The Scout assesses the best way to invest in clubs who will play twice in Double Gameweek 25 (DGW25) of Fantasy Premier League.
Manchester City
Man City are the only one of the four DGW25 sides who play at home on both occasions, entertaining Chelsea and Brentford.
They also face AFC Bournemouth in Blank Gameweek 26 when Liverpool's big-hitters are without a fixture following their own DGW25.
This indicates that Man City are the best side to consider tripling up on in order to help navigate the coming period.
Who’s starring since De Bruyne and Haaland returned?
Crucially, Pep Guardiola has welcomed back his two most influential players, Kevin De Bruyne (£10.8m) and Erling Haaland (£14.4m), following spells on the sidelines through injury.
De Bruyne has made an immediate impact, scoring once and supplying four assists in the last four Gameweeks. He has followed that up with a goal and two assists in Man City's 3-1 win over Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening.
The Belgian’s return to action has also helped lift the output of Phil Foden (£8.0m) and Julian Alvarez (£6.7m).
Foden is Man City’s top-scoring player in this period with 31 points. This includes a hat-trick against Brentford, which helped him to his career-high haul of 20 points. He also produced a goal and an assist against Copenhagen.
Foden's GW23 hat-trick v Brentford
.@PhilFoden's second City hat-trick! 💥 pic.twitter.com/5ab1V6Cfp1
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 6, 2024
Alvarez’s two goals and 13 points in Gameweek 22, meanwhile, was his best score since Gameweek 4.
Encouragingly for the Argentinian’s owners in Fantasy, he retained his place in Man City's XI against Brentford despite Haaland also returning to the line-up for the first time since Gameweek 15. Guardiola changed his tactics to account for the Bees’ five-man defence, with Alvarez alongside De Bruyne in a central attacking role behind Haaland in a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Furthermore, Alvarez was rested in Europe in midweek, which lifts his prospects of starts in Man City's pair of matches.
Meanwhile, managers have rushed to Haaland after his two goals against Everton last weekend. The Norwegian has earned over 424,000 transfers in ahead of Saturday's 11:00 GMT deadline, taking his ownership to 71 per cent.
Man City’s last four matches
| Player | Pts | Goals | Assists | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foden | 31 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| De Bruyne | 28 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Haaland | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Alvarez | 19 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Rodri | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
*Midfielders earn one point per clean sheet compared with the four of defenders
Who has the greatest goal threat?
The underlying statistics highlight the influence of Foden and Alvarez, with the duo ranked among Man City’s top two players for shots, shots in the box and shots on target.
Haaland and De Bruyne's numbers also impress, given their limited minutes.
Both had nine shots, with the Norwegian's eight shots in the box second only to the 11 of Alvarez. Haaland's 22.2 per cent goal conversion rate is a team-high figure and underlines his superior finishing.
Man City's main goal threats
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Big chances | Shots on target | Goal conversion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foden | 18 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 16.7% |
| Alvarez | 15 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 13.3% |
| Haaland | 9 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 22.2% |
| De Bruyne | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11.1% |
Who has been their best creator?
Jeremy Doku (£6.5m) has produced a team-high 11 key passes in his four outings from Gameweek 21 onwards.
However, it is De Bruyne’s contribution which impresses the most.
He has matched Doku's 25 minutes per key pass and bettered him by four big chances created to zero.
Alvarez and Foden have each supplied eight key passes but, similar to Doku, neither player created a single big chance.
While the Argentinian does have a share set-piece duties, he is likely to be a back-up option when De Bruyne is on the pitch.
Man City's top creators
| Player | Key passes | Big chances created | Mins/key pass | Corner-kicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doku | 11 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| De Bruyne | 9 | 4 | 25 | 21 |
| Alvarez | 8 | 0 | 42 | 19 |
| Foden | 8 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| Rodri | 8 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
So, who are the best Man City players to pick?
A triple-up on Man City’s attack looks the best way forward, with Haaland, De Bruyne and Foden all in exceptional form.
Haaland, certainly, is a must-have. More than 434,000 managers currently have the Triple Captain chip active and it is very likely the vast majority will be playing it on the Norwegian.
Despite being benched in two of the last four Gameweeks, De Bruyne has still delivered attacking returns on both occasions.
Meanwhile, Foden’s chances of being benched look slim, given that Guardiola’s side have concerns over the fitness of Jack Grealish (£7.2m) and Bernardo Silva (£6.4m).
In defence, it’s worth noting that Man City have conceded just one goal in their last three at the Etihad Stadium.
The versatile Nathan Ake (£5.0m) could be the best option here, particularly with Josko Gvardiol (£4.8m) sidelined until next month.
Indeed, Ake is the second most-bought defender in the Gameweek, earning 107,000+ new owners after his assist and 11-point haul against Everton.
View all the latest FPL tips ahead of Double Gameweek 25 in Fantasy Premier League