The Dugout Discussion – Wednesday

Wednesday’s Premier League action comprises of six 7.45pm match-ups followed by Liverpool’s clash against Burnley at 8pm. Tottenham and QPR both embark on the first tie of their double Gameweek tonight – Spurs host Swansea at the Lane and the R’s entertain Arsenal, whilst Chelsea look to capitalise on Manchester City’s slip-up last weekend when they travel across the capital to face West Ham.

Manchester City can ill afford any further hiccups when they duel with Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium. With the champions having recorded just two victories in their last seven matches, Manuel Pellegrini makes five changes – Wilfried Bony joins Sergio Aguero up top as Edin Dzeko drops out, whilst Vincent Kompany has been omitted from the starting line-up.

Newcastle’s clash with Manchester United is a tale of two forwards. Toon frontman Papiss Cisse boasts the best goals-per-90-minutes ratio of any leading scorer in the league and has notched four times in his previous six appearances. For the Red Devils, Wayne Rooney will be fielded in an advanced role following his brace last weekend – Radamel Falcao drops out, whilst Robin Van Persie is still nursing an ankle injury,

Queens Park Rangers invite Arsenal to Loftus Road in one of three London derbies this Gameweek. With six goals in his last nine outings, Charlie Austin shoulders much of the goalscoring burden for the R’s. Olivier Giroud (four goals in six) and Mesut Ozil (four assists in three) lead the charge for the North Londoners, while Alexis Sanchez endeavours to snap a four-match goal drought.

In the wake of a gutting week in which they tumbled out of the Europa League and missed out on Capital One Cup glory, Tottenham’s dejected squad look to bounce back against Swansea City. Notwithstanding rotation fears after a gruelling schedule, Harry Kane – who’s netted 12 in his last 11 – remains the prime candidate for Spurs coverage in their double, whilst Christian Eriksen will be looking to end a three-match scoring drought against Garry Monk’s side. Nacer Chadli returns to the XI for the first time in five league outings.

Stoke City will make it three wins in succession if they can capitalise on Everton’s woeful form – the Toffees languish in 14^th place, with a solitary victory to their name in the last 11 Gameweeks. Chief among Roberto Martinez’s concerns will be the pitiful production of record signing Romelu Lukaku – the Belgian striker has only registered once in his previous 13 league matches.

West Have have tailed off after a strong start and will need to triumph over league leaders Chelsea if they aspire to break a five-match winless streak. Fresh off securing their first silverware of the campaign, the Blues know a win at the Boleyn Ground will put them eight points clear at the summit. With Diego Costa back on the score sheet against Spurs, many Fantasy managers plan a route back into their squads for the combative hitman.

Liverpool can extend their impressive unbeaten run to 12 matches when they face-off against Burnley in the late kick off. Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling’s blossoming partnership has delivered plentiful attacking returns of late, whilst Daniel Sturridge has been handed a recall after missing out last weekend. Meanwhile, Clarets’ star man –Danny Ings – will have his work cut out against a rearguard that’s recorded five shut-outs in their last seven league encounters.