City crash out of European competition for the season after a 1-0 loss in Dortmund leaves them bottom of Group D. A much-changed Arsenal taste defeat in Greece to finish second to Schalke. Michel Vorm returns to full training for Swansea, Nemanja Vidic’s return looks set to be extended another few days, while Peter Crouch may be available for Stoke’s weekend trip to Villa:
Dortmund 1 Man City 0
Roberto Mancini was without his two key midfield protagonists for the trip to Germany – David Silva missed out with a hamstring injury, while Yaya Toure was suspended. Joleon Lescott kept his place at the centre of defence, with Matija Nastasic taking up the left-back berth. Ahead of the weekend clash against United, Carlos Tevez played the full 90 minutes, while Edin Dzeko also started, with Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli climbing off the bench midway through the second-half. The defeat leaves City bottom of the group – it may be bad news for Etihad supporters but in terms of Fantasy potential, it surely now makes Mancini’s assets far less prone to rotation from now on in and heightens their appeal. Indeed, post-match the City boss reasoned that the result means his side can now fully focus in their bid to retain the title…
“Clearly this can help us win the Premier League because we don’t play in the Europa League but we tried to play in it and that was our tactic tonight.”
Mancini again focused on his attack as a source of frustration: despite the talent in their side, City have failed to score more than once in their last five games in all competitions….
“The big problem is that to win games you need to score. If not, you lose or the game finishes 0-0. At the moment we are not scoring a lot of goals, as we did last year. When we get chances we need to score – we need to resolve this problem if we are going to win.”
With Carlos Tevez starting up front with Edin Dzeko, it would appear that Sergio Aguero, introduced as a sub on hour-mark, is assured of his start on Sunday, although Mario Balotelli could also be a factor having been kept on the bench until mid-way through the second period in Germany. Pablo Zabaleta looks likely to start at the back having been limited to substitute appearance – presumably he is being lined up to play left-back with both Gael Clichy and Aleks Kolarov remaining doubts. Matija Nastasić looks to be vying for the start alongside Vincent Kompany with Joleon Lescott, while Maicon could remain at right-back if Zabaleta is forced to fill in on the left.
City Starting XI: Hart; Maicon, Kompany, Lescott, Nastasic; Nasri (Zabaleta 69), Garcia, Barry, Sinclair (Aguero 57); Tevez, Dzeko (Balotelli 65)
Olympiacos 2 Arsenal 1
A 2-1 loss in Greece meant Arsene Wenger’s side finished as Group B runners-up to Schalke. The Gunners boss fielded just two of his first-team regulars – only Wojciech Szczesny and Thomas Vermaelen were named in last night’s starting XI, with Wenger choosing to omit the majority of his key players completely, after speaking of the fatigue creeping into the squad on Tuesday. Having started in the lone central role against Swansea, Gervinho shifted to the left of the attacking midfield three, with Marouane Chamakh afforded a rare start up top – the Ivorian supplied the assist for Tomas Rosicky’s opener before the hosts hit back twice to extend Arsenal’s winless run to four in all competitions. Gervinho’s inclusion last night would appear to suggest that Olivier Giroud is in line for a recall against West Brom this weekend.
Arsenal XI: Szczesny; Jenkinson, Squillaci, Vermaelen, Meade (Angha 83); Coquelin, Ramsey; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rosicky (Arshavin 46), Gervinho; Chamakh
In Other News
Swansea keeper Gerhard Tremmel’s cut-price appeal took a dive yesterday after Michel Vorm returned to full training. Tremmel has deputised for the Dutchman since he limped off at City in Gameweek 9 and priced at 4.1 in FPL, has collected 3% ownership over the last few matches – while Vorm was somewhat cautious over his availability, his first-team comeback is clearly edging closer:
“I’m very happy to be out there with the boys on the training field. I’ve done a lot of gym work and strengthening my groin with the physio team, and I feel very good. I don’t feel any pain, but I know I am not quite 100 per cent yet, which is to be expected as I only got into full training today. But I think the main thing for me is to make sure I am absolutely ready before I am in contention to play. We have some massive games coming up, and if I’m ready then that’s great, but if I’m not 100 per cent then I won’t put myself into contention for selection.”
Vorm could possibly come back into contention against the Canaries, along with both Pablo Hernandez and Wayne Routledge who missed the victory at the Emirates. Routledge returned to training yesterday, while Hernandez is also due back later this week according to Michael Laudrup…
“Wayne is back in training so that’s very positive and Pablo may start training on Wednesday or Thursday. We will have to see if we can get them both back, because they have different kinds of injuries.”
Sir Alex Ferguson has all but ruled out Nemanja Vidic of a return to action in this evening’s Champions League clash with CFR Cluj. Without his skipper since Gameweek 4, the United boss admitted last week he was hopeful the Serbian would feature but, not only does this seem unlikely, it also appears Vidic won’t play a part in the weekend Manchester derby:
“I don’t think Nemanja will play. He feels he needs another few days’ training so he won’t be available. He’s not far away. He’s training well now but I think another few days will bring him on better. I wasn’t considering Nemanja for Sunday [against Manchester City] anyway. Playing tomorrow would have been a bonus but Sunday would have been too soon [for that sort of game].”
Wayne Rooney will feature in tonight’s tie, however, with Ferguson offering us some interesting statements regarding his fitness…
“When Wayne gets interrupted, he needs three games to get back. That’s why he’ll definitely play. Wayne needs to play a lot of games to get his match fitness up. He’s a strongly-built lad and when he misses two games, it takes him three games to come back. It’s the way he’s always been.”
Ferguson’s statement would seem to suggest that he is unlikely to consider resting Rooney from the hectic schedule, perhaps indicating that he will not be a victim of rest and rotation over the Christmas period which features three league games in six days between December 23 and 29.
Peter Crouch looks set to return to action for Stoke’s trip to Villa this weekend after a visit to the dentist. Crouch missed out in the Potters’ 1-0 win over West Brom last Saturday after losing a couple of teeth in a clash with Fabricio Coloccini during the Gameweek 13 match with Newcastle –Kenwyne Jones was afforded a rare chance to lead the line in the midlands derby but Crouch will now have a mouth guard fitted and is expected to return to training tomorrow.
Stephane Mbia has played down fears of a neck injury after being subbed off before half-time in last weekend’s draw with Villa. The Cameroon international took to twitter to reveal:
“Nothing serious, it was a small neck issue, nothing serious, i will be back very soon. I am in the hospital. I will be back when I can. I can’t tell you exactly when I can.”
Mbia’s versatility had seen him fielded in a variety of positions under Mark Hughes but he seems to have settled in central midfield since Harry Redknapp’s arrival, partnering Samba Diakite in front of the back-four in a 4-2-3-1. Any possible absence could afford Shaun Derry a chance, though Ji Sung-Park could also come into contention, having finally returned from a knee injury over the last fortnight.
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