FPL Gameweek 11 – head-to-head comparisons: Ruben Dias vs Harry Maguire
After a shaky start to City's season, Ruben Dias (£5.6m) has emerged as a calming influence in the suspect Citizens defence. Partnered up with an inexplicably poor Aymeric Laporte, Dias registered only two clean sheets in the first nine gameweeks; a statistic rather unusual for a side that managed to keep the opposition out 16 times last season. Despite this worrying form, Pep has retained faith in the promising Portuguese centre-half and he was rewarded in the form of a commanding display last time out against a weak Burnley side. Dias is the only member of the City defence that has started and finished every fixture in the league this season and despite clocking up 90 minutes against Porto on Tuesday, it would be unusual for Pep to drop a vital ingredient for the clean sheet recipe he seems to have finally conjured up. In addition to his sturdiness at the back, Dias recently scored two headers on international duty against a strong Croatian outfit, emphasising his aerial credentials. Add Dias' aerial threat to the likely prospect of a clean sheet at Fulham and the prospect of a large haul becomes likely.
Harry Maguire (£5.4m) is the man every opposition fan loves to watch fail. Often drawing comparisons to a refrigerator due to his robustness, a subjective viewer would assume Maguire has had a tumultuous start to his career in Manchester. While he has not been perfect or anything close, Maguire is somewhat emerging as the commanding centre-half United have missed since Nemanja Vidic. While obviously not proving his £80 million price tag yet, Maguire played every minute in a United defence that was third only to Liverpool and City in goals conceded last year. With Bruno Fernandes and Alex Telles on corners, Maguire has emerged as the defender with the biggest goal threat in FPL and despite only registering the one against Newcastle, expect Maguire to get a few more opportunities in the coming gameweeks.
While Fulham looked much improved against a deflated Leicester team last time out, expect City to annihilate them. The prospect of a near-guaranteed clean sheet and potential attacking returns gives Dias the edge over Maguire, who faces a tough trip to an in-form West ham side.
Verdict: Ruben Dias
