We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points of the day in FPL Daily, a series that services weekdays where there is no press conference round-up or Premier League match.
DE BRUYNE AND WALKER INJURED
Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m) and Kyle Walker (£5.4m) both limped out of Manchester City’s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening, while Phil Foden (£7.8m) played on till full-time despite taking a blow to the head.
De Bruyne was seen icing his ankle after leaving the bruising encounter in Madrid midway through the second half, while Walker failed to shake off an issue he picked up in a heavy challenge and departed the field not long after.
“We are in big trouble. We cannot forget we played three days ago in a tough game against Liverpool, travel, come here, and we have a lot of injuries right now.
“I don’t know what is going to happen in the next weeks but today we are going to celebrate because it is the third time in Manchester City’s history that we are in the semi-finals of the Champions League.” – Pep Guardiola
CITY AND LIVERPOOL PROGRESS IN EUROPE
City and Liverpool both made it through to the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday night, firming up their schedules for the next month.
The two sides meet at Wembley on Saturday in an FA Cup semi-final, and the winners will have their Gameweek 37 fixtures moved back a few days (in City’s case, it could also be brought forward to Gameweek 36).
In short, the two sides will play at least 10 fixtures over the space of 37 days, with the team reaching the FA Cup final playing twice a week every week between now and Gameweek 38.
MANCHESTER CITY
- Wednesday 13 April: Champions League quarter-finals – Atletico Madrid (a)
- Saturday 16 April: FA Cup semi-finals – Liverpool (n)
- Wednesday 20 April: Gameweek 33 – Brighton and Hove Albion (h)
- Saturday 23 April: Gameweek 34 – Watford (h)
- Tuesday 26/Wednesday 27 April: Champions League semi-finals
- Saturday 30 April: Gameweek 35 – Leeds United (a)
- Tuesday 3/Wednesday 4 May: Champions League semi-finals
- Sunday 8 May: Gameweek 36 – Newcastle United (h)
- Saturday 14 May: FA Cup final?
- Sunday 15 May: Gameweek 37 – West Ham United (a)
- Sunday 22 May: Gameweek 38 – Aston Villa (h)
- Saturday 28 May: Champions League final
*City also have a league match against Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) to fit in, which will take place in either the midweek after Gameweek 36 or 37
LIVERPOOL
- Wednesday 13 April: Champions League quarter-finals – Benfica (h)
- Saturday 16 April: FA Cup semi-finals – Manchester City (n)
- Tuesday 19 April: Gameweek 33 – Manchester United (h)
- Sunday 24 April: Gameweek 34 – Everton (h)
- Tuesday 26/Wednesday 27 April: Champions League semi-finals
- Saturday 30 April: Gameweek 35 – Newcastle United (a)
- Tuesday 3/Wednesday 4 May: Champions League semi-finals
- Saturday 7 May: Gameweek 36 – Tottenham Hotspur (h)
- Tuesday 10 May: Gameweek 36 – Aston Villa (a)
- Saturday 14 May: FA Cup final?
- Sunday 15 May: Gameweek 37 – Southampton (a)
- Sunday 22 May: Gameweek 38 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (h)
- Saturday 28 May: Champions League final
While City were pretty much at full strength in Spain, Jurgen Klopp handed rests to Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m), Andrew Robertson (£7.3m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.8m), Sadio Mane (£11.7m) and Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) against Benfica – a move no doubt welcomed by FPL managers who own one or more of the above ahead of a busy month.
VARDY FITNESS LATEST
Jamie Vardy (£10.3m) had an injection in his knee on Tuesday and will be assessed over the next week – so his involvement in the Foxes’ Double Gameweek 33 looks in some doubt.
“[He had an injection] last night. We’ll see over the course of the next week what effect that brings and hopefully, it can be a positive one for us.” – Brendan Rodgers on Jamie Vardy
There was nothing new on the injury front ahead of Leicester’s Europa League clash with PSV Eindhoven, with Wilfred Ndidi (£4.8m), Danny Ward (£4.0m) and Ryan Bertrand (£4.6m) out for the long term.
Another club in European action on Thursday are West Ham United, and they’ll have to do without Kurt Zouma (£5.4m) for their match against Lyon after the centre-half twisted his ankle on Sunday.
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