Fantasy Premier League

FPL pre-season watch: Pair Haaland with Stones

By The Scout 24 Jul 2023

Man City forward scores twice while centre-back profits from advanced role with a goal

Erling Haaland (£14.0m) continues to grow in popularity in Fantasy Premier League after scoring twice in Manchester City’s first match of pre-season.

The forward can now be found in an incredible 86 per cent of squads, despite costing £1.5m more than any other player in the game.

Haaland was among 10 changes made at half-time by Pep Guardiola against Yokahama F. Marinos on Sunday.

The Norwegian made an immediate impact, scoring the first of his two goals just seven minutes after his introduction.

Haaland's brace helped City to victory in pre-season against Yokohama F. Marinos 🇯🇵

Here's how it happened 👇 pic.twitter.com/JLLpePeGO5
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 23, 2023

Man City’s early schedule shows why Haaland will be the go-to captain for millions of managers in any given Gameweek.

According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), five of their first seven matches score only two.

Man City’s first seven matches

GW	Opponent	FDR	GW	Opponent	FDR
1	BUR (A)	2	5	WHU (A)	2
2	NEW (H)	4	6	NFO (H)	2
3	SHU (A)	2	7	WOL (A)	2
4	FUL (H)	2

That lifts the appeal of investing in Guardiola’s key players at both ends of the pitch from the start of the season.

John Stones (£5.5m) has quickly emerged as their standout pick in defence thanks to a change of role for his club.

Although he plays as a centre-back when Man City are without the ball, Stones moves into central midfield when they are in possession.

Pick Stones in your team now

The England international, who is listed as a defender in Fantasy, has climbed in ownership after scoring his side’s opening goal.

Indeed, Stones is Man City’s second most-popular player in Fantasy, selected by almost 22 per cent of managers.

Julian Alvarez (£6.5m) was also among the standout performers, recording a goal and an assist, while Phil Foden (£7.5m) supplied an assist.

De Bruyne close to a return

Meanwhile, the imminent return to action of Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) could force managers to rethink their midfields.

Although the Belgian missed out on Sunday, Guardiola has confirmed the player is close to a comeback.

See: Guardiola says De Bruyne is close to a return

Man City’s opening fixtures, combined with the growing popularity in Fantasy of a 3-5-2 formation, can bring De Bruyne back into contention as a big-hitter.

See: FPL experts: What is the best formation for 2023/24?

While Haaland and Stones look the best options at present, a fully-fit De Bruyne could bring in huge hauls over that run.