Is it time to get rid of Manchester City defenders?

DREAM TEAM bosses are calling for a full investigation after yet another disappointing showing from Manchester City’s defensive assets.

Pep’s pricey players are considered ‘set and forget’ for most fantasy football gaffers as they usually deliver on their lofty price-tags with clean sheets and attacking returns.

But, well, it’s not exactly happening.

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GETTYIs Ruben Dias offering value for money?[/caption]

Despite boasting some of the best defensive data in the division, to say the Cityzens have been leaky would be an understatement.

The treble-winners have only registered one clean sheet in their last nine matches in all competitions – a run that stretches back to August!

And that’s somewhat baffling given City have conceded just 16 efforts on target in eight Premier League matches this season.

That ranks as the fewest of any side in the division other than title rivals Arsenal, but does mean that Ederson (£3.9m) and his colleagues are conceding a goal for approximately every 2.6 shots on target.

So often top of the player rankings, you would have to scroll down to 15th to find the top-scoring Manchester City defender in the 2023-24 season.

Kyle Walker (£3.6m) is the club’s leading points-scorer with 47, but Ruben Dias (£4.7m) – the fifth most expensive player in the entire game – has less points than Manuel Akanji (£4.3m) and Nathan Ake (£3.8m).

The Spanish centre-back has accumulated 35 points at an average of 3.9 per match, which is less than Jonny Evans (£2.5m) and the injured Rico Henry (£2.6m) combined. Even the modestly priced Rico Lewis (£2.4m) is gaining on him.

Manchester City are struggling for clean sheetsGETTY

It’s a similar story for Ederson, who is the second most expensive goalkeeper but has a worse average points record than Nottingham Forest’s Matt Turner (£2m) and Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez (£2.9m).

Goals are also in unusually short supply with just four scored in their last 360 minutes of competitive action — meaning the likes of Dias have less attacking potential.

Injuries to key players, a busy schedule and a wafer thin squad has clearly contributed to City’s recent slump, but are those issues in the rear-view mirror?

Rodri (£3.9m) has now completed his three-match suspension after his dismissal against Nottingham Forest.

The Spaniard’s influence on Manchester City can’t be underestimated, and is evident to see after they lost three matches on the spin without him.

He’s back along with the likes of Jack Grealish (£4m), John Stones (£5m) and Bernardo Silva (£3.8m), while there are some interesting fixtures on the horizon with Brighton, Young Boys, Manchester United and Bournemouth to come after the international break.