Stoke have problems at the back ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, with Ryan Shawcross and Geoff Cameron both doubts. Jose Enrique may miss out for Liverpool’s home game with West Brom. Hull keeper Allan McGregor is out for six weeks with a thigh injury. Martin Jol has worries over Bryan Ruiz and Brede Hangeland, Ciaran Clark is back for Villa, while Roberto Martinez hints he may continue to sub off Romelu Lukaku late on in games:
Mark Hughes has worries over two of his first-choice defenders as Stoke prepare for the trip to United. In his Thursday afternoon press conference, the Potters boss admitted Geoff Cameron and Ryan Shawcross are both doubtful to face the champions:
“Ryan hasn’t trained this week through illness which hasn’t been ideal. We sent him home again this morning to give him an extra day, and hopefully he will turn back up tomorrow raring to get going again. At the moment I am confident that he will pull through in time to play, just as I am with regards to Geoff, who missed the game against West Brom last weekend. He has trained today with the lads, and hopefully he will come back in tomorrow having not suffered any reaction to the calf injury he picked up on international duty.”
Arsene Wenger confirmed earlier this morning that Mathieu Flamini is available after missing the midweek Champions League match at home to Dortmund with the head knock that forced him off against Norwich last Saturday. Jack Wilshere will be assessed later today, though, after he was subbed off with an ankle problem in the 2-1 loss to Jurgen Klopp’s side, while the Gunners boss also admitted Mesut Ozil suffered from sickness prior to Wednesday’s defeat.
Paul Lambert has revealed Ciaran Clark is back in contention for Villa after missing out at the last minute through illness against Spurs. The midlands outfit look set to welcome Christian Benteke to the starting XI for the visit of Everton, with Lambert explaining his decision to bench the Belgian on his comeback appearance against Andre Villas-Boas’ side:
“Christian had only trained for three or four days in a month. It’s just not enough to put him into that scale of a game and we didn’t want to re-injure him or anything like that. It was the right thing to bring him on and he might have scored on another day but his contribution was ok.”
Roberto Martinez took time to discuss his decision to sub off Romelu Lukaku with over 20 minutes left of Everton’s win over Hull last week. The Toffees boss admitted that fatigue played a part after the Belgian back-to-back internationals, though, a little worryingly for Lukaku’s owners, he also revealed the on-loan forward is yet to reach the level of fitness required to maintain his style of play over an entire match:
“I wouldn’t want him to change that intensity. That would be a big mistake. You’ve got two options (to keep him on the pitch longer); reduce the intensity and last over 90 minutes or work slowly over time to expand the quality of his play up to 90 minutes. It’ll take time but that’s what we want to do.. the intensity that he plays with, any player would struggle to hold that longer than 20 minutes. Obviously he’s now trying to work towards 90 minutes but it’s more focussing on the quality of his play than the quantity. I’m very pleased with the manner he played 90 minutes against Fulham in the cup, and then Newcastle. Now it’s a matter of assessing each week. The Hull game was difficult for him because he’d had two tiring games for Belgium that took a lot out of him. It’s just a matter of time as he develops.”
Steve Bruce was left reeling after first-choice keeper Allan McGregor was sidelined with a thigh injury. The Hull boss confirmed Steve Harper –priced at 4.0 in Fantasy Premier League – is set to deputise in the meantime:
“We’ve just found out this morning that Allan is going to be out for five or six weeks. As I’ve said repeatedly, injuries are the one area where we needed to stay fit and healthy and this one couldn’t have come at a worse time. Allan will be a big miss for us because he has played very, very well and we wish him a speedy recovery…“This is the reason we brought Steve in to be fair. He’s got an abundance of Premier League experience and we’re lucky that we can call upon somebody with his experience.”
Martin Jol is sweating on the fitness of Bryan Ruiz and Brede Hangeland ahead of Fulham’s testing trip to Southampton. The Cottagers boss explained:
“We have to test Bryan Ruiz tomorrow – he has a back problem. We kept him on during the Crystal Palace game and he had to have an injection afterwards. Hopefully it will settle. Hangeland has got problem with a nerve in his leg so will probably be out. He was injured before and he had a medical check and played two international games. I thought ‘that was quick’ but I asked him if he was fit and he said he was.”
Jose Enrique could miss out with a knee injury for Liverpool again, according to reports, allowing Aly Cissokho another start on the left. Brendan Rodgers has also revealed Lucas will return after he missed the previous match when his partner went into labour, whilst Philippe Coutinho has stepped up his recovery from a shoulder injury and is poised to come into contention for next week’s trip to Arsenal:
“He might just be short for this weekend. He has re-joined training with the group. He’s been on the field doing a lot of physical work. He has joined in with the team on a non-contact basis. I think, after the weekend, he’ll be fine. He has got really good strength in his shoulder now; it’s just getting him up to speed in training and joining the group.He has been in the last couple of days and has looked brilliant, to be honest – like he has never been away with his flow and fluency with the ball.”
Steven Davis is the only worry for Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the visit of Fulham. The midfielder has started each of the last three and seems to have established himself as a regular for Southampton – his possible absence could allow Rickie Lambert to return to the XI, after the forward was dropped for the first time this term in the previous Gameweek.
Emmanuel Adebayor returned to the Tottenham squad in last night’s 2-0 Europa League win over FC Sheriff. The Togo international was an unused sub in a game that saw Jan Vertonghen notch his first of the season (courtesy of a Christian Eriksen assist) before Jermain Defoe netted the second. Eriksen’s owners will be somewhat apprehensive after he was handed the full 90 minutes, while Lewis Holtby – the Dane’s replacement against Villa last week – was given just over 10 minutes from the bench late on. Andre Villas-Boas trialled Vertonghen alongside Vlad Chiriches in the heart of the back-four before the withdrawal of Ezekiel Fryers forced a shake-up that resulted in the Romanian shifting to full-back.
Michu returned to goalscoring form last night as Swansea drew with Kuban Krasnodar in the Europa League. Michael Laudrup started with Wilfried Bony up top before replacing the Ivorian just before the hour mark, while regulars such as Leon Britton, Michel Vorm and Jonathan de Guzman warmed the bench in the stalemate. Despite being passed fit last week, Pablo Hernandez was not even amongst the subs last night – a sign Laudrup is being cautious with the Spaniard’s fitness after weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
