Aguero benched again as Guardiola wreaks havoc with FPL managers

Sergio Aguero (£12.2m) owners were left in utter despair once again as Pep Guardiola benched the centre-forward for the second league match in a row.

The Manchester City manager made two changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace last weekend as he prepares to host Aston Villa.

Aguero, owned by over 28% of managers, has been once again demoted to the role of substitute by Guardiola, Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m) in the starting striker berth – similar to how the Citizens set up against Roy Hodgson’s Palace. 

With an appealing home fixture against a newly-promoted side, many Fantasy managers would have understandably flocked to Aguero as a captaincy candidate for Gameweek 10, yet Guardiola has once again surprised and shocked managers.

This is likely to re-ignite the debate regarding Aguero’s viability as a £12m+ striker who is seemingly not guaranteed to start, and managers in ownership of the forward will be ruing Guardiola’s decision whilst remaining hopeful of a substantial impact from the bench. 

With plenty of other cheaper options looking exciting, not least Jamie Vardy (£9.1m) after scoring a hat-trick against a woeful Southampton, Aguero may experience sales this week depending on what happens at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.

However, it might prove difficult to replace Aguero in the lead-up to a home match against Southampton, whose defending in Gameweek 10 did not impress at all.

Elsewhere, John Stones (£5.3m) returns to the starting line-up in place of Rodri (£5.5m) who is out with a hamstring injury, whilst Joao Cancelo (£5.3m) makes this third consecutive league start for Guardiola’s side. 

For the visitors, Dean Smith has understandably opted for a more defensive system for the trip to the champions, with two changes coming in the form of Douglas Luiz (£4.5m) and Trezeguet (£5.3m) starting in place of Conor Hourihane (£5.7m) and Anwar El Ghazi (£5.5m).

Hourihane had enjoyed a re-emergence into Smith’s plans, with the Irishman scoring a goal and registering an assist in the last three Gamweeks whilst being extremely unfortunate to have had a goal ruled out by VAR against Brighton last weekend, but the Villa boss has opted to give the midfield some extra steel with Luiz partnering with the increasingly impressive Marvelous Nakamba (£4.4m).

Villa are likely to sit back, soak up City’s pressure and attempt to hurt Guardiola’s side on the counter-attack, and the inclusion of Trezeguet at the expense of El Ghazi points to a plan for the West Midlands side to remain disciplined and retain their defensive shape. 

Manchester City XI: Ederson, Cancelo, Fernandinho, Stones, Mendy, Gundogan, Silva, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Sterling, Jesus.

Aston Villa XI: Heaton, Guilbert, Engels, Mings, Targett, Nakamba, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Grealish, Trezeguet, Wesley.