Carlos Tevez continues to build up his fitness amid reports he is set to feature against Chelsea. Anderson may be out for the season after reportedly sustaining a hamstring injury in training. Alex McLeish hails the recent displays of Stephen Ireland, Glen Johnson is a concern for Kenny Dalglish ahead of tonight’s Merseyside derby, while David Moyes is wary of pushing some of his comeback stars too quickly:
Carlos Tevez has stepped up his conditioning training ahead of Man City’s game with Chelsea next Wednesday. The Argentine has featured for the reserves twice recently but has been withdrawn from the second string’s squad this week and, with the City frontline struggling to find the net, Roberto Mancini is keen to build up his former captain’s fitness in time for the crucial showdown. If United win at Wolves this weekend, City will enter the Chelsea game four points behind their title rivals; Tevez could well feature as Mancini looks to keep in touch with his neighbours as the pressure at the top ramps up. In other news, the City boss is sweating on the fitness of Joleon Lescott- the centre-half missed Sunday’s defeat at Swansea with a groin injury, with results of a scan expected at some point today.
Andre Santos is expected to turn out for Arsenal reserves on Wednesday evening as he nears a first-team comeback. The Brazilian – who has been missing since Gameweek 14 with an ankle injury – was an unused sub in last night’s win over Newcastle but “needs 90 minutes” to build up his fitness, according to Arsene Wenger, with an appearance against the Baggies second string now pencilled in. The Gunners boss also revealed Abou Diaby could return against Everton next week- the midfielder lasted just 27 minutes of his latest comeback before limping off at Liverpool.
Fulham’s Zdenek Grygera has confirmed he will not feature again this season, with his recovery from knee surgery taking longer than anticipated. The right-back suffered anterior ligament damage in the Gameweek 11 match with Spurs and his absence has afforded Stephen Kelly a chance to establish himself in Martin Jol’s back-four. The Cottagers have picked up defensively of late, with just a single goal conceded in their last three and, priced at 4.0, Kelly’s place as a cut-price Fantasy option continues to look secure over the remainder of the campaign.
Alex McLeish has heaped praise on the recent displays of Stephen Ireland, suggesting the midfielder will be an integral part of the Villa first XI over the remainder of the season. Ireland has now played 90 minutes in back-to-back matches over the last two gameweeks – the first time this term he has done so. Playing in the hole and priced at just 5.3, Ireland has the potential to be a bargain, though with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in the next four, Villa’s fixtures are hardly appetising. Mcleish went on to say:
Ireland has been a revelation in the last few weeks. From what I’ve seen the last couple of weeks, I’m thinking Stevie is starting to look like the player he was at Man City. There is a player in there alright. You see the slide tackles, dispossessing people. I thought he was really good on one to ones when he didn’t have the ball in terms of dispossession. He is at a very good moment – and long may that continue.
Reports suggest Anderson may be set to miss the remainder of the season after badly damaging a hamstring in training last week. Though United have yet to comment, the Mail reckon the club are awaiting results of a scan on the problem, with a lengthy lay-off more than likely. The Brazilian started eight of the first nine matches for the champions but, in an injury-hit season, has featured just twice from the bench since then and, with Paul Scholes coming out of retirement, it’s arguable as to whether Anderson’s midfield contribution has been missed by Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in their climb back to the summit.
Darron Gibson is the only definite absentee for Everton ahead of this evening’s Merseyside derby, David Moyes confirmed yesterday. The Toffees boss did admit, however, that, with an FA Cup clash against Sunderland to follow this weekend before squaring up to Arsenal next midweek, he is wary of pushing some of his fit-again players too soon over the next couple of games, with several of his squad only just returning from injury:
Some players I don’t think are as match fit as I’d like and that is a little bit of a concern for me. On Saturday I was a bit concerned about Seamus Coleman and whether he was going to be match fit. Even Nikica Jelavic, he hadn’t been injured like some of the others but he’d missed a couple of weeks and we’ve had quite a few players like that. I thought it showed near the end of the [Tottenham] game. We didn’t quite have the energy I would’ve liked.
Kenny Dalglish’s only concern centres around Glen Johnson. The right-back has missed the last couple of matches after picking up a hamstring problem in England training and is once again a doubt for this evening’s match, with his manager revealing:
He’s got a niggle, so we’ll have to wait and see. Sometimes they take longer to clear up than others – you keep thinking you’re going to get there, but it doesn’t quite happen. We’ll have to wait and see where he is.
