The 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League is finally up and running, giving fans to create their teams weeks in advance before the new Premier League campaign begins. A lot of exciting new signings are creating a bit of a headache on what the ‘ideal’ starting team would be, but a go-to-team to pick players from is definitely Manchester City.
Manchester City are eyeing a record-setting quadruple consecutive Premier League title wins ahead of the 2024/25 season. The Cityzens have been unstoppable in recent years and despite Arsenal’s best efforts, Pep Guardiola’s side have found a win to win the championship for the last three consecutive campaigns.
Of course when you think of Manchester City players in the FPL, it’ll automatically be goal machine Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne or Josko Gvardiol. But one smart, economical pick from the Cityzens squad can be their new signing, Savinho aka Savio, who is rated at 6.5.
The Cityzens shelled out just over £33 million for the Brazilian talent from Troyes, something that has stirred a lot of controversy. That is because Troyes, Girona and Manchester City are all part of one football group and a lot of fans have accused the Cityzens of undervaluing the 20-year-old winger in his transfer.
Savinho won’t really be bothered by that and will focus on making a positive impact in the Premier League. He is coming off a brilliant 2023/24 season with Girona, playing a key role in helping them finish in third place and qualify for the Champions League. He was also one of Brazil’s better performers in the Copa America, despite playing out of his natural position.
But it’s the 20-year-old’s goal contribution numbers that earned him all the hype last season. In 37 La Liga appearances, Savinho scored 9 goals and provided 11 assists. What is even more impressive is that was his first whole season in a major European league. From 2020-2023, Savinho made under 10 league appearances at club level as he got switched around different clubs.
The Brazilian winger showed how special he can be with his heroics in his first full season at a senior division, getting two assists in their two games against Barcelona too. What is even more impressive is how Savinho managed to outperform his XG (expected goals) and expected (assists). He had a 6.1 XG for the entire La Liga campaign, but scored three more goals and had an 7.9 XA, only to outperform that with three extra assists.
Savinho can be a terrorizing, unpredictable threat on the ball as he showed by running the show in the frontline for Girona. He possesses impressive pace, ball control and that special spark to just dribble past defenders with ease. Last season, the 20-year-old also managed to record 181 progressive carries and 93 progressive passes to help set up exciting forward moves.
Only Jeremie Doku (218) made more progressive carries in the Premier League than Savinho did in La Liga last season. That is probably why Manchester City fans are so excited at the prospect of seeing both Doku and Savinho play together, even though both wingers are naturally at their best on the left flank.
Savinho can play on the right too, as he has done for Brazil in 2024, but only gotten two goal contributions in seven games. There is a possibility that Pep Guardiola uses his well-known tactic of using his new signings as substitute in their first season to ‘integrate’ them into the squad. Savinho was used as a substitute only three time last season, but managed one assist nonetheless.
Going by his ability to carry the ball past defenders, Savinho can be a menace against tired legs and run riot in the closing phase of matches. His eye for goal contributions hints that the Brazilian is a solid FPL pick even as a substitute and contribute to a lot of goals from that role too.
Of course, it’s not like Savinho is the only great midfield pick for that range of 6.5 or something closer to that. There are other Manchester City players (like Doku and Bernardo Silva) at that price. There are other promising wingers or attacking midfielders in that range, like Christopher Nkunku, Alejandro Garnacho and Dejan Kulusevki in that price. West Ham United man Lucas Paqueta is priced at 6.0, but his future is under question amid investigation on his betting scandal.
But to be ahead of the curve in FPL, users have to take risks and opt for players who aren’t selected by the majority of managers. Savinho is currently picked by 0.4% of the registered managers. That probably consists mostly of Manchester City fans.
The Cityzens have a pretty attractive schedule to start off the campaign. In their first 10 games, the only ‘formidable’ fixtures they’ll face is against Chelsea (away), Arsenal (home) and Newcastle United (away). All the other ones are reasonably comfortable for Guardiola to give someone like Savinho more exposure and unleash his talents on vulnerable Premier League opponents.
Considering his heroics in La Liga last season, there is a lot of expectation among Manchester City supporters on Savinho. He’s had an impressive 2024 and is booming with confidence. The 20-year-old’s unique skill set could cause major problems for Premier League defenders and turn him out to be a points machine in the FPL too.