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Erling Haaland is back in training and if Pep Guardiola says he’s available for selection for Manchester City’s game at Southampton on Saturday then he’s coming back into my squad and will probably get the captain’s armband.
Those of us who took Haaland out for Manchester City’s blank in gameweek 28 were fortunate that he wasn’t fit to play in the 4-1 win against Liverpool in gameweek 29 – and you don’t need me to tell you why he’s an obvious pick for the rest of the season.
It may well be time though to build back up to the full complement of three City players in our squads for their run-in as they try and chase Arsenal down in the title race.
It’s Southampton away this weekend then a home game against Leicester, a blank in gameweek 32 as they face Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals, a crunch home game against Arsenal in gameweek 33 before a double gameweek 34 with fixtures against Fulham and West Ham.
If you haven’t got your Free Hit chip left for gameweek 32 then you just need to make sure you don’t leave yourself too short of players with Manchester United, Chelsea and Brighton also blanking.
Ederson is your safest selection at the back, rotation-proof in the Premier League, then I would look at John Stones or Ruben Dias as your top two choices in the defence.
Jack Grealish would be my first pick among the midfielders and not just because he was outstanding in the win against Liverpool. He only costs £6.9m which is cheaper than Riyad Mahrez, who also has competition from Bernardo Silva for his spot on the right.
Phil Foden will come back into the reckoning as well when he’s recovered from having his appendix removed but Grealish really looks like one of the first names on the team sheet for Guardiola right now.
That’s not forgetting Kevin de Bruyne, of course, but his price tag of £12m could be prohibitive if you want Mohamed Salah or Harry Kane in your squad as well as Haaland.
I’m looking at trying to find a way to get Salah in over the next few gameweeks because he’s still managed 20 attacking returns this season despite Liverpool’s struggles. He’s the fourth highest-scoring midfielder in the game and just 10 points behind Bukayo Saka, who’s had a stellar campaign.
Salah and Saka actually come up against each other at Anfield soon but then Liverpool have a run of games that suggests potential points hauls for Salah and his fellow attackers – they face Leeds, Nottingham Forest and West Ham before two home games against Tottenham and Fulham in double gameweek 34.
Liverpool and Arsenal both have the advantage of having a fixture in gameweek 32 on that FA Cup semi-final weekend and that’s why Statman Dave was also pointing our Fantasy 606 listeners in the direction of Gabriel Jesus, who was back among the goals for Arsenal in their 4-1 win against Leeds.
There’s actually quite a bit of choice for the forward spots in our squads at the moment and they come in at a wide range of prices depending on how you need to work your budget.
Evan Ferguson is the biggest bargain at just £4.6m if you have room for a Brighton player, although it looks like he will share a bit of game time with Danny Welbeck.
Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke comes in at £5.5m and has a decent set of fixtures through to the end of the season. The beauty with the cheaper players is they can easily sit on your bench when the tougher fixtures come along and you just use them when you need them.
Alexander Isak (£6.7m) and Callum Wilson (£6.9m) have both been in the goals for Newcastle but, with Wilson starting in the big win at West Ham on Wednesday, it’s a bit more of a risk in picking the one who’s going to get the most minutes.
Ivan Toney’s still one yellow card away from a two-game suspension so I would steer clear of him, but if you’ve got £7.5m burning a hole in your pocket then Ollie Watkins has to be your man. He’s scored eight goals in his last 10 Premier League games and is a strong captaincy candidate this week with Aston Villa at home to Nottingham Forest.
Marcus Rashford is in contention for the armband as well with Manchester United at home to Everton in the first Premier League game of the weekend, but if Guardiola suggests that his number nine is available for selection then I think I’m going with him.
Alistair Bruce-Ball presents the Fantasy 606 podcast alongside former Premier League winner Chris Sutton and Statman Dave. The latest episode previewing gameweek 30 is available on the BBC Sounds App.
