When choosing your FPL team each week, the first thing you need to ensure is that your selected players start for their respective clubs. Historically, since the arrival of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in 2016, it has been very difficult to predict which City players will start or which will be benched.
This gave rise to the term ‘Pep Roulette’, which refers to taking a chance on having a City player in your team, whilst not really knowing if he will play. For the upcoming FPL season here are three ‘Sky Blue’ players who should avoid the bench and be collecting points.
Ederson
Possibly the hardest area of the field when trying to get a Manchester City player into your FPL team is in defence. The defender with the most starts in the Premier League for Guardiola last season was Manuel Akanji with only 24 out of a possible 38. So, to stay clear of this trap going for goalkeeper Ederson is a safer bet.
The Brazilian has previously won three golden gloves but last season he only managed 11 clean sheets. Despite this, since the change of system for the current treble winners, having four centre-backs playing has seen defensive improvement.
With this in mind, Ederson is a good City option as he is a main starter and could even contribute an assist like he did last season for Erling Haaland at home against Brighton back in October.
Jack Grealish
Once seen as a ‘£100m flop’, Jack Grealish really blossomed into a special player for Guardiola in his second season with the club. Even though the former Villa man had a slow start to last season, once in his flow his manager kept full faith and he was a consistent starter. From January to May Grealish made 15 consecutive starts in the Premier League. He scored three times and supplied four assists, adding to his total of five goals and 11 assists in all competitions for the season.
With his development constantly on the rise and his confidence only ever-growing, this upcoming season could see an increase in his goals and assists. From his first season with the Champions, he accumulated 86 FPL points. Last season saw a 35-point increase as he collected 121 points. It is likely we will see this number grow again at the end of the upcoming season.
Erling Haaland
Despite the obvious nature of this player, Haaland is a must. Before joining Pep at Man City, Haaland’s injury record had been questioned. This was after the Norwegian only played 24 of the 34 league games in the Bundesliga the season before joining the English top flight due to injuries.
However, with 33 starts in the Premier League and a record-breaking 36 goals, if Haaland was fit he played with no question. After last season there is evidence he can stay fit for most of a 38-game season. Altogether the ‘Nordic Meatshield’ racked up a staggering 272 FPL points, the most of any player in the entirety of FPL for the 2022-23 season. Haaland is very rarely a risk to the game of ‘Pep Roulette’ in FPL.
Although there is no guarantee that ‘Pep Roulette’ can be avoided all the time, these three players are the safest bet to beat the City rotating team.
