Fantasy Premier League

FPL pre-season lessons: Man City duo look dangerous

By The Scout 4 Aug 2021

The Scout says Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez are being overlooked ahead of the season kick-off

The Scout is highlighting the form players in Fantasy Premier League and making key tactical observations during pre-season.

Man City midfielders look dangerous

Ilkay Gundogan (£7.5m) and Riyad Mahrez (£9.0m) gave Fantasy Premier League managers a timely reminder of their potential in Manchester City’s win over Blackpool on Tuesday.

Gundogan scored twice and also supplied an assist in the 4-1 victory, his first start of pre-season.

Mahrez, meanwhile, produced a goal and an assist to extend his fine summer form.

The Algerian has scored in all three of his side’s friendlies, totalling three goals and two assists.

Gundogan and Mahrez averaged 5.6 and 5.4 points per match respectively last season, ranking among the top seven midfielders in Fantasy.

Yet they have largely been ignored in opening squads ahead of 2021/22, both being owned in just 5.6 per cent of teams.

Man City 4-1 Blackpool highlights

Kevin De Bruyne (£12.0m) and Phil Foden (£8.0m) are Man City’s most-selected midfielders, sitting in 14.7 per cent and 10.8 per cent of squads respectively.

But neither player has featured in pre-season so far, due to their participation in the latter stages of UEFA Euro 2020.

This suggests that bringing in Gundogan or Mahrez could be the smartest move for managers who are keen to invest in Pep Guardiola’s attack from the start of the season.

Remember Cantwell?

Elsewhere, Todd Cantwell (£5.5m) showed his potential as a budget midfielder in Fantasy by supplying two assists in Norwich City’s 5-0 win over Gillingham.

He now has three assists during pre-season.

Norwich 5-0 Gillingham highlights

Forward Adam Idah (£5.0m) scored twice for the Canaries, taking his total to four goals over the summer friendlies.

Despite his output, managers should be wary of buying Idah. He is likely to remain back-up to Teemu Pukki (£6.0m) as Norwich's lone striker this term.