City lose out to Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League, Last 16 knockout stages. Aaron Ramsey steps up his rehabilitation from a thigh injury, Romelu Lukaku is expected back for Everton’s Gameweek 28 clash with West Ham, Fabricio Coloccini could return for Newcastle this weekend, whilst Robbie Brady is struggling with an ongoing groin problem once again:

CITY FALL FLAT AGAINST BARCELONA

Manuel Pellegrini made six changes from the FA Cup victory over Chelsea at the weekend as City tried and failed to outdo their Spanish opponents. The Chilean opted to field Alvaro Negredo as a lone striker in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Edin Dzeko handed no more than a late sub appearance off the bench. David Silva was fielded in “the hole” behind Negredo, with Aleksandar Kolarov taking up the left flank, whilst Fernandinho made his return from injury as expected to line up alongside Yaya Toure in the middle of the park.

The Scout Says: It was interesting to see how Pellegrini chose to approach last night’s challenge, with lessons clearly learned from their defeat against Bayern Munich earlier on in the campaign. the Chilean clearly prioritised containing the opposition and keeping his side in the tie for the second leg, rather than look to take the game to Barcelona – a tactic quite alien to how they normally approach a game on their own turf. Nonetheless, a second home defeat in their last three games at the Etihad suggests that City’s fortress is beginning to crumble as we get to the business end of the season. Dzeko’s owners will be highly optimistic over the 7.2 priced forward’s chances of starting against Stoke at the weekend after his 15 minute cameo from the bench last night, whilst Fernandinho’s return could catch a few manager’s attention – the Brazilian managed attacking returns in two of his last three games before his short spell on the sidelines. Of course, any investment in City is inadvisable at the moment with two blanks impending, but last night’s result looks to have put Champions League progression beyond the Blues, which will thankfully free up time in the coming weeks to reschedule those postponed fixtures.

RAMSEY STEPS UP REHABILITATION

Aaron Ramsey has his sights set on Arsenal’s Gameweek 31 clash against Chelsea as a potential comeback date from the thigh injury that has kept him on the sidelines since Boxing Day. A week’s warm-weather training in Dubai has clearly done just the trick for the Welshman, ridding Arsene Wenger and Arsenal’s fans fears that Ramsey’s recurring injury could have kept him out for even longer than expected.

The Scout Says: The fact that Ramsey is still atop the rankings in Arsenal’s midfield – level with Mesut Ozil on 113 points – is testimony to what an outstanding Fantasy asset the Welsh captain proved to be for the first half of the campaign. Eight goals and six assists in the first 18 Gameweeks saw him make a mockery of his original 5.5 price tag and confirm himself to be this year’s Fantasy revelation. So close to a return for Arsenal’s trip to Southampton at the end of January, Ramsey re-aggravated his thigh injury in training and, since then, news of a return date has been vague. With yesterday’s update, however, managers finally have some confirmation on the matter. Nonetheless, a comeback for the Gunner’s trip to Chelsea is hardly appetising, and with two more tough fixtures to follow (MNC, eve) immediate investment in Ramsey will take some real confidence that he can step back on to the pitch and pick up where he left off in December.

LUKAKU MAKES SWIFT RECOVERY

Romelu Lukaku has returned to training to allay fears of a long-term lay-off with the ankle injury sustained in last month’s Merseyside derby. Bundled over by his own team-mate Gareth Barry in the build up to Liverpool’s first goal, Lukaku had to be stretchered from the field after just 25 minutes, but Roberto Martinez has now confirmed that the Belgian is back and raring to go, although he will of course have to sit out this Saturday’s fixture against his parent club Chelsea:

“Romelu Lukaku is fully fit now and it’s just a matter of making sure that we get him back to his level of match fitness that he needs. It helps in a way that he’s not available for this weekend because this game may have been a little bit too early for him to be involved with the team. But now we’ve got nearly two weeks to make sure that he’s fully fit for the next home game and that’s very much a realistic target.”

The Scout Says: Whilst Lukaku looks set for a return for the Toffees’ Gameweek 28 fixture against West Ham, the postponement of their game against Newcastle the following weekend severely diminishes his immediate appeal. However, Everton will have two double Gameweeks from Gameweek 30 onwards, meaning that the Belgian striker – now down to 8.2 – could be set to attract plenty of investment going into the last eight games of the season. Of course, managers will have to monitor how Martinez chooses to incorporate both Lukaku and new signing Lacina Traore into his side once they are both fit – a potentially frustrating scenario for Fantasy managers, given that Everton’s next four opponents are the Hammers, Cardiff, Swansea and Fulham.

TRIO SET FOR NEWCASTLE RETURN

Alan Pardew expects to have captain Fabricio Coloccini and midfield stalwart Cheik Tiote back from knee and hamstring injuries respectively in time for this weekend’s match with Aston Villa. The former has been out of action since New Year’s Day, and Newcastle have struggled dramatically in his absence. Currently in a three-match losing streak, with 10 goals shipped over the course of those defeats, Pardew will be relieved to have his captain back in the heart of the defence, with Tiote’s return and the end of Loic Remy’s suspension also giving the Magpies’ boss reason for optimism:

“Loic’s available, Cheick’s running and Colo’s trained. Colo’s worked hard, and he’s looking better. He was in all weekend, so he’s had four or five days.”

The Scout Says: With Newcastle’s form hitting rock bottom since the departure of Yohan Cabaye, and the aforementioned Gameweek 29 blank on the horizon, few are eyeing up any options in the Toon’s ranks right now. However, there’s no denying that with Coloccini anchoring the defence they have looked a far more solid side than the one we’ve witnessed in recent weeks, and Pardew will be looking to the 4.9-priced Argentine to keep himself fit and help steer the Magpies out of their current slump over the course of a promising set of fixtures (AVL, hul, (blank), ful, CPL, sot).

GROIN INJURY CONTINUES TO PLAGUE BRADY

Having returned for Hull’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham at the start of the month, Robbie Brady was hopeful that he could make the difference for his side in their battle to avoid relegation. However, the ex-Manchester United youngster missed Monday night’s FA Cup showdown with Championship side Brighton, with reports now confirming that the groin problem which has troubled him for the past four months has flared up yet again and may threaten to consign the Republic of Ireland international to another spell on the sidelines.

The Scout Says: The fact that Brady was immediately reinstalled to Hull’s starting line-up upon his return from injury in Gameweek 24 looked an encouraging sign for the young winger. In the two games since then, however, Steve Bruce has chosen to utilise Brady from the bench, and the player’s ongoing struggles look set to put an end to any hopes he, Bruce or Fantasy managers might have been harbouring that Brady could overcome his injury-plagued season to return to the form that saw him produce three double figure hauls in the first six Gameweeks of the campaign.