Guardiola spares FPL managers major rotation pain for Brighton match

Pep Guardiola has spared Fantasy Premier League managers too much shock with his Gameweek 35+ team-sheet.

For the trip to Brighton, Kevin De Bruyne (£10.8m), Raheem Sterling (£11.7m), Riyad Mahrez (£8.6m) and Gabriel Jesus (£9.7m) have all been included in the starting line-up.

Of the assets that have been considered by the community in recent weeks, only Phil Foden (£5.4m) finds himself among the substitutes although, of course, he has not started any away match since the Premier League restart.

The presence of almost the full compliment of their attacking talent on the pitch could see Manchester City’s assets reward those who made the almost contrarian decision of approaching this fixture with the captain’s armband.

In the top 10,000 FPL managers, Sterling was backed by just 4.9%, the most of any City option, while just 4.8% went for De Bruyne.

Such managers may be somewhat buoyed by Brighton’s line-up, considering the raft of changes made by Graham Potter.

Tariq Lamptey (£4.0m) drops to the bench after some solid performances, replaced by Martín Montoya (£4.3m), while the virtually ever-present Dan Burn (£4.5m) has been swapped out for Bernardo (£4.3m).

The focus on the front-three appears to be pace and creativity, with Leandro Trossard (£5.8m) and Pascal Groß (£6.2m) either side of Aaron Connolly (£4.2m).

Such decisions could indicate that Potter intends to break with speed on Manchester City when his side has the opportunity, although, of course, that may open up for space for popular Fantasy assets to operate in…

Brighton and Hove Albion XI: Ryan; Bernardo, Webster, Dunk, Montoya; Bissouma, Mooy, Pröpper; Trossard, Connolly, Groß.

Manchester City XI: Ederson; Mendy, Garcia, Laporte, Walker; Rodrigo, De Bruyne, B Silva; Sterling, Jesus, Mahrez.