Manchester City – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16

Manchester City – Fantasy Premier League 2015/16

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[/three_fourth]Having finished 2nd in the Premier League and not won a single trophy, Manchester City will be looking to improve on a disappointing season and revitalize their title ambitions. Despite scoring *only* 83 goals last season, 19 goals less than the season before, City were still the highest scoring team and are extremely fantasy relevant due to their free-flowing, attacking football. Hence, I will take a look at what can be expected from City for the upcoming season, and try to provide some fantasy relevant tips.

Transfers:

In: Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph, Patrick Roberts, Enes Ünal

Out: Scott Sinclair, Matija Nastasic, Dedryck Boyata, Micah Richards, James Milner, John Guidetti, Stevan Jovetic

Fantasy wise, Sterling is the only clearly relevant player. Roberts and Ünal are youth prospects and likely to go on loan. It is noteworthy that Kevin De Bruyne is heavily linked with City as well.[clear]

[clear]Preseason results:

Man City 1-0 Melbourne City (Nasri)

Man City 2-2 AS Roma (Sterling, Iheanacho)

Man City 1-4 Real Madrid (Toure pen)

Man City 8-1 Vietnam (Kolarov x2, Sterling x2, Silva x2, Pozo, Lopes)

Man City 2-4 Stuttgart (Iheanacho, Dzeko, Haha x4)[clear]

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Fantasy prospects:
Sergio Aguero (13.0):
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Very little needs to be said about Sergio Aguero. In an injury free season, he should bag 30 goals. He has not featured at all in preseason and only trained for two weeks. Comments from Pellegrini suggests that he may not feature in GW 1, with an appearance off the bench the best possible scenario. Last season he came off the bench and scored a goal the first few games, but with two away games and a home game to Chelsea in the first three you may want to keep money in the bank and get him around GW 3-4.[clear]

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David Silva (10.0):
Last season was by far Silva’s best as he scored 12 goals, assisted 12 goals and got 191 pts in 2646 minutes. Rather than being someone who merely supplied passes, he often moved into the box and ended up finishing the attacks he helped create. With City improving their attack with Sterling and possibly De Bruyne, Silva will possibly be less involved as Sterling’s speed will be vital in countering and KDB’s playmaking will make him see a lot of the ball too. Rather than being the focal point of attack, Silva might be one of several influencing players. On the other hand, this might make defenders focus more on other players and let Silva sneak into more finishing positions. I expect Silva to have a strong season yet again, but will rather have him on my watchlist than in my team.

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Raheem Sterling (9.0):
An excellent addition to City’s attacking arsenal, Sterling’s pace and dribbling will bring another dimension to City’s attack. While Yaya mostly has been the player to bring the ball forward on the counter, Sterling will probably have the same responsibility due to his pace. He could also use his pace to feed off Silva’s through balls and run behind the defenders, as well as dribble past defenders and feed other players himself. Last season he scored 7, assisted 10, played 3047 minutes and got 158 points. In preseason he has fitted right in, scoring 3 goals and getting 4 assists, and should certainly improve on his numbers from last season. If he is not in your team, he should definitely be on your watchlist.

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Yaya Toure (8.5):
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[/three_fourth]While most would consider his performance last season a disappointment, he still bagged 10 goals and 1 assist. While he is not an essential part of City’s attack, his finishing skills are excellent, hence he needs few opportunities to score goals. I believe that the increased strength of City’s attack will relieve him off offensive responsibility, thus allowing him to slip into good positions and get shooting opportunities. Personally, I believe that City’s strengthened attack will allow Yaya to flourish this season, and he is definitely one to put on your watchlist.

There’s not much to say about City’s defenders. Kolarov is obviously great when he plays, but the rotation with Clichy ruins it for him. Unless City prove that they are more defensively solid this season, I suggest you stay clear of City defence.

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Squad:
City have one of the best, if not the best, attacking squad in the Premier League, but questions can be asked about the quality of the defense. City have been exposed defensively on numerous occasions and consistently struggled against top teams, in matches that most managers would employ more defensive tactics. As a result, I believe Pellegrini will use the additional depth that Delph provides to possibly use a more defensive 4-3-3 against big teams rather than persisting with a naively attacking formation. It is noteworthy that against Real Madrid, in a midfield trio of Delph, Yaya, and Fernandinho, Delph played the furthest forward of the three. Against other teams, Pellegrini will likely use a 4-2-3-1 formation. He has used a 4-4-2 formation in the past, but that was with a more potent strike force. If Pellegrini desires to play 4-4-2, you will see 2 of Aguero, Bony, and Sterling starting up top together. While City have been relying primarily on Yaya, Silva, and Aguero the previous seasons, I expect production to be more spread around this season due to the addition of Sterling. This will be even truer if De Bruyne joins. Thus I believe points will be more spread around among the players, but if City can play the free-flowing football of 2 seasons back most relevant players should still score high.

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This is how I believe City will line up most often in their three formations:

4-2-3-1:

Hart

Zabaleta – Kompany – Mangala – Clichy/Kolarov

Delph/Fernandinho – Yaya

Sterling – Silva – Nasri (KDB if he signs)

Aguero (Bony/Sterling until Aguero’s fit)

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4-4-2:

Hart

Zabaleta – Kompany – Mangala – Clichy/Kolarov

Sterling/Nasri (KDB) – Delph/Fernandinho – Yaya – Silva

Aguero – Bony/Sterling

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4-3-3:

Hart

Zaba – Kompany – Mangala

Fernandinho – Delph – Yaya

Sterling – Aguero – Silva

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I hope you found the article helpful. Thanks for the read!

Thanks for reading Manchester City. This article was written by Tekno-Kun
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