FPL: The 5 Best Manchester City Players For Your 2022-23 Season Fantasy Team

Manchester City are one of the best teams in the world, playing an attractive, attacking brand of football. Last season they scored 99 goals in the league, yet they’re not everyone’s go-to FPL assets because of the dreaded “Pep Roulette.” The squad is so stacked that there’s constant rotation, and you don’t know who will get the most minutes.

In a team like Manchester City, where the team will perform at an incredibly high level irrespective of who plays; here it’s more important to focus on who’s most likely to play the most. Keeping all this in mind, here are my top 5 picks from the Man City assets.

5. Jack Grealish (£7.0m)

This might seem strange based on the last season, but hear me out. I believe this is going to be his season. With Jesus and Sterling gone, Grealish will get a lot more minutes and deliver. While his goals and assists were low, his underlying numbers were still good, and the signs are there that the goals will come.

Firstly he had a npxG+xA of 11.1, which he underperformed on but now a season in and having understood the system, he should perform as expected. He also averaged 5.2 shot-creating actions and took 2.2 shots/90.

The stringing fact is that the average distance he shot from was 14 yards, meaning he’s shooting from within the box, which is more likely to go in. Apart from that, he is also in the top 1% for touches in the penalty box, and penalty box ball carries for all players in the top 5 leagues.

At valued at £7.0m, he could be a cheaper way to get a Man City midfielder into your team and potentially allow you to squeeze in an extra premium player.

4. Riyad Mahrez (£8m)

Mahrez has grown into one of City’s most important players, who delivers when it matters most. Rewarded with a new contract Mahrez is set to be a mainstay of this squad that that’s good news for FPL managers.

Although he got only 1500 minutes in the league, he got 11 goals and 5 assists. The Algerian has exceptional dribbling skills as well as a dangerous left foot. He averaged 0.4 npxG/90 and took 3.3 shots/90.

He loves taking his man on, beating them, and driving into the box, he makes 8.9 progressive carries and 7.8 touches in the box. 

Just like for Grealish, Mahrez will also benefit from the departure of Jesus and Sterling in terms of minutes. At £8m, he’s a good pick for the non-premium midfielder option.

3. Kevin de Bruyne (£12m)

Arguably one of the best players in the league last season, KDB was just a class apart. 30 matches played 15 goals and 8 assists. If we dig deeper and look at his underlying numbers, they definitely back up this claim.

He is in the top 1% for almost all stats. Non-penalty goals, xG, assists, xA, shot-creating actions, progressive passes, progressive carries. When it comes to CMs, he is the best in the world. Plain and simple.

That being said, he is valued at £12m, which means you’d miss out on Son or Salah to accommodate him. I believe he could be a strong differential pick for the right set of fixtures.

2. Erling Haaland (£11.5m)

One of the most exciting young players is set to take the Premier League by storm. Last season he played only 24 games and yet scored 22 goals and 8 assists. With the likes of KDB, Grealish, Foden, Mahrez, and Cancelo putting balls in for him, he is definitely going to bag a boat load. He averaged 0.91 G+A last season with 3.6 shots and 7.8 touches per 90.

If you have him in your team, he’ll occupy one of the premium player spots, and it’s a bit of a risk as he doesn’t have PL experience, but with the lack of in-form forwards, he could be worth investing early. If we go by his track record, he hit the ground running at RB Salzburg, and Dortmund, and a hat-trick on his debut, won’t be too surprising.

1. Joao Cancelo (£7.0)

And finally, the best Man City asset at the moment, Joao Cancelo. The most consistent player, featuring 36 times last season, he played at RB and LB and got 1G and 7A. Apart from Trent, he has the best-attacking numbers for a defender. Haaland’s addition to the squad could particularly benefit Cancelo with the increased potential to get assists.

The underlying numbers are just spectacular. 7.7 progressive passes, 9.6 progressive carries and despite being a full-back, he got 3 touches in the box/90. For a £7m player, the return on investment is incredible. Last season he got 201 points, only 4 players scored more than him. A set and forget, in my opinion.