Scout Scribbles – Blues Shocked at the Bridge

Chelsea exit the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain. Bafetimbi Gomis returns to training ahead of the weekend visit of Liverpool, Leighton Baines struggles to shake off a knock, whilst reports suggest a dressing-bust-up led to Vincent Kompany’s demotion to the bench against Leicester City.

Chelsea wilt against 10-man PSG

Despite having a one-man advantage over Paris Saint-Germain for the vast majority of their Champions League last 16 encounter, the Blues couldn’t hold on to two separate leads and lost by virtue of a Thiago Silva header in the second half of extra-time.

The Scout Says: Chelsea lined up as expected for this match, with Nemanja Matic usurping Kurt Zouma from his holding midfield berth having recovered from a twisted ankle. Gary Cahill was fielded in central defence alongside John Terry, while Ramires was handed his third consecutive start. Although Cahill was selected to partner Terry at Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho rotated the former Bolton defender and Zouma in that second centre-back role prior to Matic’s two-match suspension, so there’s still uncertainty surrounding who will start on a regular basis. Elsewhere, Ramires’ inclusion in the starting XI on Wednesday offered further evidence that the tireless Brazilian is offering real competition to Willian and Juan Cuadrado in the pecking order, whilst Eden Hazard’s converted spot-kick for the hosts was his second in two outings in all competitions. From a Fantasy perspective, last night’s result now means Chelsea only have the Premier League to focus on from here on in – which can only be good news for FPL managers, with far less likelihood of rotation from this point onwards. Jose Mourinho’s men have 11 matches left – one more than any side apart from Leicester – and after the ignominy of last night’s exit, it’s fair to say the Blues will be looking for a response on the domestic scene in their attempts to clinch the Premier League crown and end the campaign on a high.

Gomis in line for weekend return

Bafetimbi Gomis returned to training on Wednesday and is likely to be available for selection when Liverpool roll up to the Liberty Stadium on Monday. The French forward returned to his native country for a rest after he collapsed due to low blood pressure in the Swans’ defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Scout Says: Gomis’ clean bill of health is a relief to all football fans, yet Swansea manager Garry Monk will be demanding more from the former Lyon striker in their next match-up. The 29-year-old netted his first goal in eight starts in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in Gameweek 27 but couldn’t build upon that performance in the Welsh club’s subsequent clash with Burnley. Nonetheless, in spite of his struggles to convert, his underlying stats are impressive – from Gameweek 20 onwards, since Wilfried Bony departed, Gomis sits third amongst forwards for attempts on goal, with only Harry Kane and Charlie Austin bettering his 32 shots. Clearly, the powerful striker should be exerting a far greater influence as Swansea’s main men and with trips to Aston Villa and Leicester in the next five (LIV, avl, HUL, EVE, lei), Gomis could yet be set for a strong finish to the season.

Reports suggest Kompany dressing room bust-up

According to reports, Vincent Kompany was demoted to the bench last week after the Manchester City captain had an altercation with team-mate Fernandinho during the half-time interval of the Liverpool fixture. The Belgian defender is said to have taken umbrage to accusations from Fernandinho that he was at fault for the Reds’ opener, remaining indignant despite manager Manuel Pellegrini’s attempts to placate matters.

The Scout Says: In light of his poor form this campaign, Kompany’s exclusion from the first team against the Foxes seemed like a natural resolution. That being said, if the Sky Blues harbour any hope of overturning Chelsea’s sizeable lead at the summit and claiming consecutive Premier League crowns, they’ll surely need Kompany’s on-field leadership to fuel the charge. Manager Pellegrini has since refuted media claims to the contrary that the pair were dropped, insisting that all the changes he enacted for the Leicester tie were with view to “refresh the team mentally and physically”. Kompany’s reinstatement away to Burnley this weekend would come as no surprise, then, and with West Brom, Palace, West Ham and Villa also in the next six, our faith in a defence with two clean sheets in three could be on the rise again.

Oxlade-Chamberlain awaits scan results

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain underwent scans on Wednesday to ascertain the severity of the hamstring strain he suffered in Arsenal’s FA Cup last 16 win over Manchester United. Meanwhile, Mathieu Flamini could be included in Saturday’s squad, Gabriel Paulista is set to return to training at the end of the week, and Jack Wilshere is recovering well from an ankle injury.

The Scout Says: Oxlade-Chamberlain showed signs he was back to his best at Old Trafford, at one point weaving between the outstretched legs of three Red Devils’ defenders before laying on an assist for Nacho Monreal. His superb curling strike against Monaco in the Champions League gave further motivation for Arsene Wenger to hope for a positive prognosis on the 21-year-old winger. At the very least, Oxlade-Chamberlain is likely to miss the North London outfit’s home clash against West Ham this Saturday and will be a doubt for their Gameweek 30 visit to St James’ Park. In his absence, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck stand a greater chance of being handed a start on the flanks. Although, their hopes of starting are largely dependent on whether Wenger elects to revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation for the Hammers tie – as illustrated against QPR, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are the favoured wide men when a 4-3-3 set-up is adopted.

Baines doubtful for Toon clash

Leighton Baines’ chances of starting against Newcastle United this weekend were dealt a blow with news that the 30-year-old left-back is still suffering from a quad complaint. Baines – alongside Tony Hibbert, Bryan Oviedo, Aiden McGeady and Steven Pienaar – will play no part in the Toffees’ last 16 Europa League clash against Dynamo Kyiv.

The Scout Says: Considering Everton have failed to score in all four of the matches Baines has missed through injury of late, Roberto Martinez clearly has greater problems beyond a makeshift defence. Baines’ absence has been compounded further by an injury to back-up left-back Bryan Oviedo, forcing manager Martinez to promote youngster Luke Garbutt through the ranks. The Toffees sit just six points above the drop zone after a dire domestic season but one look at the schedule suggests that, if they can rediscover their form, Martinez’ men could still offer us options. With Newcastle, QPR, Southampton, Swansea and Burnley in the next five, a fit-again Baines may yet have a part to play in our Fantasy plans before the season concludes.