Team guides · Man City
Man City FPL team guide 2026/27
Squad, fixture runs and rotation partners
Squad leaders
The fastest routes into this club's player pool.
Points and form from 2025/26.
Schedule pulse
Difficulty across the next 5 listed fixtures.
Attack vs defence
Bawler's own split — the same run can be kind to one end and cruel to the other.
Rated 1 (easiest) to 5 from the opponent's attacking and defensive strength, not the official single number. How it's built →
Squad
30 players in the FPL game, by position.
| Player | Owned | Pts | xPts | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||
| DonnarummaNailed | 9.3% | 135 | 3.16 | £5.6 |
| Trafford | 0.9% | 13 | — | £4.5 |
| BettinelliBackup | 0.4% | 0 | 0.19 | £3.8 |
| Defenders | ||||
| GvardiolBattle | 3.2% | 79 | 1.82 | £5.8 |
| Aït-NouriRotation | 4.1% | 60 | 1.20 | £5.7 |
| Rúben | 3.1% | 113 | 2.61 | £5.5 |
| KhusanovBattle | 0.7% | 67 | 1.64 | £5.4 |
| Stones | 0.6% | 16 | — | £5.4 |
| O'Reilly25% | 19.2% | 160 | 2.64 | £5.3 |
| Matheus N. | 2.9% | 154 | 2.32 | £5.3 |
| Aké | 0.6% | 36 | — | £5.2 |
| Guéhi50% | 32.6% | 179 | 2.99 | £5.1 |
| LewisBackup | 1.2% | 19 | 0.60 | £4.6 |
| AlleyneFringe | 0.0% | 5 | 0.08 | £3.9 |
| Midfielders | ||||
| MarmoushBackup | 2.9% | 56 | 0.82 | £8.3 |
| Semenyo | 46.2% | 202 | 3.02 | £8.0 |
| Foden | 7.8% | 131 | 3.15 | £8.0 |
| SavinhoFringe | 0.4% | 43 | 1.04 | £6.9 |
| Cherki50% | 17.4% | 135 | 3.33 | £6.5 |
| Doku75% | 6.6% | 120 | 2.53 | £6.5 |
| RodrigoOUT | 0.5% | 69 | 0.00 | £6.3 |
| Bernardo | 0.7% | 102 | — | £6.2 |
| N.GonzalezRotation | 0.1% | 63 | 0.90 | £5.9 |
| KovačićRotation | 0.0% | 9 | 0.54 | £5.8 |
| ReijndersRotation | 8.9% | 92 | 1.60 | £5.0 |
| Nypan | 0.0% | 0 | — | £5.0 |
| McAidoo | 0.0% | 0 | — | £4.5 |
| Gray | 0.0% | 0 | — | £4.5 |
| Heskey | 0.0% | 0 | — | £4.5 |
| Forwards | ||||
| HaalandNailed | 62.5% | 239 | 5.26 | £14.7 |
Points from 2025/26. xPts is Bawler's projected points per gameweek — fixture-adjusted and weighted by how likely the player is to start. Full projections →
Rotation partners
Own one from each pair and start whichever has the kinder week.
Scored by taking the easier of the two clubs' fixtures each gameweek across the listed horizon.
Fixture run
Every listed fixture ahead, coloured by official FPL difficulty.
Latest updates
In City's final pre-season match (Seoul, 9 Aug) Maresca started Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias (c), Vitor Reis, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Reijnders; Savinho, Foden, Semenyo; Marmoush. Semenyo set up both Marmoush goals and was man of the match, taking him to four assists in three tour games; Ait-Nouri added a late third. Haaland, Rodri, Cherki, Anderson, O'Reilly, Guehi and Doku all played no part. Maresca said the wingers' threat was the tour's standout feature and that "from tomorrow pre-season is finished and the real business starts".
FPL: Semenyo is being used as the focal supply line in Maresca's winger-heavy setup, reinforcing his premium-midfielder case. Marmoush's brace is stand-in No.9 output only — Haaland is back in training this week and remains the nailed striker.
Speaking after Sunday's 3-1 friendly win over Atletico Madrid in Seoul, Enzo Maresca was asked about Rodri's situation and said: "Yes, at the moment he will be in Manchester. There is no update. On Aug. 14 he will be back." Rodri missed the entire Asia tour while recovering from back surgery following the World Cup; Maresca gave no separate return-to-play date.
FPL: Rodri only rejoins the group two days before the Community Shield, so he is very unlikely to be match-fit for that and is a real doubt to start the 23 Aug opener v Bournemouth. Treat him as a bench/rotation risk for GW1 rather than a nailed starter.
City describe a short rehabilitation and expect him around the squad near the Community Shield on 16 August, but there is no official return date.
FPL: Avoid for the opening gameweeks until he plays actual minutes.
In the 1 August friendly against Inter in Hong Kong, Foden started as captain in the No.10 role. Maresca: 'I just want to help Phil be the Phil we all want.' World Cup internationals were absent, so the selection is suggestive rather than conclusive.
FPL: Strong early signal in the No.10 battle with Cherki and Marmoush — the 9 August Atletico friendly, with internationals back, is the real test.
Tracked daily from cited sources. News for every club is on team news.
Manager & style
Appointed 29 June 2026, replacing Pep Guardiola (left at the end of 2025/26 after 10 years and 20 major trophies). A new manager means last season's roles, minutes and set-piece duties do not automatically carry over.
Positional-play coach from the Guardiola school (he was Guardiola's assistant at City). Base 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 that rotates into a 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 in possession: one full-back inverts into the pivot, the other holds width, creating a back three and a five-man attacking line occupying all five vertical lanes. Prioritises central penetration via midfield overloads and box/diamond midfield structures; pivots drop between the centre-backs and the goalkeeper is used as an auxiliary centre-back to build numerical superiority. Out of possession he avoids strict man-marking, instead pressing at high intensity to trap opponents in wide areas, backed by clean rest-defence layers. Can go 4-3-3 / 4-1-4-1 when he wants verticality and a higher pressing ceiling. Set-piece emphasis and rotation tendency at City unverified.
Usual shape: 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 out of possession, becoming 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 in possession
Summer transfers
In
| Player | Pos | From | Fee | Expected role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Anderson | CM | Nottingham Forest | £116m (23 July 2026) | Starting central midfielder — the pivot partner/shuttler alongside Rodri; Man Utd were also reported to have missed out on him |
| Mathys Detourbet | LW | Troyes | £21.7m (27 June 2026) | Young wide forward — squad/development |
| Jeremy Monga | LW | Leicester City | £12.5m (11 July 2026) | Prospect; already known to Maresca from Leicester, included in the Asia tour squad |
| Pierce Charles | GK | Sheffield Wednesday | £3m (10 July 2026) | Development goalkeeper |
Out
| Player | Pos | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manuel Akanji | CB | Inter Milan | £13m (1 July 2026) |
| Nathan Ake | CB | Fenerbahce | £7m (3 July 2026) |
| Bernardo Silva | AM | Real Madrid | Free (released at contract end) |
| John Stones | CB | Unconfirmed | Free (contract expiry) |
| Reigan Heskey | FW | 1. FC Koln | £8m (17 July 2026) |
| Jahmai Simpson-Pusey | CB | 1. FC Koln | £4.65m (1 July 2026) |
| Joel Ndala | FW | Cercle Brugge | £2.5m (29 July 2026) |
| James Trafford | GK | Leeds United | £40m plus £5m add-ons — deal agreed and personal terms settled, official confirmation still pending as of 30 July 2026 |
| Kalvin Phillips | CM | Sheffield United (loan) | Loan — reported on the verge of completion, not confirmed as of 30 July 2026 |
Current injuries
| Player | Issue | Expected return |
|---|---|---|
| Rodri | Back surgery on a problem picked up around the 2026 World Cup; missing the entire Asia pre-season tour | Maresca expects him back in training at the City Football Academy in the week before the Community Shield v Arsenal on 16 August |
| Jack Grealish | Stress fracture of the left foot — surgery in January/February 2026, which cut short his Everton loan | Not named in the Asia tour squad; still working back to full fitness. No date reported |
Injury picture as of 30 July 2026 — availability moves fast in pre-season, so confirm against official team news.
Expected XI & selection battles
Formation: 4-2-3-1 becoming 3-2-5 (projection — City's Asia tour squad is almost entirely fringe and academy players because World Cup participants who went beyond the quarter-finals were excluded by club policy)
- GK Gianluigi Donnarumma
- RB Rico Lewis (inverting) — or Matheus Nunes
- CB Ruben Dias
- CB Josko Gvardiol
- LB Rayan Ait-Nouri — or Nico O'Reilly
- CM Rodri (fitness-dependent)
- CM Elliot Anderson
- RW Antoine Semenyo
- AM Rayan Cherki
- LW Jeremy Doku
- ST Erling Haaland
Battles to watch
- Pivot partner for Rodri: Elliot Anderson (£116m) vs Tijjani Reijnders vs Mateo Kovacic — Sofascore lays out three distinct Maresca setups using different combinations
- No.10: Rayan Cherki vs Phil Foden vs Omar Marmoush
- Left wing: Doku vs Savinho (Tottenham interest reported) vs Foden
- Centre-back: Dias, Gvardiol, Marc Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis for two places after Akanji, Ake and Stones all left
- Right-back / inverted role: Rico Lewis vs Matheus Nunes vs Nico O'Reilly
- Goalkeeper: Donnarumma becomes the clear No.1 once the Trafford sale completes
Set-piece takers
FPL winners & losers
Research calls from the sources below, not model output — the model's numbers for these players are on predicted points.
Key uncertainties
The honest list — what this guide could not pin down as of 30 July 2026. Any of these can change the FPL picture before Gameweek 1:
- Maresca has never managed City competitively — the tactical profile is projected from his Chelsea and Leicester work plus his time as Guardiola's assistant
- Rodri's fitness for GW1 (Man City v Bournemouth, Sunday 23 August) is genuinely unresolved
- The Trafford sale to Leeds and the Phillips loan to Sheffield United were both agreed but unannounced as of 30 July 2026
- None of City's World Cup players had featured in pre-season as of 30 July — the Asia tour squad was fringe and academy players only, so there is no reliable XI signal from friendlies
- Set-piece and penalty duties have not been re-confirmed under Maresca
- The window runs to 1 September and City had spent £153.2m against £35.15m recouped — further business in both directions is plausible
- Reported fee conflict on Andrey Santos-style deals aside, Semenyo's January fee is reported as both £62.5m and £64m across outlets
Sources
- Manchester City have named a 28-man squad for their tour of Asia (Esteemed Kompany) — 2026-07-28
- Maresca's midfield blueprint: three ways Man City can line up in 2026/27 (Sofascore) — 2026-07-24
- Man City Pre-Season: Maresca Meets Guardiola Outcasts and Hopefuls (Brit Brief) — 2026-07-20
- Manager line-up complete for 2026/27 season (Premier League official) — 2026-07-13
- 2026-27 Manchester City F.C. season (Wikipedia) — 2026-07
- Leeds agree £40m club record deal for James Trafford (Yahoo Sports) — 2026-07
A point-in-time research snapshot compiled 30 July 2026, showing the six most recent of the sources the research drew on. It does not update in real time — line-ups, fitness and transfers can all move before the deadline, so always confirm against official team news. All 20 club guides are on team guides.
FPL is a free fantasy game — this is squad research, not betting advice.
Updated 13 August 2026, 07:21 UK · Source: Official FPL API