matches.
Upcoming fixtures
This is because City simply cannot afford any slip-ups. Every game is a must-win if they want to retain their Premier League trophy and they have a good fixture run to help achieve this.
Some FPL managers are even doubling up on City’s back line for these games, knowing their defence reigns supreme in almost every underlying statistic. Such is their playing style, tiredness is rarely an issue for them either.
Cancelo will be fresh for the Leeds match, as he was suspended for Tuesday’s clash with Real Madrid. If you simultaneously want the most-attacking full-back and coverage of the league’s best defence, Cancelo is the outstanding option.
Community thoughts
Andy Martin isn’t too downbeat that Man City conceded to Watford, despite owning two defenders.
Meanwhile, FPL Jack received a few interesting replies to his question about value.
