In a weekly series, the Scout provides expert insight into one of Pep Guardiola‘s men, an opponent to keep your eye on and another Premier League player they expect to excel this weekend.
Our Matchday Live host for our upcoming fixture also offers their thoughts, with Kyle Walker first up to reveal who he’s backed to make the difference in Gameweek Two.
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City welcome Norwich to the Etihad Stadium for our first home game of the new season on Saturday.
Will Kevin De Bruyne match his exploits from our last meeting with the Canaries in July 2020, or will Jack Grealish mark his home debut with a match-winning contribution?
Check out the Scout’s and Kyle’s predictions for Gameweek Two below...
City star
The Scout: Manchester City offer a host of differential options for managers in Gameweek 2 of Fantasy Premier League.
Only three outfield players in Pep Guardiola’s squad are owned by more than 8% ahead of a very favourable home encounter with promoted Norwich City.
Kevin De Bruyne (£12.0m) and Riyad Mahrez (£9.0m) are among those who have been overlooked.
The Belgian will be pushing for a start after appearing off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
He was a huge influence in the corresponding fixture in 2019/20, scoring twice and supplying an assist in a 5-0 win.
Mahrez, meanwhile, was a key player at the Etihad Stadium last term.
He was involved in 44% of Man City’s home goals in 2020/21, more than any midfield team-mate.
Kyle’s Matchday Live pick: Jack Grealish - the £100m man. He was the talisman at Aston Villa, and I think he’ll show us exactly why he was given that sort of responsibility against Norwich.
He costs £8.0m so he’s quite pricey, but I think with the City fans at his back he’s well placed to grab either a goal or an assist at the weekend.
Something’s going to happen, I can feel it.
Opponent to watch
The Scout: Teemu Pukki (£6.0m) is the main danger for the Canaries.
The forward’s 26 goals and four assists helped Norwich to the title in last season’s Championship.
He produced a goal and an assist against Man City over his two appearances in 2019/20.
Kyle’s Matchday Live pick: Teemu Pukki for me. He tested Alisson last weekend despite Norwich’s defeat to Liverpool and I think if anyone could upset City it’d be him. Hopefully that doesn’t happen though!
He scored against us when we played them at Carrow Road in 2019, so if there’s one man who’s done it before against us and to watch out for then it’s the Finn.
Premier League Pick
The Scout: A visit to Southampton lifts the captaincy potential of Bruno Fernandes (£12.1m).
The Manchester United playmaker started the season with a hat-trick and 20 points against Leeds United in Gameweek 1.
Fernandes was a big success in his previous meeting with Saints, scoring once and supplying two assists in a 9-0 win.
Kyle’s Matchday Live pick: Mo Salah. Liverpool have got Burnley in the early kick-off on Saturday, and they looked really good away to Norwich on the opening day.
Like his team, Salah looked to be back to his best from the off at Carrow Road, and picked up 17 points in Gameweek One.
I feel a bit frightened for Burnley this weekend if the Egyptian turns up the heat again.
JOIN THE MANCHESTER CITY FPL FAN LEAGUE!
When you create your FPL squad, be sure to select Manchester City as your preferred club in order to be automatically entered into our fan league.
Prizes will be available to each month’s highest scoring manager, while our Matchday Live presenters and guests will also be locking horns with each other to see who comes out on top across the campaign.
Be sure to tune in to our live show, which gets underway one hour before the action gets underway in each of our first team matches, as they’ll be sharing and scrutinising each other’s picks and predictions.
Matchday Live makes for unmissable viewing for those looking for a City-centric build-up to their gameday experience, and is available to watch on all of our digital platforms.
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