Scout Scribbles – Agger a Doubt for Liverpool

Daniel Agger is a doubt for Liverpool with a groin injury which could and should have seen him miss the Stamford Bridge stalemate. Olivier Giroud is confident the goals will keep coming, Guy Demel is uncertain of walking straight back into the West Ham first XI, Steven Reid is hoping to return this weekend for West Brom, while Jack Wilshere admits he’s a few games away from his best form for Arsenal…

Daniel Agger has withdrawn from the Denmark squad for tonight’s friendly with Turkey with a groin injury. The centre-half revealed he was set to miss Liverpool’s game at Chelsea but stepped in after Martin Skrtel succumbed to illness:

“I should not have played on Sunday but Skrtel became ill and there was not much I could do. I was thrown into it. I have a pulled groin. It was something that should have kept me out on Sunday but it did not. I played the game. It takes hopefully only a few days (to recover). The reason why I have cancelled for Wednesday is that it is a bit early to play three days after I played 90 minutes with a groin problem.”

Agger’s decision to speak to Danish TV of his frustration certainly suggests this is a genuine injury and not merely one of those “minor problems” that have seen plenty Premier League players make their excuses and return to their clubs over the last day or so. With a single goal conceded in their last three home games, Liverpool look a decent shout for a clean sheet this weekend as Wigan make their way to Anfield; with Skrtel expected to recover in time, Jamie Carragher will be on standby to make his second consecutive start, though question marks remain over whether Brendan Rodgers will start with a 3-5-2 once again or revert to his familiar 4-3-3. We may also see Fantasy bargain, Andre Wisdom, retain his start despite the return of Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique in recent weeks.

Olivier Giroud has spoken of his delight after a double against Fulham last weekend saw him score at the Emirates for the first time in the opening 11 Gameweeks:

“I’m starting to quieten the doubters a bit. I’m feeling better and better in this team and I think you can see it. Last year, I scored 21 goals in the league (for Montpellier) and only one of them was with my head, but it’s true that I’m getting a lot more crosses here. I’m trying to build an understanding with my new team-mates and we are getting to know each other more and more. I’d be happy to get between 12 and 15 goals in the league this season.”

Despite the likes of Gervinho, Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski all throwing their hats in the ring for a central striking role in recent weeks, the Frenchman has now started the last five as the lone striker in Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1 and has produced double figures twice from Gameweek 7 onwards. A lack of real consistency has failed to win over many suitors – just 6,000 FPL managers have snapped him up since the weekend but priced at 8.4 and with a strong run of fixtures right up until Gameweek 21, Giroud could provide an intriguing alternative route to the likes of Santi Cazorla into Wenger’s side over the next few matches.

Still on the subject of Arsenal, Jack Wilshere has admitted he’s still finding his feet after returning from a long-term ankle injury last month. Speaking to the club’s official website, the midfielder agreed with Arsene Wenger’s recent comments that he needs time to “get his burst back”:

“I know exactly what he means by that. The boss always says it to me when he’s reminding me to do my gym work and train hard. It just means literally the first five yards. That was one of my strengths of my game – the first five yards, to beat a player. He says it’s slowly coming back so hopefully it will come back soon….You go to the Emirates, you watch games and you think ‘Has it got quicker? I don’t remember it being this quick. Can I get back to this level that I was at before? But I feel good now and hopefully, with a few more games, I can get back to my best.”

Having been sidelined for 17 months, Wilshere started back-to-back matches in Gameweeks 9 and 10, though a couple of yellow cards at Old Trafford in his second game back saw him miss Saturday’s match with Fulham. While Fantasy managers will be keeping a wide berth for now, at 6.4 Wilshere could offer a significantly cheaper option into Wenger’s midfield if he continues to rack up the starts – whether his deep-lying role can produce the points is still debatable.

Guy Demel has spoken of his recent injury worries for West Ham, before going on to admit he expects a battle to regain his role in Sam Allardyce’s first XI:

“I tore my hernia, so I had to have an operation two weeks ago. This week was my first week back training with the team and I got the opportunity to play 20 minutes at Newcastle, so I was very happy, though I need a couple more games to get back my top form. I am happy that the players in my position in those couple of games did really well. It is good to have competition in the team and now I am just looking to get back on to my best form and give my best when the coach and the team need me. There are so many games in this league so I am sure that I will get my chance.”

Having started the first seven for the Hammers, Demel had afforded Fantasy managers with a viable cut-price route into Allardyce’s back-four, with three clean sheets accrued before limping off 18 minutes towards the end of a 3-1 home defeat. James Tomkins and Joey O’Brien have both played twice at right-back in the last four in Demel’s absence, with the former moving to centre-half last weekend to cover for the injured James Collins who was only fit enough for the bench. With George McCartney picking up a knock at St James’ Park last Sunday, Demel was afforded a chance as a sub, with O’Brien shifting over to left-back; if McCartney and Collins fail to make Monday’s clash with Stoke, Demel – priced at 4.1 in FPL – could well be set to return to the first-team. Stoke have failed to score in their last three on the road, boosting the chances of a sixth clean sheet of the season for Allardyce’s side.

Michael Laudrup is considering handing Itay Shechter a first start of the season this weekend. With Ki Sung-Yueng sidelined due to a hamstring injury, the Swansea boss has revealed his thinking ahead of the weekend trip to Newcastle:

“We know Ki is not going to play so we have to decide what to do with the team. Do we just put one in instead of him or do we change things round in midfield and up front? Danny (Graham) is a possibility. Also I have tried to give a chance to Itay in the last couple of games and I think he has done well. But I don’t want to say this one or that one will start at the moment. I am looking at two or three possibilities and then we need at least a couple of alternatives to change things during the game as well.”

A starting role for either Shechter or Danny Graham as the lone striker would see Michu drop back into the hole at St James’ Park, with Jonathan de Guzman dropping deeper to cover the Korean’s absence. Certainly, Swansea’s attacking form on the road clearly needs addressing; with a single goal on their last four away games, it may well be that Laudrup decides to alter things up top, affording Michu a chance in his favoured position once again.

Steven Reid revealed he is closing in on a return to full fitness after turning out as an over-aged player for West Brom’s U21 side earlier this week:

“Hopefully I’ll be involved on Saturday and I just need to fight my way back into the team now. We’ll be trying to get three wins on the spin and I just want to get back into the squad and experience a matchday. I’ll have to earn the right to play and get back in the team. The team are playing well and Billy’s (Jones) playing really well at right-back.”

Reid – whose appeal is severely dented by his FPL midfield classification – started the first three at right-back for the Baggies before sustaining a hamstring injury against Everton, and his failure to feature since has handed Billy Jones an opportunity to stake a claim in Steve Clarke’s thriving first XI. Jones has also recently recovered from injury but, priced at 4.4, offers a far cheaper route into West Brom’s defence in comparison to the likes of Gareth McAuley (5.6), Jonas Olsson (5.1)and Liam Ridgewell (5.0) in FPL.

Finally, it’s worth noting we updated the suspension tightrope with a couple of new additions last night. The FA have confirmed that Swansea’s Ashley Williams and West Brom’s Claudio Yacob are both now a single caution away from a one-match suspension; the pair’s cautions in recent Capital One Cup and League matches weren’t spotted by the Press Association or Opta at the time (or even the club’s official sites), though we have now rectified out records.