Pep is gone — Manchester City enter a new era
Pep Guardiola has departed Manchester City after a decade in charge, ending the longest single-manager era in modern Premier League history. As of 15 June 2026, Manchester City have not officially confirmed his replacement — Enzo Maresca is the most-reported candidate but no formal announcement has landed. For Fantasy Premier League managers, the City manager question matters less than at other clubs: Erling Haaland remains the unanimous GW1 captain default regardless of who walks into the dressing room. City finished 2nd in 25/26 with 78 points, scoring a league-best 73.08 xG, and the squad spine remains intact.
Erling Haaland — the unanimous GW1 captain
Erling Haaland (projected £15.5m) is the Onside model's Tier 1 GW1 captain default for 26/27. His 25/26 line — 239 FPL points, 27 goals, 8 assists, the Golden Boot, three consecutive GW1s with 26+ point hauls — establishes him as the strongest captaincy floor in the game. Salah's departure from the Premier League removes the only credible alternative; Bruno Fernandes is the Tier 2 fallback if a City away opener at a top-six side gives you a captaincy pause.
The Haaland template ownership for 26/27 will run higher than 25/26 (when he hit 22% GW1 ownership). The Onside model expects 40%+ GW1 ownership at the projected £14-14.5m price point — close to mandatory territory.
Joško Gvardiol and the City defensive bracket
Joško Gvardiol (projected £6.0m) is City's standout FPL defender — an attacking left-centre-back with consistent goal involvement and the league's best clean-sheet baseline. Below him, John Stones and Rúben Dias are clean-sheet-only £5.5m picks; Manuel Akanji rotates. Goalkeeper question: Ederson or Stefan Ortega depending on the new manager's preference (rumoured Donnarumma signing not yet confirmed).
Outside the defence, Phil Foden (projected £8.0m) is the mid-bracket differential — under-priced after a quiet 25/26 but with a 24/25 pedigree. Jérémy Doku (£6.5-7m) is the breakout candidate.
Semenyo, O'Reilly and Guéhi — the City picks this page was missing
Antoine Semenyo (£8.4m) joined from Bournemouth and is owned by 26.5% of the game. Nico O'Reilly (£6.5m, 21.5%) has become the attacking full-back the market rates, and Marc Guéhi (£6.0m, 19.2%) arrived from Crystal Palace to anchor the defence — he was the best points-per-million defender in the league last season, which is why 19% of managers followed him here.
Haaland remains the captaincy default, but these three are where the rest of a City double- or triple-up now goes. Verified against the live FPL API on 20 August.
City's 26/27 fixture stance and ownership template
Manchester City are bookmakers' 5/2 second-favourites for the 26/27 Premier League title despite the Pep exit — confidence in the squad remains high. They enter the Champions League league phase directly (no midweek qualifier before GW1) and have no Europa or Conference League distraction. The Haaland captaincy strongest in any GW1 opener against a promoted side (Coventry, Hull, Ipswich) — and weakest against a defensively-organised top-six side away.
Recommended exposure: Haaland + Gvardiol + 1 midfielder (Foden or Doku) is the cleanest "triple City" template start. Captain Haaland 90%+ of GW1-5 unless a specific Tier 2 fixture argument flips the call.