Scout Scribbles – Smalling Boost for United

Chris Smalling is expected to recover from the illness that forced him off during England’s clash with Italy. Hammers pair Winston Reid and Enner Valencia could be in line for a start on Saturday, Eden Hazard admits to tiredness, whilst Sunderland are set to be without Wes Brown for a number of weeks.

Smalling expected to make Villains clash

Despite being replaced before the break in England’s friendly against Italy due to a bout of sickness, Chris Smalling is expected to be passed fit for Manchester United’s home tie against Aston Villa this weekend.

The Scout Says: Smalling has earned four successive starts in the heart of the Red Devils’ defence, tallying three clean sheets in the process. No side has conceded fewer goals (one) than United in that four-match stretch, with Smalling the only ever-present across the back line. A home tie against the Villains’ serves as a fine opportunity for Louis van Gaal’s outfit to secure their fourth shut-out in five – Villa possess the worst away scoring record (eight goals) in the league, while United boast the second-tightest home defence (10 goals). One might surmise, then, that United’s rearguard is shaping up to be a sound investment but with clashes against City and Chelsea directly after the Villa clash, strong benches will be required for those looking to invest, with few willing to start their United defenders in either of those fixtures.

Lucas targets start in Arsenal duel

Lucas has declared himself fully fit ahead of Liverpool’s visit to the Emirates to face Arsenal. The Brazilian enforcer – in an interview with the club’s official site – conceded that, despite logging a full week of training before the Reds’ defeat to United last time out, he wasn’t ready to last the 90 minutes. Now with two further weeks of training under his belt because of the international break, Lucas is looking to forge a route back into the starting XI for the Gunners clash:

“I feel great. Leading up to the Manchester United game I had a full week of training as well, so it’s been two weeks of full training. I was available for the Manchester United game, but probably wasn’t able to play the whole game. Now I feel 100 per cent. Now it’s just a question of getting some minutes and training sessions, so that’s what I need and what I’m having. Leading into the Arsenal game that’s going to be good because I will have had three full weeks of training and I’m looking forward to it.”

The Scout Says: Liverpool’s preparations for the Emirates trip have been hit suspensions to Martin Skrtel and Steven Gerrard, whilst question marks remain over the availability of Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana further up the field. Joe Allen has played from start to finish in all but one of the six league matches Lucas has been sidelined for but there’s no doubt the Brazilian’s influence has been missed – Liverpool registered a clean sheets in each of the last four matches he has started. Given that Arsenal have won each of their previous eight at the Emirates, Brendan Rodgers may well feel his best chances of nullifying that threat and registering a seventh successive shut-out on the road would be to reinstall Lucas alongside Jordan Henderson in the centre of the park.

Hammers duo on verge of return

Winston Reid is back in full training and could be in contention for a start against Leicester City on Saturday. Meanwhile, Enner Valencia’s lacerated toe has healed as the West Ham medical team monitor the Ecuadorian forward on a day-to-day basis.

The Scout Says: Having faced off against six of the top seven in the previous eight Gameweeks, West Ham round off a topsy-turvy season with a bevy of winnable matches (lei, STO, qpr, BUR, avl, EVE, new). A catalogue of injuries in the Hammers’ rearguard had forced head coach Sam Allardyce to play midfielder enforcer Cheikhou Kouyate alongside James Collins in central defence of late and Reid’s reinstatement will obviously allow Kouyate the chance to reclaim a midfield berth, primarily threatening the starts of Kevin Nolan. Should Valencia be given the all-clear for the Foxes tie, then it’s likely Matt Jarvis will be demoted to the bench to accommodate the Ecuadorian. Allardyce then has the option of shifting from a 4-3-3 to a midfield diamond once again, with Valencia partnering Diafra Sakho through the middle and Stewart Downing tucked in behind – potentially good news for the latter’s owners, then, bearing in mind he’s managed just a single assist in the last eight Gameweeks.

Ledley hopeful on hip recovery

Joe Ledley suffered a hip injury while on international duty with Wales but is expected to make a recovery before Crystal Palace’s clash against Manchester City on Saturday.

The Scout Says: With club captain Mile Jedinak serving the last of a four-match ban during the Sky Blues encounter and Jordan Mutch still doubtful due to a thigh injury, Ledley’s omission would severely limit Alan Pardew’s options in midfield. The former Celtic man has operated in a double pivot with James McArthur in recent weeks, affording the likes of Jason Puncheon, Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie the license to bomb forward and express themselves in the final third. In Ledley’s absence, Pardew could be forced to move Joel Ward into central midfield and hand Martin Kelly a start at right-back on Monday evening but may struggle to improve a record which has seen his side register a single clean sheet in ten since his installation.

Hazard admits to tiredness

Eden Hazard revealed that he was unhappy to be subbed off just after the hour mark in Belgium’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Israel, conceding that fatigue might be a factor in light of his workload this season.

“I was a little bit surprised to be substituted. Also, I was a little bit unhappy and I think you could see that I was unhappy. I asked the coach for a reason and he told me that I was tired. Maybe I was a little bit tired. I’ve played a lot of games this season.”

The Scout Says: The revelation from Red Devils manager Marc Wilmots that Hazard appeared fatigued is hardly surprising considering the Chelsea winger is one of a select few players to start every league match this season. In all, Hazard has notched 47 appearances for club and country this term and has been afforded little opportunity to rest. Hazard’s concession that tiredness might’ve been justification enough to replace him with Nacer Chadli could be a genuine one or just simply lip service to placate Wilmots after he threw a strop as a result of being taken off. Obviously, with a 40% FPL ownership Hazard’s fitness will clearly be monitored by many as the Blues brace themselves for nine fixtures in the remaining eight rounds of matches but bearing in mind he’s played every minute in the league from Gameweek 10 onwards, it’s clear that Jose Mourinho has no issues with Hazard’s fitness levels.

Brown ruled out for Black Cats

Wes Brown has been ruled out for a number of weeks with the knee injury that forced him off early on in the previous Gameweek’s loss at West Ham.

The Scout Says: With Brown sidelined for a decent run of fixtures (NEW, CRY, sto, SOU, eve, LEI), Santiago Vergini is likely to be tasked with partnering John O’Shea in the centre of defence. Brown’s tentative return date of between four to five weeks would theoretically give the English centre-back a chance of making Sunderland’s Gameweek 37 clash against Leicester – the first match of their double Gameweek – though few, if any, Fantasy managers will be willing to consider a defender who has averaged 2.4 points per appearance. Costel Pantilimon and Anthony Reveillere – averaging 4.2 and 3.6 points apiece – have been the most consistent performers amongst the Wearsiders’ rearguard, though the appointment of Dick Advocaat could reignite the prospects of Patrick van Aanholt – with four assists, the left-back is the club’s joint top creator this season along with Seb Larsson.