Scout Scribbles – Blues On Top In Lisbon

Nemanja Matic nets Chelsea’s winner away to Sporting Lisbon. Sergio Aguero fires a first-half spot-kick as City draw at home with Roma. Aaron Ramsey’s injury absence is confirmed by Arsene Wenger, Ander Herrera is sidelined for United, while Roberto Martinez admits his concerns over Kevin Mirallas’ hamstring problem.

CHELSEA SEE OFF SPORTING

Following his side’s draw in Matchday 1, Jose Mourinho fielded a strong side for last night’s 1-0 Champions League win over Sporting Lisbon. Filipe Luis was brought in for Cesar Azpilicueta on the left of defence, whilst Andre Schurrle replaced Willian in Mourinho’s attacking midfield three, though Diego Costa retained his starting spot and lasted the full 90 minutes for the Blues. However, despite the prolific Spaniard’s presence, it was left to Nemanja Matic to guide the away side to victory with a first-half headed strike from a Cesc Fabregas free kick.

The Scout Says: Aside from Luis coming in for Azpilicueta, we arguably saw Mourinho’s first choice XI in action last night. Despite his previous protestations over Costa’s hamstring problem, it’s clear that when a result is needed, Mourinho is prepared to take some risks with his star striker’s fitness – in spite of the fact that Didier Drogba is sidelined with an ankle problem, Loic Remy warmed the bench for the entire match. With an international break on the horizon, Costa owners will be confident of another start against Arsenal on Sunday, with Mourinho already hinting that he wants Costa rested from Spain duties in order to help solve the problem in the long term. Elsewhere, Fabregas notched another assist – his seventh in all competitions this season – which should quell his owners’ concerns after his blanks in Gameweeks 5 and 6, though those with Eden Hazard in their ranks will still be unconvinced after the Belgian’s poor form continued in yesterday’s encounter.

AGUERO ON TARGET IN CITY DRAW

Sergio Aguero grabbed an early goal from the penalty spot as Man City were held to a 1-1 draw against Roma last night. The Argentine continued his partnership with Edin Dzeko up top for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, though was withdrawn in the 84^th minute as Stefan Jovetic made his return from injury. Meanwhile, Jesus Navas was handed a rare start on the wing, but was hauled off at the break with James Milner coming on to take his place.

The Scout Says: Aguero’s performance last night advertised his qualities at an ideal time for many Fantasy managers, with the Argentine looking a perfect replacement for Wayne Rooney for those with a slice of budget to spare. City totalled an impressive 15 shots against Roma and, should they be able to maintain that level of attacking threat against Aston Villa on Saturday, Aguero looks a good bet to add to his tally of four league goals. Nevertheless, Dzeko stills offers managers a more budget friendly alternative to the 12.1-priced Argentine, and having been withdrawn after 57 minutes last night, the Bosnian’s chances of a weekend start are looking good. In the middle of the park, Navas still doesn’t seem to have convinced Pellegrini of his merit, and with Samir Nasri due to be absent with a groin injury for the next month, Milner seems set to nail down a right-flank role for the near future – at just 5.3, and having already earned an assist against Chelsea two weekends ago, the England man is a superb budget route into one of the league’s most costly midfields ahead of an enticing run of fixtures for Pellegrini’s side (avl, TOT, whm, MNU, qpr).

HERRERA BLOW FOR UNITED

Man United have confirmed that Ander Herrera suffered a fractured rib during his side’s 2-1 victory over West Ham at the weekend. The club will now “monitor his progress over the next few weeks”.

The Scout Says: Whilst an injury duration is yet to be confirmed, it’s clear that Louis van Gaal will be without Herrera for the next couple of Gameweeks at least. Problems are beginning to mount for the United boss, then, with a continued shortage of centre-backs and the suspension of Rooney to deal with. Herrera has played a part in three of United’s nine goals since Van Gaal moved to a diamond formation, whilst Rooney played a part in four, and the Red Devils will now be fully reliant on summer signings Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao stepping up to the plate as they face testing home encounters against Everton and Chelsea in their next three fixtures.

Wenger Confirms Ramsey Absence

Arsene Wenger has revealed that Aaron Ramsey could be out for up to four weeks with a hamstring problem:

“To be generous with time, let’s say four weeks. If all goes well, three. After the international break hopefully he will not be far away.”

The Arsenal boss did, however, have better news concerning Theo Walcott:

““Walcott is joining in full training next week. It’s very good news. Theo’s return is a big thing for us. Let’s not forget that he got injured on January 1 and we are now in October. That’s [nine] months and we had to wait for a long time.”

The Scout Says: A best-case scenario would see Ramsey return to the fold after missing just two Gameweeks, but – despite this – the Welshman’s owners certainly aren’t messing about, with over 225,000 managers already parting company this week. Ramsey’s performances have undeniably been on the slide since his quick-fire start to the campaign and many managers may have been planning an exit route prior to him sustaining the injury in last weekend’s north London derby. With Mikel Arteta also out, we’re hoping a midfield re-shuffle will allow Alexis Sanchez a route back into Wenger’s first XI, though Walcott’s return could offer managers a very intriguing differential to the Chilean. The England star could emerge as an obvious target if he can quickly rediscover the form of a couple of seasons back as the Gunners embark on an enticing run of fixtures once this weekend’s clash with Chelsea is out of the way (HUL, sun, BUR, swa).

MARTINEZ FEARS FOR MIRALLAS

Roberto Martinez has admitted that the early signs are “not great” for the hamstring problem suffered by Kevin Mirallas in the Toffees’ 1-1 draw at Anfield last Saturday, but reiterated that scans are ongoing on the Belgian’s injury.

The Scout Says: Despite Martinez’s best efforts at optimism, it seems fairly certain that we are set to be deprived of yet another form midfielder. The 7.4-priced Mirallas had found the back of the net in each of his last two league starts before he was carried from the field on a stretcher only 30 minutes into Saturday’s derby, though a prolonged absence may allow couple of the Toffees’ other assets to creep on to our radars as Martinez’s side embark on a decent schedule (man, AVL, bur, SWA, sun, WHM). Aidan McGeady, at 5.5, now looks assured of starts on the left-wing, and with a goal and an assist to his name already this season, the Irishman could emerge as an intriguing differential in the coming weeks. Chelsea loanee Cristian Atsu and the likes of Leon Osman could also come into contention if the Toffees revert back to a 4-2-3-1 – Thursday’s Europa League line-up will give us more hints as to Martinez’s selection plans for Old Trafford, with rotation looking on the cards for the once again.

LIVERPOOL LOSE SAKHO

Mamadou Sakho is due to miss the next three to four weeks of action for Liverpool with a thigh strain sustained in training last week.

The Scout Says: Sakho’s spell on the sidelines should ensure that Martin Skrtel retains his place in Liverpool’s rearguard and, though the Slovakian is a fan favourite at Anfield, the stats show that his presence in Brendan Rodger’s back four has proved far more detrimental than beneficial this campaign – the Reds have conceded in every game with Skrtel in their starting XI, but only been broken down once in two games without him. With so many budget defences delivering in the first quarter of the season, Liverpool’s total of one clean sheet looks especially paltry, and Fantasy attention looks set to steer clear from their backline for the time being.