October
10

International breaks are the bane of a Fantasy manager’s life. Every day we brace ourselves for reports of withdrawals and possible injury scares and today is no exception. Marouane Fellaini has picked up a knee problem, Robert Snodgrass and Romelu Lukaku both have ankle worries, while Winston Reid awaits results of a back scan…

Reports suggest Marouane Fellaini could be set to miss the next three weeks with a knee problem. The midfielder is said to have picked up the injury in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Wigan and has since undergone scans with the Belgium medics – he is now out of his nation’s upcoming games and would be regarded as a real doubt for the Toffees Gameweek 8 trip to QPR if the initial prognosis proves correct.

There is now a wash of reports following the breaking news late last night but Everton are yet to comment on the story, which was published initially on the Belgian FA website. Any confirmed absence would surely prompt significant sales across the Fantasy games. Fellaini has risen to 7.3 from 6.5 in FPL after grabbing three goals in the first five Gameweeks – owned by over 31% of Fantasy managers, he has a strong upcoming schedule which could afford plenty opportunity to rack up the points should be overcome the problem in time for the Loftus Road clash on Sunday October 21.

Robert Snodgrass has been ruled out of the Scotland squad due to an ankle problem. The injury was kept under wraps at the weekend –an unused sub for the game at Chelsea due to the problem, Snodgrass’ omission was generally assumed to be tactical. Having started the Canaries’ first six games this season, the former Leeds man has been a crucial component of Chris Hughton’s first-team – today’s news at least eased fears that he has become prone to rotation under the new manager.

Goran Popov has again reiterated his desire to nail down the left-back role for West Brom. The on-loan defender revealed yesterday:

“I want more than a year. My future is here, I don’t want to go back. So for me it is important now to play and show that I am good enough to stay in English football. I would like to stay here after this year. This is my future and I am thinking like that. That’s why I came here. If I wanted to be back in Kiev I wouldn’t have come here. I came here because I know I can play here. We have spoken about it and the club have said if I do well here this year I can sign for one or two years more.”

Popov has stepped in for the injured Liam Ridgewell over the last couple of matches but the former Birmingham is now afforded the fortnight international break to recover in time for the Gameweek 8 home showdown with City. Having been handed a first-team opportunity, Popov is likely to find out where he stands in the pecking order if Ridgewell returns to fitness – while the Macedonian’s cheaper cost is more appealing from Fantasy perspective, he’s likely to be hard pushed to keep Ridgewell out of Steve Clarke’s starting line-up.

Elsewhere for the Baggies, Romelu Lukaku has pulled out of the Belgium squad ahead of the upcoming internationals. The forward, who made his sixth sub appearance of the season in the weekend win over QPR, has sustained an ankle problem.

Winston Reid has delayed heading off on international duty with New Zealand as he awaits the results of back scans. The centre-half suffered muscle spasms during the Hammers’ 3-1 defeat against Arsenal on Saturday evening – James Tomkins stepped off the bench to replace the Kiwi in Gameweek 6 and would be set to step in if Reid has suffered any injury.

About The Author

paul

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  1. Team is

    JJ, Ruddy

    Baines, Vertonghen, McCartney, Gunter, Clyne

    Santi, Bale, Michu, Ramirez, Kacaniklic

    Suarez, RVP, Ba

    Doing pretty well with this team at the moment (top 5k-ish), but considering a wildcard to:

    JJ, McCarthey

    Baines, McCartney, Barnett, Wilson, Hughes

    Santi, Bale, Hazard, Sterling, Silva

    Lambert, Ba, Aguero

    Either that - or I have 2FTs which I could use to swap Ramirez and RVP for Silva and Berbatov, or just switch Ramirez to Lallana, saving the 2FTs for the next week to ship Michu and Suarez out.

    Thoughts?

    1. thoughts are that you back up your wild claims of a top 5k rank with no Ivan / Hazard / Tevez by linking your team!

    2. You're not top 5k

  2. CAPTAIN FANTASTIC?.............

    A. Cazorla - NOR (A)
    B. Aguero - WBA (A)
    C. Berbatov - AVL (H)

    1. Berbatov

      1. +1 ...providing I saw some photos on Fulham's website of him slotting shots away in training the day before. If he's still mincing around in an oxygen chamber I'd go A.

    2. Defo one of A or C.

      I'm thinking of bringing Berba in for RVP so I might (c) Santi to spread the risk. If I did RVP > Berba (c) and he failed and/or RVP did well, I would be so gutted!

  3. Fellaini has had 6000 transfers out in 6 hours, without a game for 10 days. Where is the decorum?

    1. good thing is he'll take a while to reach the drop list.. Transfers out will slow down in a couple of days and he may end up down just 0.1

    2. Is that a Roman Painter/Plasterer?

      1. He has risen 0.7 since I bought him so a drop of 0.1 is of no consequence. Gonna keep him, if he doesnt play Sterling comes into my starting XI so 50/50 on points for next GW anyway.

        1. Maybe Fellaini being injured just tipped the balance for a lot of people to play their WC.

          If it's 6,000 as you say the danger would be in dropping .2, given that there's ten days before the game. Plus the following week as well. Could fall a lot.

          1. He'll need NTO 40k from now to go down 0.1. I doubt he'll drop more than this but he may drop soon after the GW deadline.

  4. Would like some opinions on my squad from next week:

    Foster, Begovic
    Baines, Sagna, Cuellar, Wilson, Demel
    Silva, Cazorla, Pienaar, Nolan, Noble
    RVP, Tevez, Fletcher

    Only thing I can see which needs to be changed after gw9 would possibly be Nolan -> Morrison although may hold on to him.

    Might consider Rooney and Aguero over RVP and Tevez in the long run after monitoring for a few weeks.

    Looking good?

    1. Not bothered about Bale or Mata/Hazard - prefer all my mids (except Noble).

    2. I would have waited until he plays a game before getting Sagna but I guess you can cope if Demel plays. I do like Bale but each to their own.

      Do something about Noble. You'd surely rather have Sterling for the same price?

    3. LOL, thats my team,
      apart from Noble and Cuellar,
      How many transfers have you got?
      Cash?

  5. How does:
    Hazard -> Cazorla
    Foster -> Bego
    Ba -> Berba
    Michu -> Mata
    (in that order over next 3 weeks) look?

    1. Well you'd want Berba now.

    2. No point planning 3 game weeks ahead. I doubt you wanted Mata 3 weeks ago (for example) so you'll probably want someone else in 3 weeks time.

      1. Oh, and what's the point of getting rid of Ba???

        1. +1 Ba has good fixtures coming up and is in good form

      2. This. Planning that far ahead NEVER works out the way you think.

    3. Don't do Foster to Begovic. Massive sideways trade in my opinions. Not necessary at all.

  6. Fellaini sounding more like a case of Internationalitis from Everton's statement.

    1. As someone said earlier, why would Belgium's medical team facilitate that lie? They have important qualifiers coming up.

      1. Maybe the info came from Everton's medical team to Belgium's

        1. That's not the way it seems to have happened:

          http://www.toffeeweb.com/season/12-13/news/22671.html

    2. so I have been looking to shake up my midfield and fellani to silva looks right for me to cash in and beef up

  7. berbs shot up the watchlist to 3rd to add to the bandwagon

    1. Noiice

    2. Ba should be ahead of him surely.

      1. berba should be ahead of Van Persie shirley

  8. This is what one of my friends wrote on facebook, i think he's quite good...

    How to be a football journalist, part 1.
    1) Find out about an up and coming youngster. This can be through your own genuine research, listening to pundits, listening to agents or through playing FIFA. Make sure you can say he's the new "someone."
    2) After said youngster has played well in a game (one game will do, as anyone can safely be judged after 90 mins) link ...him to big money spenders Man City and Chelsea. If he's under 19, also link him to Arsenal. If you're a bit unsure of him, add in Tottenham. If he looks very overrated and over priced, throw in Liverpool and Newcastle. If he's cheap, add Everton. If he's a complete unknown, add in any of those combinations, plus whichever team is flavour of the month.
    2) Everytime he plays, mention him and link him to the clubs. Rotate the clubs every now and then, and quote "sources"
    3) If he starts playing really well, link him to Man Utd.
    4) If he starts to play badly, link him to QPR.
    5) Continue to do this, until the player either:
    A) Signs for one of the clubs you quoted, where you can then claim an exclusive. Good job, well done.
    B) Signs a nice contact at his current club, where you can say he's still learning his trade/not ready for a big club/loyal to that club/was shit anyway. Throw in any contact release clauses you feel like.
    C) Signs for another club. Make up something about it being for more money/Premier League being too physical/your choice of club turned him down/he's shit anyway.
    6) Find another player and repeat.See more

    1. Anyone read that?

    2. Fletcher or Berbatov long term?

      1. This is what I want to know. Currently got Fletch but swapping him out for Berb would free up enough to do Yaya>Silva

      2. berbatov, fulham have scored 15 goals, sunderland 5.

    3. there are another 2 if anyone wants me to do some copy and pasting

    4. :lol: Most amusing.

    5. Brilliant! :D

    6. True. It should be changed to "tabloid football journalist" though.

    7. that was more fun to read than the standard thing on here, i say well done old chap

    8. Amusing read!!! :-)

  9. Hey All,

    Any chance of a RM Wildcard Team?

    I've tried to stay away from the teams with diminishing fixture qualities as well as getting rid of a few of the early-season favorites who have disappointed over the last few weeks. I'd like to include Rooney/ RvP but I can't ignore Aguero who at 11.1 and a decent fixture list coming up looks great value.

    Begovic, Jaask
    Clark, Baines, Rafael, Fonte, Olsson
    Mata, Cazorla, Morrison, Pienaar, Michu
    Aguero, Lambert,Suarez

    Half tempted to through Ba in over Suarez... Liverpool are just too hit and miss currently!

    Cheers

    1. I'd go Ba over Suarez. Nice team.

    2. You could do Suarez > Ba after the next game

      I'm not sure I'd want Michu after next week and he's way too expensive to be a regular bench warmer. Or are you planning to rotate him with Morrison? (I have no idea if that's a viable rotation, just a guess)

      1. I've been mulling over getting rid of Michu for a while... he does seem to be a great finisher tho.. and he's holding a lot of value for me at the moment... i'm tempted to put in sterling (myother top 7 are pretty strong) and upgrade defense

    3. If you remove they Norwich game as an anomaly would you want Suarez? Bandwagon on the back of one fpl performance.

      1. Completely agreed with you all - thanks for making me see sense :D I can fit Berba + Ba which is infinatly better than Lambert/ Suarez.

  10. Ba + Rafael or Berba + Ivanovic?

    Squad is on a WC

    XI: Mannone, Baines, Raf/Ivan, McCartney, Bale, Mata, Santi, Kaca, Kun, Suarez, Berba/Ba
    Subs: Bego, Maloney, Barnett, Fonte

    1. Berba, Rafael and spend the rest in defence.

  11. Mata not travelled with Spain huh.. interestin. Chelsea will score goals over the next 6 even though the fixtures look horrid on paper.. may get him over silva

  12. As soon as your Reading fixture is over Suarez, you're leaving for the mighty Berbatov. It's nothing personal, oh wait, it is, you racist!!

    1. Berbatov to outscore Suarez this week :wink:

      1. There's every chance of that.

    2. I am doing the same move. Also Michu to Mata with the extra funds made is a possibility.

    3. So you have racists in your team?!!! Shame on you.

      1. I dislike him so much I refuse to have him in my team just on principle

  13. defence needs some attention:

    Vorm Cerny
    Baines Ridgewell Boyce Demel Clyne

    1 FT, £1.4m

    what do?

  14. With lots of people getting in Aguero and Silva am I as well just keeping Tevez or am I missing something important?

    1. just keep, he's the best of the 3 anyway

    2. I think Tevez is better value but Aguero will score more. It depends whether you need the money (i.e. whether you have RVP or not). I don't so I've gone all out for Aguero's points.

    3. Silva's a good option but not at the expense of Tevez. Similar points projection (Tevez slightly higher) so it's a bit of a sideways move.

    4. With Tevez seemingly favourite to start again at West Brom this looks like a good opportunity to watch another City game and make a better long-term decision.

      I have a plan to go Tevez > Aguero the following week myself, because I find Kun's finishing sort of irresistable - but you can't ignore Tevez's incredible value for money. So I'm not fully decided. Glad to have another week to think about it with Carlos more likely to start.

      I was thinking Silva all the way, but he was playing very deep for a home game vs Sunderland for my liking.

      1. RVP > Berba & Tevez > Aguero would give me 2 better captaincy options actually. Might do it over the next couple of weeks.

        1. Looks good, certainly short-term. RVP from gw11 looks very dangerous though.

          My plan is to take the money from midfield, have both Kun + RVP through November - and if big hitting midfielders are making me pay and Kun's getting rested or RVP isn't getting the service, switching it up then.

    5. People just wanting a nailed on City player. Not sure they exist though to be honest outside of Hart and Kompany and maybe Yaya

  15. With City having fixtures of (SWA, whu, TOT, AVL) from gw9-12
    and United having fixtures of (avl, nor, QPR, WHU, rdg) from gw11-15;
    which combo is the best?:

    A) RVP, Cazorla, Barfa (no City coverage)
    B) RVP, Silva, Barfa
    C) Aguero, Cazorla, Silva, -4pts (no United coverage)
    D) Rooney, Cazorla, Silva, -4pts

    1. B imo, but could change with rooney's form

  16. How to be a tabloid football journalist part 2. England
    When writing about England, remember that they are the best team in world. The Premier League is the best in the world, therefore England is the best team (nb, the Premier League has too many foreigners, and is ruining England. This isn't important until England call up someone you don't know. Once this happens, destroy the Premier League).
    H...owever, when the world rankings are updated, mock them for putting England so high.
    England should win EVERY game. If its a team within the top 10 rankings it should be by one goal. For those 11-15 it should be by 2. 16 - 25 should be by 3. 26 - 50 by 4. 50+ should be by 5. No arguments. It doesn't matter if teams raise their game against England because they view them as a big scalp, these rules must be abided to.
    The opposition never play better than England. If England don't win, it's because they played badly.
    If England don't win, it's a national disaster.
    No one hates England. Except the homes nations. Then it's just banter.
    England hate Germany, Argentina, France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland...
    England v Germany is the biggest game in the world. And is certainly bigger than Germany v Holland. Who cares about that?
    Our fans are the best in the world. Everyone loves our fans. The dark days of hooliganism and racism are in the past. Period.
    If Rooney does not score, he played badly. Destroy him.
    There will always be someone who should be in the squad (regardless of form/ability). If England lose, it's because he's not playing. If they win, it's despite of him.
    Make sure you have a hero: someone who is the best in the world in a particular position. In doesn't matter if they're not, if you say it enough people will believe you.
    When said player does not perform, destroy him.

    1. The manager is always incompetent. Ridicule him as much as possible. If England go 2 games without winning, then he should be sacked.
      Remember to praise 'arry where poss. And El Tel. And Robson (everyone's forgotten how the tabloid press mocked them)
      England players never replicate their club form for their country. Actual club form is not important.
      They should show how proud they are to wear the England shirt. Quite how they are meant to show this is not important. Sweating actual blood on the pitch would help. Compare them to soldiers, otherwise known as "our boys". "Our boys" are far more proud of England and far more deserving of tabloid praise...
      Unless England beat Spain. Then f**k "our boys", we have the best football team in the world. Don't mention that it was a friendly, and that Spain lose a lot of friendlies...
      The manager is rubbish because he won't drop the old guard.
      The manager is rubbish because he's called up too many youngsters.
      FIFA don't have a clue, we love the FA for complaining about them...
      The FA is full of old codgers who live in past.
      England should play with passion, determination and aggression. There is no time for patience, get it to the front man as soon as possible...
      Whilst playing like Spain
      The WAGS are a distraction. Keep pointing this out. There is nothing the tabloid press can do to stop them making the front pages.
      The players should not be seen on a night out, drinking and chatting up the opposite sex. If this happens, destroy them.
      We miss Gazza.
      Remembers, the tabloid press are NEVER EVER to blame

      1. brilliant, should get him to do a daily one, he could spend days on the old firm up here

    2. Never a truer word said about the English national team

    3. Now this is worth reading :-) .....Well done to your friend who came up with this.

    4. brilliant. one more part?

  17. Whats the opinion on Giroud in here? Dropped from 9.0>8.4 and he was quality in the last game by all accounts (backed up by 3BP's). Thinking with Arsenal's fixture list he could be a massive differential....

    1. quite a lot of people here are considering him, rightly so. the most elegant (me, for example) even captaining.

      1. I'm another elegant cock. Olly Giroud (C)

      2. Is the general perception that he will be first choice ahead of Gervinho now? (I guess that is the 60k question everyone is wondering, right?)

        1. That's the question - I've written quite a lot on this, so at the expense of boring people. I think he's nailed-on away from home, it's now a question of whether Gervinho as a false 9 is the preferred option in home games - or if it was just a short-term solution while Giroud got up to speed. My gut says Giroud as a No.9 will be Plan A now and I'm willing to take a punt on it. He'll start at Norwich, if he doesn't start at home to QPR then it's panic stations and I'll probably look at Berbatov.

          1. Thanks for your assesment Limpar. I guess even if he doesn't play the QPR game the prospect of a good haul at Norwich makes him still worthy of a punt. I guess its a case of not rushing in and keeping an eye on FISO over the next week. If my team comes out of the break injury free then welcome Monsieur Giroud.....

            1. It's an exciting prospect for sure. Let's hope he doesn't come back a Croqued Monsieur himself! ...Sorry...

    2. Stood out in last game, still a pl rookie, looks the real deal for me, intent too get him in on the basis of him being in the starting 11 each week.

      1. Next 2 games could be massive for him. It's a punt I guess.....

  18. best defender for 6.7M?

    my other trasfer is RVP :arrow: Rooney

    1. Best, is obviously Sir Aleksandar. If you're looking for someone nailed on then Gibbs, Sagna, Rafael.

    2. Vertonghen

    3. Johnson or Cole

  19. GW 64pt not bad but need to strength my defence…
    With Gorkss barnett figaroua hangeland clyne and 0.9 mill in bank…

    Any suggestions?? looking towards stoke with marc wilson?

  20. Looking at Man City’s fixtures they are; away PL game, CL game, home PL game. Anyone think Aguero will always play the first 2 and be rested for the third (home game). Very concerned owner here.

    1. Very likely imo.

      1. Could be something like this

        20 October 2012 15:00 A West Brom Barclays Premier League - PLAY

        24 October 2012 19:45 A Ajax UEFA Champions League - PLAY

        27 October 2012 17:30 H Swansea City Barclays Premier League - REST
        November 12
        03 November 2012 17:30 A West Ham United Barclays Premier League - PLAY


        06 November 2012 19:45 H Ajax UEFA Champions League - PLAY

        More info
        11 November 2012 13:30 H Spurs Barclays Premier League - REST

        More info
        17 November 2012 15:00 H Aston Villa Barclays Premier League - PLAY


        21 November 2012 19:45 H Real Madrid UEFA Champions League - PLAY

        More info
        25 November 2012 16:00 A Chelsea Barclays Premier League - REST


        28 November 2012 20:00 A Wigan Athletic Barclays Premier League - PLAY

        1. I think he will against both Spurs and Chelsea. Rested for the other fixture around it. Could depend on whether their position in CL.

        2. more like... Rest, play, play, play, play, play, play, play, rest, play

          he's prolly gonna bench that west brom game

  21. Anyone else picking Bale as captain this week at home to Chelsea?

    1. Ballsy.

      1. Look at the points he scored at Man Utd. Good players can perform against any teams and sometimes it even helps when they play harder teams. I always captain based mainly on form not fixture and I don't have RVP and don't think there are any other genuine other deifnate captain options around.

    2. Nah. Got my fingers burned captaining Ba against Man U. My captain choice will play for a side odds on to win this week. Bale could do well against anyone though so best of luck.

      1. Thanks. I think he could have a great score aagin like he did against Man Utd.

  22. is this worth an 8 point hit

    Hooveld to hughes already done

    Tevez to Berbs

    Lambert to Ba

    yes or no

    1. tevez to ba and keep 4 pts ?

      1. ok and then i could do lambert to berbs for my FT the following week

        cheers

    2. Keep your points and your players.

  23. who will take fellaini's place if he's out?

    1. Naismith, probably.

    2. i would take pienaar if you don't already have him

  24. I'm starting to look at turning the stats into some reliable predictions of points. Frequently we will look at goals and assists as the best indicators of potential. They're good but we can do better by looking at shots and chances created. Too many random factors come into play which, if we are looking for long term potential, we want to remove.

    Take a look at the shots to goals ratio. There are three things that, along the way, stop a shot from becoming a goal

    a) It is blocked
    b) It is off-target
    c) It is saved

    Thinking in terms of probabilities, this can be expressed as

    Expected Goals = Expected Shots x Pr(Not blocked) x Pr(On-target if not blocked) x Pr(Not saved if on target)

    So my challenge is to figure out what those probabilities are based on what an individual player has done and all the experience to date can be seen as a reflection of two factors - those specific to the player and random noise.

    If you made it this far then congratulations but I would appreciate some thoughts on how much these factors are linked to the player and how much is random or linked to factors that average over the season (eg opposition).

    Let's start with the probability of the shot being on target. Some of this will depend on the player because how accurate they are and where they typically shoot from. In addition, if a player is always trying to put the ball in the top corner, they will miss more than someone heading at goal from close range.

    So thoughts please on how much are accuracy stats for a player (over the first 7 GW) related to that player and how much is random (eg 70:30 or 30:70)?

    Thanks

    1. Good post!

      I like this way of thinking and have been trying myself to isolate factors that might predict likely goals. Looking at last season and this season, the most telling factors of a high goal scorer are players that rate high in the following 3 categories:

      1. Goal Conversion
      2. Shots on target
      3. Shots in the box

      Some might see this as painfully obvious but they do work as indicators (with Suarez generally an outlier)

      I think as soon as you start factoring the opposition into the equation, things get a bit more complicated. Norwich, for example, concede few shots inside the box but lots of goals. Stoke concede many but few goals. I'd definitely interested to read what you come up with.

    2. yes to where they shoot from. how many times will cazorla score from 30 yards this season? 4 maybe 5 times if he's lucky. won't stop his stats being misinterpreted.
      another good example is fletcher. fletcher had his most shots last match yet for the first time didn't score. the number 3 for 3 on target hides the fact all 3 efforts were pop-shots, whilst his previous efforts whilst not frequent were always golden chances.
      stats are good if you can't watch the matches but in extreme cases like these 2 players they need context

  25. what do u guys think of tripling West Ham and Stoke coverage and rotating them...

    Begovic & Jaas
    Wilson & Demel
    Walters & Noble

    1. Thinking of doing the same with the defence (not convinced by Walters or Noble though).

      The good thing about Stoke and West Ham is that, not only do they offer great value solid defences that rotate home and away perfectly, they actually have a fair few weeks in the next 10 where you wouldn't mind playing one from both.

  26. Hi

    Just looking at possible changes over the next couple of gameweeks and wanted people's opinions.

    Current team is as follows:

    Begovic, Jaask
    Baines, Jenkinson, Ivanovic, Demel, McCartney
    Mata, Cazorla, Pienaar, Bale, Kacaniklic
    Aguero, Ba, Jelevic

    1.1m in reserve

    Going to go Jenkinson to Sagna when that happens, and would like to get Silva in, but don't know what combo would be best. So which of the following do you think is better:

    Piennar, Ba, jelevic - Silva, Berbatov, Crouch
    Kac, Ba, Jelevic - Silva, Berba, Pogrebnyak
    Piennar, Aguero, Jelevic - Silva, Berba, Torres

    Or do I just stick with what i have?

    Any opinions appreciated!

  27. What you guys think of this wildcard team?

    Mannone Begovic
    Olsson Rafael Wilson Baines Nelsen
    Cazorla Bale Mata Pienaar Sterling
    Ba Berbatov Suarez

    And if i make Bale > Lennon i could do ba>Aguero

  28. Have Fellaini injured, also WHMs Reid and Demel and Gibbs, and Jenkinson will probably be replaced by Sagna..

    Seems like I have to make a 4 or 8 point hit, but hope some of the players will be fit for next GW or that sagna won't replace Jenkinson yet... Headache!

    1. Bale injuried, see Physioroom

Scout Picks

Team of the Season 2012/13

  • Jääskeläinen
  • Baines
  • Vertonghen
  • Zabaleta
  • Davies
  • Walcott
  • Mata
  • Michu
  • Bale
  • Suárez
  • van Persie
  • Evra
  • Cazorla
  • Benteke

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Goalkeepers

Player Club Factors
No Change Hart MCI B, Vs
Up Cech CHE B, Vs
Up Robles WIG C, Vs, £
No Change Lloris TOT C, Vs
No Change Foster WBA C, Vs
No Change Vorm SWA C, Vs
No Change Mignolet SUN B, Vs
No Change De Gea MUN A
Up Boruc SOT B, Vs, £
No Change Jääskeläinen WHM A
No Change Begovic STO C
No Change Howard EVE A

Defenders

Player Club Factors
No Change Kompany MCI B, Vs, Rest
No Change Vertonghen TOT A, Vs, Rest
Up Luiz CHE A, Vs, Rest
No Change Baines EVE A
Up Boyce WIG C, Vs, OoP
Down Bassong NOR B, Vs
Up McAuley WBA C, Vs
Down Johnson LIV B
Up Jones MUN A
No Change Sagna ARS B
Up Huth STO C
No Change Cuéllar SUN B, Vs, £
No Change Rangel SWA C, Vs
Up Clyne SOT B, Vs, £

Midfielders

Player Club Factors
Up Bale TOT A, Vs
No Change Mata CHE C, Vs, Rest
Up Walcott ARS C, OoP
Up Hazard CHE B, Vs, Rest, Inj
Up Maloney WIG B, Vs, £
No Change Y Touré MCI B, Vs
No Change Silva MCI B, Vs, Inj
No Change Fellaini EVE C
No Change Coutinho LIV B
Up Morrison WBA C, Vs
Down Cazorla ARS C
No Change Snodgrass NOR B
Up Kagawa MUN B, Rest
Up Walters STO B
Down Lallana SOT C, Vs
Down Sissoko NEW C

Forwards

Player Club Factors
Up Tevez MCI A, Vs, Rest
Up Koné WIG B, Vs, £
Down van Persie MUN A, Vs
Up Sturridge LIV B
Up Lukaku WBA B, Vs, Rest
Up Benteke AVL A
Down Aguero MCI B, Vs, Inj
Up Rodriguez SOT A, Vs, £
Up Defoe TOT B, Vs, Rest
Down Lambert SOT C, Vs
Down Rooney MUN C
Up Carroll WHM A, VsX
Up Ba CHE C, Vs, Rest
Down Berbatov FUL C
Up Cissé NEW B
Down Remy QPR B

Selection Factors

A, B, C Current Form
Vs Favourable Fixtures
VsX Unfavourable Fixtures
Rest Rotation Risk
Inj Injured/Returning from Injury
OoP Out of Position
£ Potential Bargain
Sus Suspended/Near Suspension

“I am happy with the way I’ve started, but on the other hand, I should have scored four or five more, so that’s something for me to work on.”

Robin Van Persie talks about his early form at United ahead of his first Manchester derby