Manchester City and Brighton further added to the list of postponed fixtures in Blank Gameweek 31 with FA Cup wins on Saturday.
Defeating Newport County and Derby County respectively, neither side will play a Premier League match on the weekend of the FA Cup quarter-finals.
That also means no match in Blank Gameweek 31 for Manchester United and Cardiff City, who were scheduled to play Manchester City and Brighton.
Those four teams join Watford and Southampton, whose fixture that weekend was postponed by the Hornets FA Cup win over QPR on Friday night.
All six of those Premier League clubs will now have corresponding Double Gameweeks to make up for their Blanks.
With Gameweek 32 currently the most likely to absorb the Gameweek 31 postponements, this is what the Doubles could look like, although nothing is confirmed yet.
Brighton: Southampton (H) + Cardiff (H)
Cardiff: Chelsea (H) + Brighton (a)
Man City: Fulham (a) + Man United (a)
Man United: Watford (H) + Man City (H)
Southampton: Brighton (a) + Watford (a)
Watford: Man United (a) + Southampton (H)
Brighton initially leap out from that potential line-up of Double Gameweek combinations, with two home matches against Southampton and Cardiff.
Having created more chances than any other player of the last four Gameweeks, Pascal Groß (£6.7m) is worth adding to our shopping list for the ‘chip season’.
Likewise, Mat Ryan (£4.4m) and Shane Duffy (£4.6m) are also worth considering with defensive returns also on the cards.
Manchester City should not be overlooked either, if they are able to go into Gameweek 32 with away matches at Fulham and Manchester United.
The Cottagers have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, while the Red Devils are yet to register a home clean sheet in the league since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
His side would have back-to-back home matches in Gameweek 32, if the re-arranged games fall that way, against Watford and Manchester City.
However, we will have to wait for further confirmation on those postponed fixtures.
For now, we can assess how Brighton and Manchester City got on in the FA Cup to weigh up their options in the short term, although they are both without Premier League involvement now until Gameweek 28.
Brighton 2-1 Derby County
Goals: Anthony Knockaert (£5.2m), Jurgen Locadia (£5.3m) | Ashley Cole
Assists: Yves Bissouma x2 (£4.6m)
Brighton are now potentially facing an injury crisis ahead of their next Premier League match after Jurgen Locadia (£5.3m) joined the list of unavailable players in Saturday’s FA Cup win over Brighton. He was taken off with an ankle problem in the second half after helping put the Seagulls 2-0 up before half-time.
The fitness issues at the Amex Stadium appear to have hit the forwards department particularly hard with a knock for Glenn Murray (£6.3m) revealed before kick-off on Saturday. Meanwhile, Florin Andone (£5.0m) still has one match to go on his retrospective three-game suspension for an elbow in the fourth round replay of the FA Cup, so will not be available until Gameweek 29. If all three of them are still out by Gameweek 28, which is admittedly a long way off, it could mean some involvement for budget forward Viktor Gyökeres (£4.5m), who featured as a substitute against Derby.
“I hope Locadia’s injury is not too bad, it didn’t look good. I haven’t seen him afterwards. He’s gone to be assessed. It looks sore. I can’t say any more than that until it’s a little bit clearer over the next couple of days. It’s a big concern. At this moment we are very hopeful Glenn will be fit for the Leicester game and I hope he (Locadia) is okay. I don’t want to jump the gun but we know Florin will miss the Leicester game. It leaves us short in that area.” – Chris Hughton
Elsewhere in the side, Lewis Dunk (£4.5m), Leon Balogun (£4.2m), Max Sanders (£4.5m) all missed the Derby match with knocks, while Davy Pröpper (£4.8m) was due to play but had to pull out with an illness.
For yet another FA Cup match, it was 4-3-3 that Hughton opted to deploy his troops in, with eight changes from the side that lost 3-1 to Burnley in Gameweek 26.
Duffy was the only member of defence to keep his place, with Bernardo (£4.2m), Bruno (£4.4m) and Dan Burn (£4.5m) coming in for Gaetan Bong (£4.4m), Dunk and Martin Montoya (£4.3m) respectively.
As expected David Button (£4.0m) came in for Ryan in goal, and was largely untroubled until the closing stages when Derby threatened to get back into the tie. Button and the rest of the defence were left all at sea when Ashley Cole pounced on a loose ball, heading into an empty net. A late cross into the box was not dealt with particularly well by the goalkeeper, who initially dropped the ball, before palming it clear.
Dale Stephens (£4.4m) was the only midfielder to keep his place from the Burnley defeat and he played alongside Beram Kayal (£4.4m) and Yves Bissouma (£4.6m). The latter was especially impressive, seeing much of the ball against Derby and playing a part in both goals. His cut-back from the right was the official assist for Anthony Knockaert‘s (£5.2m) opening strike, and it was the rebound of his well-placed shot which hit the post that was turned in by Locadia. Bissouma also picked up a second yellow card of the tournament against Derby, so will now miss the quarter-final – which could see him given more Premier League minutes as a result.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh (£6.7m) made his first Brighton start since the FA Cup fourth round replay in a front three, with Locadia shifting to a central role having operated largely on the left in the Premier League. Knockaert was deployed on the right and was very happy to get his first goal since the FA Cup third round win over Bournemouth in early January. With Solly March (£5.0m) still absent through injury, and Locadia potentially facing time out, one of Knockaert or Jahanbakhsh could push for a place in the team for Gameweek 28.
Brighton and Hove Albion XI (4-3-3): Button; Bernardo, Burn, Duffy, Bruno; Kayal, Stephens, Bissouma (Groß 86′); Jahanbakhsh, Locadia (Gyökeres 81′), Knockaert.
Newport County 1-4 Manchester City
Goals: Padraig Amond | Leroy Sané (£9.5m), Phil Foden x2 (£4.5m), Riyad Mahrez (£8.2m)
Assists: Gabriel Jesus x2 (£10.0m), Sané, John Stones (£5.2m)
Leroy Sané (£9.5m) was back in the goals for Manchester City, just a few days after a dreadful run of FPL form culminated in a Gameweek 26 no-show. The German international managed just one point in Double Gameweek 25 before playing no part in the 6-0 win over Chelsea in Gameweek 26. However, he was an important player for Pep Guardiola’s men in their FA Cup win over Newport County.
Sané provided a goal and an assist in the second-half having proved Manchester City’s primary threat in the opening 45 minutes. He hit the cross-bar when put through on goal early on and should have earned a penalty when his next shot struck the arm of Newport’s Mark O’Brien.
Having played such a small part in the preceding Premier League matches, and now a full 90-minute outing in the FA Cup might be of some concern to Sané’s remaining owners. The likes of Raheem Sterling (£11.3m) and Bernardo Silva (£7.5m) were given the night off too, suggesting that Sané has, for now, been demoted to the so-called second XI. The fact that members of the local press felt very few players impressed enough to break into the first team does not bode well for those that played at Newport.
That said, it is still another 10 days before Manchester City’s next league match in Gameweek 28, so we have plenty of time to assess Sané’s role further. The League Cup final is next weekend, with Guardiola likely to name what he believes to be his strongest XI at Wembley, although he still has to factor in the Champions League last sixteen first leg in Schalke on Wednesday night.
It will be interesting to see how Guardiola rotates his forwards over the next few days. Sergio Aguero (£11.5m) was given the night off for the Newport game with Gabriel Jesus (£10.0m) performing heavily involved up front, linking things together and securing two assists. The Brazilian played all 90 minutes ahead of that Schalke match, which is likely to feature Aguero more heavily.
One player who is certainly a fully established member of the ‘cup squad’ is Riyad Mahrez (£8.2m) who did not have the best of evenings in Newport, but has proven useful to Guardiola in matches outside the Premier League. He found the net late on at Rodney Parade and now has three goals and five assists in his last five cup matches. Just one start in the Premier League since Gameweek 18 suggests he is still not in Guardiola’s first XI.
David Silva (£8.5m) continues to flit between the first and second XIs as he started and played 82 minutes against Newport, having started three of the last five Premier League matches. While he was not involved in any of the goals, the 33-year-old did not seem to struggle on the tricky Rodney Parade surface and played his usual best.
“At 33 years old, to fight and win duels, is really, really good. David is a fantastic player. He played here against a League Two club like an 18-year-old – like Phil Foden.”
Phil Foden (£4.5m) was arguably one of the best players on the pitch for Manchester City, stringing together their attacks from a central midfield role and scoring twice too. The young Englishman continues to impress in the Cup matches, all five of his goals for the club coming outside the Premier League so far, but a more regular involvement in the first XI cannot be far off.
“It’s a big squad and everyone wants to show the boss they can start. He rotates the squad a lot and he gives people a chance.” – Phil Foden
Manchester City’s defence continues not to inspire confidence after miscommunication and disorganisation at the back was to blame for Newport’s second-half consolation goal. The Citizens largely coped with the Exiles’ long-ball play but they were eventually undone by it. A ball over the top was not cleared properly by Aymeric Laporte (£5.9m), who could only direct it onto the foot of Padraig Amond. The Newport striker was able to easily beat Nicolas Otamendi (£6.1m) to the ball and lob an onrushing Ederson (£5.6m).
It was a mixed evening for the Brazilian goalkeeper who will no doubt take some of the headlines a truly world-class save in the first half. Tyreeq Bakinson’s header looked destined for the back of the net but Ederson stretched out an arm to tip the ball around the post.
However, he nearly cost his team in the second half when exchanging passes around the back with John Stones (£5.2m). Misjudging the bounce of the ball on the uneven surface, he nearly needlessly gifted a chance to Newport with a poor pass and had to scramble to clear the ball under pressure from two of their forwards. With all of that in mind, there will still be some who doubt the value of Manchester City defensive assets moving forward.
Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Zinchenko, Otamendi, Stones, Danilo; D Silva (Gündogan 82′), Fernandinho (Laporte 79′), Foden; Sané, Jesus, Mahrez.
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