The Scout is tipping five players to back for Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 8.
Raheem Sterling (MCI) £7.9m
We are witnessing a more clinical Sterling.
He has five Premier League goals this season having been entrusted with a central attacking role by Pep Guardiola.
That makes him the leading goalscorer among FPL midfielders and second only to Sergio Aguero (£11.5m and six goals) for Manchester City.
And with Aguero expected to miss the Gameweek 8 visit of Stoke City with a rib injury, although the forward did return to light training this morning, the onus will be on Sterling to maintain his early season form.
Sterling's underlying statistics are hugely impressive.
He ranks second for both shots (19) and penalty-area shots (14) in the Man City squad.
The 22-year-old has averaged an effort every 20.3 minutes, more frequently than any other FPL midfielder with more than three starts.
That return also betters team-mate Gabriel Jesus (£10.5m) who has registered a shot every 24.5 minutes.
Despite that, the Brazilian has attracted more than 219,000 new owners ahead of Gameweek 8, compared with Sterling's 63,000+.
Sterling has also had 46 touches in the opposition’s penalty area – again more than Jesus (38) and second only to Aguero (47) and Harry Kane (£12.7m and 55) overall.
Sterling in 2017/18
| Total | Man City rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 19 | 2 |
| Shots in box | 14 | 2 |
| Shots on target | 7 | 2= |
| ICT Threat | 274 | 3 |
Managers may be put off by Guardiola's rotation policy.
But Sterling has started the last four matches for which he has been available, missing only the Gameweek 4 trip to Liverpool through suspension.
That looks crucial to his FPL prospects ahead of back-to-back home matches.
Burnley will be the visitors in Gameweek 9 following a midweek UEFA Champions League home meeting with Napoli.
Sterling has been introduced from the bench in both European fixtures so far, indicating that he is set to start against both Stoke and the Clarets a week later.
Man City have scored more goals (22) and created more big chances (30) than any other team.
Guardiola’s decision to bring Sterling inside from his position on the flank, trusting him to complement the potency of strikers Aguero and Jesus, has been a key factor.
Part of only 6.1% of squads, Sterling can prove a powerful differential.
Also in this series
Part 1: Harry Maguire
Part 2: Virgil van Dijk
Part 4: Pascal Gross
Part 5: Alexis Sanchez
