Roberto Mancini admits Carlos Tevez will be considered for selection once again. Juan Mata is fit for Chelsea’s game with Bolton. Martin Jol receives an injury boost ahead of the derby with QPR, Tony Pulis leaves behind some key players for Stoke’s trip to Valencia, while Emmanuel Adebayor offers further indication he is ready to return against Arsenal:
Roberto Mancini confirmed for the first time yesterday that Carlos Tevez has every chance of playing for Man City again. Speaking after City’s Europa League thrashing of Porto, the Italian –on the back of Tevez’s recent public apology- has admitted he has no qualms over fielding the Argentine during the remainder of the season, once Tevez is back to full fitness. Mancini’s words will concern Fantasy owners of the likes of Sergio Aguero in particular; with Tevez back in the frame, the City frontline could be nigh-on impossible to predict and with Tevez the only forward unavailable for European duties, his chances of game time in the league look favourable:
I accept his apology, I don’t have any problem. Tomorrow I will meet him before training and after that he can begin to work with us. He needs maybe two or three weeks to find a good form and after that he will be OK. He can play. Like the other players. I think that it will be good if he can help us to do a good job in the next two months. Carlos can’t play in the Europa League but we can have four strikers in the Premier League and that is very good. If we get through in Europe I think it will be important to have four strikers.
Andre Villas-Boas confirmed this afternoon that Juan Mata is fit for the weekend clash with Bolton. The Spaniard broke a finger in the midweek defeat at Napoli but is available for the Stamford Bridge showdown. Jose Bosingwa is out with a muscle injury, though, meaning Gary Cahill is likely to continue in the centre of the back-four, with Branislav Ivanovic filling in at right-back. Fernando Torres missed training today with an illness but is expected back tomorrow, while the Chelsea boss went on to reveal John Terry is out for 5-6 weeks, though hopes his skipper may return sooner.
Bolton’s Mark Davies has a slight hamstring strain for the Chelsea game but is expected to be available. Owen Coyle also admitted Kevin Davies is still struggling to be fit after tweaking medial knee ligaments- the Trotters will assess their skipper tomorrow before making any decision. Joe Riley missed a reserve game in midweek due to a bruised foot and will also be monitored ahead of the Stamford Bridge clash.
Martin Jol received some positive injury news ahead of Fulham’s derby with QPR. Philippe Senderos is available after recovering from a groin problem, while Orlando Sa and Andrew Johnson will both offer options up front. Jol also revealed Pavel Pogrebnyak has shrugged off a foot injury and is fit and available for selection, after being subbed off in the Gameweek 25 win over Stoke with the problem. The Cottagers have almost a clean bill of health, with Steve Sidwell and Zdenek Grygera the only absentees for the Loftus Road showdown.
Tony Pulis has left behind a number of key figures for Stoke’s Europa League trip to Valencia. With the Potters 1-0 down from the first leg, their manager’s decision to rest the likes of Ryan Shawcross, Peter Crouch and Jon Walters may have raised many an eyebrow, but it’s good news for Fantasy managers ahead of the home clash against Swansea on Sunday, as Pulis looks to address a slump that has seen his side beaten in each of the last four gameweeks:
There have been one or two players who have looked tired just recently. We take a great deal of notice every week of Prozone stats and there are one or two whose monitor is showing empty, so they need a breather. We also have a couple of injuries and knocks we are concerned about and it is important to get them right with the games we have coming up.
The Mirror has suggested Sebastien Squillaci and Francis Coquelin – who both limped out of the FA Cup defeat at Sunderland- will miss out this weekend, as Arsenal prepare to face Spurs on Sunday. As the defensive worries pile up for Arsene Wenger, Carl Jenkinson has made a successful comeback in the Gunners reserves. The youngster hasn’t played since Gameweek 11 due to a back problem but managed 45 minutes on Tuesday evening. Aaron Ramsey is believed to be a doubt, after being subbed off with an ankle knock at the Stadium of Light, while Marouane Chamakh is struggling to overcome a toe problem.
Emmanuel Adebayor offered further indication of his imminent return from a knee problem yesterday. The Tottenham forward – who missed the weekend FA Cup draw at Stevenage- revealed via twitter that he is back in full training ahead of the trip to former club Arsenal on Sunday:
Good training session today. Knee is feeling better. Really enjoy it today.
As reported yesterday, Wayne Rooney is out of this evening’s Europa League clash with Ajax due to a throat infection. The forward has been suffering from the problem for a week, with Sir Alex Ferguson hopeful he will be fit for the trip to Norwich. Dimitar Berbatov has recovered from a knock, though, and is available to start against the Dutch side, while Ferguson also revealed he is planning to afford Tom Cleverley the full 90 minutes. United’s midfield received a further boost with the news that Anderson is back training with the first-team- the Brazilian has played only two times since Gameweek 9, with a knee injury curtailing much of his season.
Martin O’Neill has admitted Nicklas Bendtner is in contention for Sunderland this Saturday. The Black Cats travel to West Brom on the back of last weekend’s FA Cup win over Arsenal – a game Bendtner was unavailable for due to the loan deal with his parent club. O’Neill has seen Fraizer Campbell team up successfully with Stephane Sessegnon since the Dane limped out of the Gameweek 22 match at Swansea with facial injuries and, given Campbell’s eye-catching displays, a place on the bench may be as good as Bendtner is likely to muster at the Hawthorns.
