We continue our Gameweek 37 Scout Notes by summarising the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from Tuesday’s meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
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FPL NOTES
MAN CITY IN THE DRIVING SEAT
It was a surreal occasion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the home side were fighting for a top-four finish but also – perhaps more importantly to their majority of fans – influencing whether bitter rivals Arsenal held top spot heading into Gameweek 38.
Conflicted interests but you couldn’t tell from the Spurs players, who were competitive for a while until Erling Haaland (£14.2m) eventually broke the deadline just after half-time. It was the first Man City league goal at their bogey ground, having lost the previous four trips without reply.
A number of Spurs fans attempted the Poznan dance at 1-0 and – once a late Haaland penalty doubled the lead – some loud, passionate singing got underway. A bizarre night, albeit one that ensures Man City are entering the final day two points ahead of Arsenal. Their eighth win in a row, Pep Guardiola’s relentless champions are now unbeaten in 22 league outings.
Consequently, Haaland seems to have secured another Golden Boot and Aston Villa are now guaranteed Champions League football for 2024/25.
IS EDERSON’S SEASON OVER?
The first half was so quiet that there was no stoppage time at all. But there were 10 minutes of it in the second half.
Over 1.5 million FPL managers will be concerned at the withdrawal of goalkeeper Ederson (£5.5m). He was replaced shortly after a nasty collision with Cristian Romero (£5.1m) left him needing medical attention. Although visibly angry at the 69th-minute substitution – the fourth time he has been taken off this campaign – Man City staff were simply following the safety protocol.
Then again, it wasn’t labelled as a concussion substitution, meaning he may not necessarily be forced to miss Sunday’s decider.
“Ederson has a kick in the eye and it’s swollen. He couldn’t see properly. The doctor said I had to replace him. When the doctors say that, I don’t have an alternative.” – Pep Guardiola, via the Manchester Evening News
We await more Guardiola words later in the week. Anyway, Ederson departed with a clean sheet and one save point, ending Double Gameweek 37 on a score of 13.
ANOTHER GVARDIOL RETURN
Yet Josko Gvardiol (£5.1m) bagged more than twice that amount. No attacking achievements this time as he ‘just’ claimed a clean sheet but it means he’s gifted 27 Gameweek points to over 50% of the top 100k.
In fact, the Croatian defender did chalk up one big chance when reaching a cross with his back-post volley. Had it been kept low, he would’ve followed Saturday’s heroic brace with a third strike of this Gameweek.
Managers will instead need to be content with four goals, two assists and four successful shut-outs in his last six league games. At least one return in all of the half-dozen, averaging 11.0 points each time.
Elsewhere, Phil Foden (£8.5m) received a booking but forced an excellent save from Guglielmo Vicario (£5.3m). Kevin De Bruyne (£10.6m) was also denied, before later assisting Haaland’s opener. He appeared to be hurt at one point but quickly came back on.
SON + JOHNSON HAVE GAMEWEEK 38 POTENTIAL
Speaking of superb goalkeeping, Ederson’s replacement Stefan Ortega (£3.6m) had such a huge half-hour that numerous media outlets have credited him as ‘Player of the Match’.
His most memorable moment came when Son Heung-min (£10.0m) provided all divided Spurs fans with a heart-in-mouth run, through on goal, similar to Randal Kolo Muani’s extra time miss in the 2022 World Cup Final. It brought a massive save from Ortega.
Set up by Brennan Johnson (£5.8m), it was the same combination earlier on when Son diverted a low cross onto Ederson. And the 22-year-old is an intriguing differential for those intending to take a Gameweek 38 punt. He’s the Spurs player with most big chances (21) this season and will travel to last-placed Sheffield United.
As revealed in our look at the high-scoring Gameweek 38 theory, Spurs specialise in final-day goal fests. It’s the fifth time in nine seasons that they’ve ended by visiting an already-relegated opponent. The others finished 4-1, 5-0, 7-1 and 5-1, alongside a couple of 5-4 and 4-2 Leicester City meetings.
The Blades have broken the Premier League record for most goals conceded (101), meaning it could be a fruitful afternoon. Son is a decent captaincy contender too, even if his non-penalty expected goals (NPxG) tally over the previous seven matches had been a pitiful 1.04.
Here, things were slightly better. The South Korean international registered four attempts, two shots on target and two big chances.
