Erling Haaland back in squad but Phil Foden left out of Man City starting XI again to leave Fantasy Football managers dismayed at Pep Guardiola

Hear that sound? It is the collective groan of Fantasy Football managers across the country.

Fans everywhere awaited 2pm with bated breath to discover whether Erling Haaland and Phil Foden would be named in the Manchester City starting XI to face Fulham.

Reuters

The duo were forced to settle for a place on the bench

They weren’t.

Gaol machine Haaland is on the bench after missing the last week of action due to a foot injury.

He is the highest-scoring player in FPL by some distance and many gave him their captain’s armband in the hope he might return to the starting XI.

While there is little anybody can do to speed up Haaland’s recovery, Pep Guardiola’s recent use of Phil Foden has left FPL managers dismayed.

The England forward is also among the highest-scoring and most-owned players in the game.

However, despite his impressive form earlier this season, Foden has not started a league game for City since the defeat at Liverpool on October 16.

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The team news on Saturday presented a hammer blow for FPL bosses who were hoping to use Foden as a back-up for Haaland – while there was even no Aleksandar Mitrovic for Fulham!

Explaining his recent squad rotation, Guardiola said on Friday: “Him [Foden] and Riyad [Mahrez] have been on the bench as well, Jack Grealish too.

“Bernardo Silva has been on the bench, [Ilkay] Gundogan has been on the bench and Kevin De Bruyne has been on the bench, everyone.

“It’s not an issue, I have many players and I have to use them. I demand the best of them, I want the best of them, and this is going to happen in the future.

“Always it has been like that, it’s not that you play because you play.

“In Dortmund, for example, we played to qualify first [in the Champions League group stages]. We know how important it was, but Kevin De Bruyne didn’t play one minute. It happens.”

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