Why Man City winger Mahrez should make your Fantasy Football squad
Less than a month until the Premier League season gets underway, the talk of England's top tier this week has been the return of Fantasy Football. With Fantasy Premier League drip feeding supporters the price releases, there was a huge upturn in users getting their teams in early once the game opened.
Now that the full price lists have been made public, Fantasy Football gamers are trying to find a bargain buy that will give them the edge over their rivals. The issue is that the big point scorers usually cost a fair amount. Mohamed Salah, for example, is available for £13m and is the most expensive player on the game, while Kevin De Bruyne and Son Heung-Min each come in at £12m.
In attack, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland lead the way at £11.5m, and they'll be selected by plenty of users, of that there is no doubt. Therefore, perusing the cheaper options could be the best way to capitalise upon mass selection of one player to push up the leaderboard, and there are plenty of those about.
One of the more frustrating players to have in the past has been Riyad Mahrez, but there is reason for optimism to use him from the outset this time around. At £8m, Mahrez is one of the more cheaper midfield options, and in turn does cost the same as the likes of Luis Diaz and Mason Mount.
A key reason behind the frustration with owning Mahrez is due to Pep Guardiola's rotation policy on the frontline. The Algerian was unable to really consolidate a place in the Manchester City XI last season, starting just 15 league games. Nevertheless, despite a lack of regular minutes, only Kevin De Bruyne (15) and Raheem Sterling (13) scored more league goals than Mahrez (11) of all City players last season, with the latter also returning a modest 135 points on Fantasy Football.
Mahrez started nine fewer league games than Phil Foden last season, yet put up better numbers in front of goal, and is available for the same price as his City teammate. The 31-year-old could be in for an increase in game time in the coming campaign too. For the most part, Mahrez shared the right wing spot with Gabriel Jesus and Sterling last season, yet both have either left or are departing in the foreseeable future, the former leaving for Arsenal and the latter set for a move to Chelsea.
Foden, with one start, was the only other player to feature on the right flank from the outset for City in the Premier League. With his key rivals for the right spot moving on, Mahrez should have a free run at the role, at least in the early months of the campaign.
Guardiola may elect to use Foden from the right wing next season, while Julian Alvarez's arrival adds to the level of competition, yet with a lack of Premier League experience, the City boss may resist the temptation to throw the Argentine straight in at the deep end. Therefore, if Guardiola does look for a more natural fit on the right, then Mahrez is the most logical option for the Spaniard.
An impending new contract highlights that Guardiola has faith in Mahrez still as City gear up to compete on multiple fronts once more next season, and you can be sure that the winger will get plenty of minutes under his belt. In the long run that may ultimately change as the champions consider a move for Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry with the German linked with a Premier League return, but even then the 26-year-old will need to get up to speed with Guardiola's demands.
Jack Grealish struggled in his first season at the Etihad Stadium, but he'll be far more effective in the coming campaign as he continues his transition to a Guardiola winger, and similar may well happen with Gnabry were he to swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League.
Having finished the season third for key passes per 90 (2.4) of all City players, one would expect his assist return to rise, particularly with Haaland leading the charge, so for £8m, this may well be the best time to get Mahrez into your Fantasy Football team ahead of 2022/23 kicking off.
