Archive for May 7th, 2008
Carvalho in Fitness Race
Chelsea’s Ricardo Carvalho remains a doubt for the final game of the season against Bolton. The defender was replaced after 77-minutes of the Newcastle game with a back injury and it is reported that he’s been subject to intensive treatment so far this week to get him fit for the deciding game [source].
Alex replaced him in the Newcastle game and will slot straight in alongside Terry should Carvalho fail in his bid for fitness. It might even be the case that Grant would even prefer Alex in his lineup - his size would certainly help deal with Bolton’s style of play.
ContinuedVidic Set For JJB Return
United will have Nemanja Vidic back in their defence for the final day at Wigan on Sunday. Vidic was forced to sit out of the win over West Ham with concussion suffered in the clash with Didier Drogba the previous Sunday. There is a mandatory 10-day FA break following a concussion which was enforced by medical staff at the club [source].
Ferguson is also contemplating bringing Rooney back to the bench for Sunday’s vital clash. United will want to spare him for the Champions League final of course but the general consensus appears to be that Rooney will recover from his hip injury in time for the Moscow final and could even be available from the bench should things start going pear-shaped at the JJB.
In fantasy terms it seems likely that Brown will shift to right-back with Hargreaves possibly taking up a midfield role. Tevez seems certain of start, unless of course Ferguson opts to bring in Anderson or Fletcher to pack the midfield and use Ronaldo as his spearhead in attack. My bet is that Tevez will get the nod in a similar lineup to the one that took on West Ham with Hargreaves possibly replacing the suspended Nani.
Continued
