The Weekend Team News – Sturridge Back for Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers’ Friday afternoon press conference has afforded Fantasy managers some degree of optimism ahead of Liverpool’s home clash with Swansea this Sunday. The Reds boss has revealed Daniel Sturridge is back to lead the line as the hosts look to recover from Monday’s dire home defeat at the hands of West Brom:

Sturridge’s return will raise the hopes of the 143,000+ new owners who acquired his services prior to last weekend’s deadline. With three goals and an assist so far for the Merseyside outfit, Sturridge has been hugely consistent since moving from Chelsea last month – with returns in each of his four league fixtures, he received 13% of the votes cast in the Captain Poll; only Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard managed more.

A return to the starting XI will see Sturridge occupy the lone central role again, with Suarez moving left in a 4-3-3 or tuck in behind in “the hole” if Rodgers opts for a 4-2-3-1. Certainly, the Liverpool boss is weighing up his options – Philippe Coutinho could be set for his first start since moving from Inter; the Brazilian and Sturridge were both cup-tied for last night’s Europa League defeat to Zenit and will afford a little more freshness to the starting line-up as the Merseysiders attempt to bounce back from a couple of disappointing displays over the past few days. Rodgers went on to discuss the possibility of a start for Coutinho:

“He’s certainly in my thinking. He’s come in and has needed a bit of time to adapt to a new way of working and a new life. But you can see the kid’s qualities. He’s got good experience for a young player. Over the next couple of days I’ll take my time and have a think about [whether he will start]. He’s certainly got the qualities to come into the group and he knows the way of working.”

For Swansea, Chico is sidelined with the ankle injury that forced him off against QPR last weekend. According to Michael Laudrup, the big centre-half is a doubt for the Capital One Cup Final against Bradford later this month – Kyle Bartley or Garry Monk look the likeliest to benefit from the Spaniard’s absence. Laudrup received some better news regarding Leon Britton, though; the midfielder could be set for a return after making progress from the ankle problem that ruled him out of the 4-1 win over Harry Redknapp’s side.