How Kane, Son and De Bruyne fared in midst of FPL fixture swing

Spurs 2-0 Man City

• Goals: Son Heung-min (£9.5m), Giovani Lo Celso (£6.9m)
• Assists: Tanguy Ndombèlé (£5.9m), Harry Kane (£11.0m)
• Bonus points: Hugo Lloris x3 (£5.5m), Son x2, Eric Dier x1 (£4.9m)

THE TOUGH GETS GOING

Tottenham Hotspur’s key attacking assets made significant statements in Gameweek 9 as both Harry Kane (£11.0m) and Son Heung-min (£9.5m) registered attacking returns against Manchester City.

Both players saw interest in their services wane over the international break as Fantasy Premier League managers considering their increasingly tough upcoming fixtures.

But with arguably the hardest of those out of the way, owners of Kane and Son are likely to feel a lot more encouraged to be holding onto the dynamic duo.

As predicted by his most loyal fans, Son was able to expose Manchester City’s high defensive line in key moments on Saturday evening.

He found space behind the Citizens’ back-line as early as the fifth minute after Tanguy Ndombèlé (£5.9m) played an insightful ball over the top.

That made for a 10-point haul for Son, his fifth double-figure Gameweek score of the 2020/21 campaign. Hugely impressive when you consider that he has produced exactly six of these in each of the last four Premier League seasons.

Meanwhile, Kane put in a man-of-the-match, impressing mostly off the ball with his contribution to holding the ball up and easing pressure on his team-mates, who spent most of the game defending against Manchester City’s large share of possession (65.6%).

“I knew if I was going to drop deep the centre-backs were going to follow me and with Stevie and Sonny running in behind, it worked. My duties were mainly, holding up the ball, trying to buy time, especially when you’re under the cosh a bit. Win fouls and bring others into play. The most important thing is we have runners in behind.” – Harry Kane

That enabled Kane to fulfil more of a creator’s role, as we have become used to this season, assisting Giovani Lo Celso (£6.9m) for a 16th attacking return in nine matches.

WHAT ABOUT THE UNDERLYING DATA?

KDB OR NOT DB

Fantasy managers may be experiencing the opposite problem with Manchester City considering they are about to embark on a positive run of games but appear short of go-to attacking assets.

While they recorded their first blank of the season, it was not for lack of trying, as Pep Guardiola’s men dominated possession and the shot count (22 to four).

Kevin De Bruyne (£11.6m) pounced on a loose ball in the box early in the first half, his shot likely to have ended up in the back of the net were it not for an offside Gabriel Jesus (£9.3m) getting in the way.

Aymeric Laporte (£6.0m) did actually score after a Jesus knock-down, only to see that ruled out for a handball against City’s number nine.

De Bruyne struck wide from the edge of the box in the 50th minute before Ruben Dias (£5.5m) headed the Belgian’s late free-kick straight at Hugo Lloris (£5.5m) when he really should have scored.

The fact that Burnley, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion are three of Manchester City’s next three opponents is cause to believe that those who came close to attacking returns against Spurs can deliver on their promise in the near future.

The return of Sergio Aguero (£10.3m) to full fitness is also worth considering. An additional option for Guardiola can only improve the credentials of the midfield players on offer, although it also increases the risk of rotation for Jesus.

Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Reguilón, Dier, Alderweireld (Rodon 81′), Aurier; Højbjerg, Sissoko; Bergwijn (Moura 73′), Ndombèlé (Lo Celso 65′), Son Heung-min; Kane.

Manchester City XI (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Cancelo, Laporte, Dias, Walker; B Silva (Foden 72′), Rodrigo; Torres, De Bruyne, Mahrez (Sterling 72′); Jesus.

Lessons Learned from FPL Gameweek 9

• Newcastle United 0-2 Chelsea
• Aston Villa 1-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
• Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Manchester City
• Manchester United 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
• Fulham 2-3 Everton
• Sheffield United 0-1 West Ham United
• Leeds United 0-0 Arsenal
• Liverpool 3-0 Leicester City
• Burnley 1-0 Crystal Palace
• Wolves 1-1 Southampton