Fantasy Premier League

FPL managers bail out as Iheanacho is benched

By The Scout 15 Dec 2016
Kelechi Iheanacho, Man City

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The Bonus Points

Pablo Zabaleta (£4.7m) collected the maximum Fantasy Premier League bonus points in Manchester City’s 2-0 home win over Watford.

Scoring 38 in the Bonus Points System (BPS), the Argentinian played a significant role in both defence and attack against the Hornets.

Zabaleta opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola's side, supplementing this with six clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), three recoveries and a pair of completed tackles.

David Silva (£8.7m) picked up two bonus points, tallying 32 in the BPS.

City's playmaker found the net for the first time this season, netting a late second while also completing 82% of 63 attempted passes.

Gael Clichy (£5.2m) was awarded a single bonus point thanks to a BPS score of 30.

The left-back produced 11 recoveries, nine CBI and a successful tackle to help his side earn a third clean sheet of the campaign.

Manchester City v Watford, 141216, John Stones
John Stones was again benched by Pep Guardiola, missing out on Manchester City's third clean sheet of the campaign

The Scout Notes

Guardiola's decision to bench John Stones (£4.8m) has proved the catalyst for further sales, with more than 25,000 FPL managers parting company with the defender overnight.

City have mustered only a single shut-out in the 12 Gameweeks that Stones has started, compared to two clean sheets in four without him on the teamsheet.

Ilkay Gundogan (£5.3m) has also suffered a considerable recent exodus, following news that the German is expected to be sidelined for an extended period after sustaining a knee injury during the first-half.

Manchester City v Watford, 141216, Gundogan
Ikay Gundogan suffered suspected knee ligament damage in Wednesday's 2-0 win

Despite the absence of Sergio Aguero (£12.8m) through suspension, Guardiola opted to bench Kelechi Iheanacho (£6.8m) against the Hornets.

Having attracted more than 224,000 new owners over the last two Gameweeks, only the injured Charlie Austin (£6.6m) of Southampton has been subjected to more sales among FPL forwards ahead of Saturday's deadline.

Walter Mazzarri’s Watford teamsheet also raised eyebrows after Troy Deeney (£6.8m) warmed the bench for the first time this season.

Handed only 19 minutes as a substitute, the Hornets’ skipper has now failed to score in nine successive Gameweeks ahead of a weekend trip to Sunderland.

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