How to navigate Man City’s Blank Gameweek

The Fantasy Premier League’s panel of scouts discuss how they plan to tackle Manchester City’s Blank Gameweek 12.

What the experts say

Lee Bonfield (@FPLFamily)

Man City are too good at the moment. They have two home games at Etihad Stadium in matchweeks 9 and 10 so I will keep all three of my Man City players. João Cancelo (£7.2m), Kevin De Bruyne (£12.3m) and Erling Haland (£12.0m) may be Man City’s priciest route to a treble, but it’s well worth it.

De Bruyne to Mohammed Salah (£12.9m) is my likeliest transfer for Blank Gameweek 12 as Salah will offer a good captaincy option.

Gianni Buttice (@GianniButtice)

Owning Triple Man City feels very right now. Sure they’ll be empty in Gameweek 12 where I’ll probably bring in Salah for De Bruyne. Until then, however, I want Man City’s treble, also with the Liverpool game in Gameweek 11.

Pras (@Pras_fpl)

Man City go into the next four game weeks with two tough games against Manchester United and Liverpool and a gap. However, I don’t think they will sell immediately as they are the favorites to win every game, especially at home.

After that, managers might want to consider outsourcing. However, given the inevitable value tied in Haaland, one might consider simply benching him in Blank Gameweek 12.

Managers on a Gameweek 9 wildcard may only want to own Haaland and Cancelo. You could opt for salah or Harry Kane (£11.4m) as a second bounty.

Sam Bonfield (@FPLFamily)

I have three Man City players. One is goalkeeper Ederson (£5.5m) but it’s less of an issue when it comes to Matchweek 12. I’ll just be able to bench him in favor of my second goalkeeper, Danny Ward (£4.0m), for this week.

If I went wildcard now, I would only own Cancelo and Haaland and then get a third player from Gameweek 13.

That way, managers don’t have to worry about fielding a full starting XI when both Man City and Arsenal go home empty-handed in Matchweek 12. This could be really important if they also possess such as Gabriel Martinelli (£6.6m) and Gabriel Jesus (£8.1m) from the Gunners.

geoff dance (@GeoffreyDance)

If I had one wild card left to play, I would keep it through Gameweek 13 now.

This gives these managers a golden opportunity to sell Haaland for Matchweek 12 before immediately bringing him back with a wildcard.

Their mini-league rivals will almost certainly keep Haaland and bench him for the week rather than sell and buy him back.

Playing a Gameweek 13 wildcard gives you a chance to lead your team into an impasse and crack down on Haaland’s 80 per cent stake in Man City’s blank Gameweek 12.

Man City’s last four games before the FIFA World Cup season break are just too good to ignore and a triple-up with Cancelo, De Bruyne and Haaland is my plan.

Ben Crabtree (@FC_CrabDogg)

I think it’s worth keeping the Man City players for the Liverpool game and Blank Gameweek 12. You can score well against Liverpool and now is the time to improve your bench to ensure a good 11 for Gameweek 12.

Nick (@WGTA_Nick)

Haaland is a must while Cancelo is proving to be a strong and consistent defensive pick, picking up three bonuses even with no attacking returns.

De Bruyne is an expensive option in midfield but also rewards owners with his excellent performances week in and week out. I don’t think there’s any risk of a tripling even with a blank ahead that can be navigated with a couple of transfers around this time.

Pranil Sheth (@Lateriser12)

I think you might consider dodging De Bruyne for Salah if you’re planning on managing Salah in Gameweek 9, but I like the idea too Phil Foden (£8.0m) who will continue ticking over the points.

Also in this series

Part 1: GW8 FPL stats: Haaland delivers as record captain
Part 2: GW8 bonus points: Saliba fetches prime returns
Part 3: Review Saturday: Son can provide KDB and Salah solution
Part 4: Keep or sell Man City stars in FPL?