The Scout looks at the data to show the best way to invest in Enzo Maresca’s side

Manchester City‘s home match against promoted Coventry City this weekend is attracting huge attention in Fantasy, with managers rushing to buy Rayan Cherki (£7.7m) ahead of Friday’s 18:30 BST deadline for Gameweek 3.

The Frenchman’s two goals and two assists in the opening two Gameweeks have earned him a massive 1.2million transfers in this week, almost more than twice the total of any other player.

Meanwhile, Erling Haaland (£15.5m) has picked up 240,000 new owners after his 13-point haul away to Crystal Palace in Gameweek 2, and Josko Gvardiol (£5.6m) is the seventh most-bought player, with over 350,000 transfers in after producing a goal and an assist in the first two matches.

But are these actually the three best Man City players to own? Let’s delve into the data to find out.

Which players have the most points so far?

As shown by the table below, Cherki, Haaland and Gvardiol are Man City’s top-scoring players in Fantasy at present.

Below them, Marc Guehi (£6.0m) scored against AFC Bournemouth in Gameweek 1, just like his fellow defender Gvardiol. Man City are yet to keep a clean sheet so FPL managers who own their defenders have needed these attacking returns.

In midfield, Phil Foden (£7.0m) leads Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m) by two assists to one, while Elliot Anderson (£6.4m) is the only Man City player to collect any defensive contribution (DC) points so far. He’s managed this once, away to Palace. 

Man City’s top-scoring players GW1-2

Player
Goals
Assists
Pts

Cherki
2
2
22

Haaland
2
0
15

Gvardiol
1
1
14

Guehi
1
0
12

Foden
0
2
10

Semenyo
0
1
7

Anderson
0
0
5

*Scroll across to see full table

Who’s most likely to score?

There’s no surprise to see Haaland is the leader in the table below for underlying statistics that show attacking threat. The Norwegian’s 10 shots and nine shots in the box are two and three times the respective totals of any team-mate.

While Haaland’s three big chances (situations where a player is expected to score) are also a team-leading total, it’s Foden who is his nearest rival for goal threat. 

Indeed, Foden leads Cherki for big chances, shots and shots in the box, despite failing to score so far. Cherki has had three shots and scored with two of them – a goal conversion rate of 66.7%. 

Semenyo has matched the three shots in the box of Foden, although none of his efforts have been big chances.

Among the defenders, Guehi leads the way on two shots in the box, with both of those coming from set-pieces against Bournemouth.

Man City’s attacking stats, GW1-2

Player
Big chances
Shots 
Shots in box
Goal conv.

Haaland
3
10
9
20.0%

Foden
2
5
3
0.0%

Cherki
1
3
2
66.7%

Guehi
1
2
2
50.0%

O’Reilly
1
2
1
0.0%

Gvardiol
1
1
1
100.0%

Lewis
1
1
1
0.0%

Semenyo
0
3
3
0.0%

*Scroll across to see full table

Who has the biggest potential for goals AND assists?

When it comes to potential for both goals and assists, it’s Foden who has been the standout player in terms of underlying numbers.

In addition to his two big chances (BC), he has created three more of them for his team-mates. Essentially, this means he has been involved in a total of five big chances, two ahead of both Cherki and Haaland.

In terms of minutes per big-chance involvement, Foden and Cherki lead the way with averages of 34.2 and 38.0 respectively.

Notably, Haaland hasn’t created a single chance under new boss Enzo Maresca and is clearly all about the goal threat.

Again, here, the overall numbers indicate that none of Man City’s defenders have stood out statistically. 

Gvardiol, for example, has one assist from only two chances created, as well as scoring with his only shot.

Man City players with most goal and assist potential, GW1-2

Player
BC inv.
BC created
Chances created
Mins per BC inv.

Foden
5
3
5
34.2

Cherki
3
2
7
38.0

Haaland
3
0
0
60.0

Anderson
2
2
2
71.5

Guehi
2
1
2
90.0

O’Reilly
1
0
1
150.0

Gvardiol
1
0
2
164.0

Semenyo
1
1
3
180.0

*Scroll across to see full table

Which defenders will start against Coventry?

Investing in Man City’s defenders is very likely to pay off with at least a clean sheet, with Coventry having failed to score in their opening two matches.

But Maresca’s tinkering places question marks over his preferred defence. In both their opening matches, he has chosen a Fantasy defender to play alongside Anderson as a defensive midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 set-up. It was Guehi in Gameweek 1, then Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m) in Gameweek 2.

The recent arrivals of midfielders Enzo Fernandez (£7.0m) and Ayyoub Bouaddi (£5.5m) now suggest Maresca is unlikely to use a defender in central midfield, which essentially means that Man City’s versatile defenders are now all competing for four positions at the back. 

For example, if Maresca picks O’Reilly at left-back, then Gvardiol, Guehi and Ruben Dias (£5.5m) are likely to compete for the two centre-back roles. Abdukodir Khusanov (£5.5m) is also in contention here – he played as a centre-back in Gameweek 1, before moving to right-back in Gameweek 2 to accommodate Guehi’s return to defence. 

Ultimately, there’s a lot of uncertainty around Man City’s preferred defence at the moment, although there’s no doubt that the likes of O’Reilly and Gvardiol have a high ceiling and could be worth the risk. 

And as mentioned earlier, none of their defenders have picked up defensive contribution points, while only two of them – Dias and Guehi – have played the full 90 minutes in both their matches. 

So, who are the three best Man City picks for Gameweek 3?

Haaland should be the first player in your squad, and he is now owned by a huge 70 per cent of managers. He is very likely to be a popular pick for those who are playing their Triple Captain chip in Gameweek 3.

Cherki’s performances show why he has to come in alongside Haaland, and the Frenchman offers a ready-made replacement for owners of Manchester United‘s Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) at a cheaper midfield price point.

However, with European competitions getting under way next week, it still remains to be seen whether Cherki will become a long-term secure pick under Maresca or whether he will instead be rotated.

Elsewhere, if you own a Man City defender then they are certainly worth keeping and playing this weekend. But it’s not advisable to buy any of them right now until he know more information on Maresca’s line-ups.

If you’re playing the Free Hit chip in Gameweek 3 then Foden’s numbers offer potentially huge upside. Also, the uncertainty in defence makes the midfielder the best pick for that third slot in a Man City triple-up.