The Scout explains why Manchester City are a key club to invest in in Fantasy Premier League and picks out their best players.
Managers in Fantasy are currently awaiting the results of this weekend's FA Cup quarter-finals before deciding on their plans for the season run-in.
But one of the things we do know for certain right now is that Manchester City and Crystal Palace both have eight matches left to play - one more than everyone else.
That is because they didn't play in the last Gameweek, in Blank Gameweek 31 (BGW31) - a problem which meant four Man City players were among the nine most-sold players in BGW31.
That "blank" was due to Man City's EFL Cup final against Arsenal, where Nico O'Reilly (£5.0m) scored both goals in a 2-0 win for Pep Guardiola's side.
City's league match against Palace will now need to be rearranged, meaning they are set to have a "Double Gameweek" at some stage (two fixtures in one Gameweek), with the potential of at least one more.
That makes their players good picks so, here, The Scout looks at who managers should consider bringing in.
Who are Man City's form players?
O'Reilly's display in the EFL Cup final has continued his outstanding run of form since he was moved into his preferred central-midfield role by Guardiola.
Listed as a defender in Fantasy, the 21-year-old has scored three goals across his last four league appearances, while also collecting two clean sheets.
His 38 points across those contests are by far the most of any Man City player, with Rodri (£6.3m) and Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m) the only team-mates to produce more than half that total.
Notably, Rodri has just one attacking return across his last four league matches - a goal against Nottingham Forest - but he has supplemented that with four defensive contribution (DC) points and a further four bonus points.
Semenyo sits just one point behind Rodri on 21 points in this same period. Listed as a midfielder, he's profited from a move up front recently, scoring twice, but he has since moved back into a support role.
The huge downturn in output of Erling Haaland (£14.5m) is easy to see in the table below as he continues to play with an injury niggle.
The Norwegian has managed just one goal and one assist across his last four matches, totalling 15 points in those contests against Fulham, Newcastle United, Forest and West Ham United.
Man City's top-scoring players, last four matches
| Player | Pts | Goals + assists | Clean sheets* | DC/Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Reilly | 38 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Rodri | 22 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Semenyo | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Ait-Nouri | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Dias | 16 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Haaland | 15 | 2 | N/A | 1 |
| B.Silva | 15 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
*Defenders earn four points for a clean sheet, midfielders earn one point
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
Who's had the biggest goal threat?
The underlying statistics help to highlight O'Reilly's huge potential for Fantasy managers over the run-in.
Over his last four matches, he is ranked first among team-mates for shots, shots in the box and big chances, which are situations where a player is expected to score.
Haaland takes second spot with 12 shots, while also ranking joint-second on eight shots in the box (alongside Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) and three big chances, alongside Semenyo.
His uncharacteristically lowly 8.3 per cent goal conversion rate shows why Haaland has frustrated so many backers. O'Reilly and Semenyo have easily surpassed that number, with 23.1 and 22.2 per cent goal conversion respectively.
Goal threat, last four matches
| Player | Shots | Shots in box | Big chances | Goal conv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Reilly | 13 | 11 | 4 | 23.1% |
| Haaland | 12 | 8 | 3 | 8.3% |
| Marmoush | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Semenyo | 9 | 7 | 3 | 22.2% |
| Bernardo | 7 | 6 | 0 | 14.3% |
| Foden | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Guehi | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0.0% |
| Rodri | 5 | 4 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Cherki | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
Who's had the most all-round potential?
A look at O'Reilly's overall numbers indicate his sole focus is on scoring goals.
He's made a total of eight defensive contributions across his last four matches - the fewest of every player in the table below - and created just one chance for his team-mates.
Haaland and Semenyo have created one big chance each and, added to their three big chances above, this means they have both been involved in four big chances, placing them joint-top with O'Reilly.
For a team that's renowned for their attacking football, it's fair to say these numbers are not hugely impressive. Defensive duo Marc Guehi (£5.1m) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.7m) also feature among the top five for big-chance involvements across their last four matches, an indication of the lack of options from midfield, in particular.
Certainly, Semenyo and Guehi have made an impact since joining in January, placing second and third for defensive contributions.
There's no surprise that Rodri leads the way for defensive contributions by some margin, with his total of 50 not far away from being twice that of any team-mate.
The Spaniard's eight chances created rank joint-top along with Bernardo Silva (£6.2m) and Rayan Cherki (£6.3m).
Big-chance (BC) stats and defensive contributions (DC), last four matches
| Player | BC inv. | BC created | Chances created | DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Reilly | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Haaland | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Semenyo | 4 | 1 | 4 | 28 |
| Guehi | 3 | 1 | 3 | 26 |
| Ait-Nouri | 3 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| Rodri | 2 | 1 | 8 | 50 |
| Foden | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
So, who are the best Man City picks for the run-in?
At a cost of £5.0m and owned by only nine per cent of Fantasy managers, O'Reilly is shaping up to be a cut-price, differential gem for the run-in.
Bearing in mind that Man City's match against Palace will be at home, O'Reilly's seasonal home output would make him a genuine option for the Triple Captain chip if that match is moved into a Gameweek where they already have a scheduled home match.
Indeed, his average of 7.7 points per start in home matches is better than any team-mate, with Haaland just behind on 7.3.
Despite his drop in output, Haaland has to be among the best three Man City picks to own for the run-in as it only seems a matter of time before he's free of his injury niggles. The Norwegian's performance against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League recently, when he had seven shots, shows he could be getting back to his best.
Guardiola still seems uncertain over the best structure of his midfield right now, and Semenyo's surprise benching in that match against Real Madrid shows why we can never take anything for granted.
While the Ghana international does still look the best option among Man City's midfielders for now, Rodri's multiple routes to returns shouldn't be overlooked if you're shopping in the sub-£6.5m category.