Scout Scribbles – Manchester Duo Fall to Defeat

Both Manchester clubs suffer losses despite taking the lead in their opening Champions League matches. Sergio Aguero makes an earlier-than-expected return from injury for City, though United are left reeling after Luke Shaw suffered a broken leg at PSV. Elsewhere, Jose Mourinho looks to make changes this evening, whilst Per Mertesacker is ruled out for Arsenal.

Aguero Return Not Enough for City

Manchester City fell to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Juventus, having taken the lead after 57 minutes through a Giorgio Chiellini own goal. Samir Nasri started ahead of Jesus Navas on the right flank, while Wilfried Bony was handed the lone-striker berth. Sergio Aguero was surprisingly fit enough for an 11-minute cameo, with Kevin De Bruyne clocking 23 minutes as a second-half sub. Vincent Kompany had to be substituted 15 minutes from time with a calf injury. Manuel Pellegrini told reporters post-match that the Belgian centre-back will be assessed on Wednesday to ascertain the severity of his injury.

The City manager had this to say on the popular pair:

“Sergio is not 100% fit…It’s important for the team to see that if we need him, he can play…He was not for 90 minutes. It was a risk to use him but fortunately he had no problems…Vincent has a calf injury, we’ll see how it is but now we don’t know”.

The Scout Says: Aguero was never likely to start against Juventus but his brief appearance from the bench does at least offer some hope to his 31.8% ownership ahead of Man City’s home tie against West Ham. Having been initially ruled out of last night’s match, Aguero’s quick recovery bodes well for his chances of starting against West Ham on Saturday evening, with Pellegrini’s Friday afternoon press conference eagerly awaited. Kompany’s injury scare comes as a major concern to his hefty 37.2% ownership as well as those in possession of other Sky Blues defenders. The fact that Kompany (42) and Aleksandar Kolarov (46) rank second and third in the league-wide scoring charts serves to illustrate how well Man City’s defence have fared. Certainly, the Hammers will approach their upcoming match against the league leaders with renewed optimism if the talismanic skipper is ruled out, given that they’ve matched City for goals so far, with 11 apiece.

United Suffer Shaw Loss

Manchester United lost 2-1 to Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, despite opening the scoring through an impressive goal from Memphis Depay. Louis van Gaal went with an attacking set-up, deploying a supporting trio of Depay (left), Juan Mata (number ten) and Ashley Young (right) behind lone frontman Anthony Martial. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ander Herrera were the preferred pairing in the double pivot. The night, however, was defined by a shocking injury to Luke Shaw, who was scythed down as he rampaged through the heart of Eindhoven’s defence. Van Gaal later revealed that the former Saints defender suffered a double leg fracture, tentatively suggesting he’ll be sidelined for between four and six months:

“I’m not a doctor so I cannot say, but when you have a double fracture it is four to six months. But you can never say that in advance. He won’t play in the group stage, I don’t think. I hope he will play again this season.”

The Scout Says: Having netted a brace against Club Brugge last month, Depay now boasts three goals in as many European outings. His 18% ownership will hope he can replicate that form on the domestic scene, having witnessed the Dutchman draw blanks in his first five league starts for the Red Devils – despite placing third among his counterparts for attempts (17). With Shaw out of the picture, Marco Rojo could slot in at left-back or – as transpired against Eindhoven – Daley Blind might shift over to the left, with Rojo partnering Chris Smalling in central defence. Valued at 5.4, Rojo could offer a route into United’s defence for those managers that were deterred by Shaw’s price rise, although Phil Jones’ return from injury would again cast doubt on Rojo’s start should Blind move to full-back. How the reshuffle impacts their clean sheet prospects remains to be seen, yet few will be contemplating investment until Van Gaal’s troops have negotiated their next five fixtures (sou, SUN, ars, eve, MCI).

Mourinho to Ring the Changes

Ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League match-up against Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Wednesday, Jose Mourinho revealed that Oscar has shaken off his injury and will feature in the squad but is short of fitness. Elsewhere in the Blues camp, Baba Rahman makes the squad, while Radamel Falcao is ruled out with a tendon complaint:

“Is he [Oscar] fit as in not injured? Yes. Is he at top condition? No. Yes, he is selected though; he will be in the squad. Baba will be selected as well. Falcao has a little problem. He’s not in the squad. He had a problem in a tendon during training. It will just be for this game.”

The Scout Says: Mourinho will be desperate to recall Oscar to the side at the number ten berth, given that Willian and Cesc Fabregas failed to deliver in that role over the past two Gameweeks. The Brazilian midfielder – who’s dropped to 8.3 on the Fantasy market – scored in the Blues’ season opener against Swansea and would certainly pique our interest if he’s afforded a run of starts beyond the Arsenal clash, with a strong quartet of fixtures (new, SOU, AVL, whu) on the horizon. In light of Chelsea’s struggles at the back (no side has conceded more than their 12 goals), Rahman has an opportunity to muscle his way into Mourinho’s thinking if he can impress in the cup fixtures. A strong performance from the Ghanaian left-back would have the underperforming Branislav Ivanovic nervously looking over his shoulder, given that Cesar Azpilicueta can operate from either full-back position.

Ogbonna Expected to Return Quickly

In the aftermath of West Ham’s 2-0 home victory over Newcastle United, Slaven Bilic calmed fears over the fitness of Angelo Ogbonna – who pulled his hamstring at the 41-minute mark – suggesting that he’ll only be sidelined for a short period of time:

“We still don’t know what is wrong with him. It was a long sprint, and it was dangerous and he pulled his hamstring. But I spoke to him and we don’t know yet. It doesn’t look like a big [injury] maybe just one week off.”

The Scout Says: West Ham have been a mixed bag on the defensive front this term, conceding six goals against Leicester City and Bournemouth but claiming clean sheets in their other three fixtures. They’ve certainly tightened up over the past two Gameweeks, conceding just 10 shots inside the box and one big chance against Liverpool and Newcastle United. A trip to Manchester City this weekend will doubtless represent their biggest challenge of the season so far, given that the Sky Blues have conceded zero goals and one big chance in five outings. Nonetheless, they’ll draw some encouragement from the fact that a few key Man City players – namely Sergio Aguero and David Silva – might be slightly off the pace after returning from minor knocks. After missing Gameweek 4 through suspension, right-back Carl Jenkinson dropped to the bench on Monday but he now looks poised to return to the starting XI this weekend, with James Tomkins moving into the centre to cover in Ogbonna’s absence.

Mertesacker Ruled out for Gunners

Per Mertesacker will not travel to Croatia with the rest of the Arsenal squad ahead of their Champions League group match against Dinamo Zagreb tonight, having crashed his car in a minor incident outside the Gunners’ training ground. Jack Wilshere, meanwhile, is set to undergo surgery for a fracture in his left fibula, potentially ruling him out until Christmas.

The Scout Says: Considering Arsenal’s recent successes in defence, Mertesacker might be forced to play a bench role on his return to the matchday squad. The Gunners have recorded three clean sheets on the trot without the German international, conceding a solitary big chance over that period. Now that Gabriel has somewhat proved he function effectively alongside Laurent Koscielny, Arsene Wenger might be tempted to exercise more rotation in that second centre-back slot, irrespective of whether Mertesacker reclaims his starting berth immediately. Ultimately, Koscielny stands as the safest route into the North London club’s back line, with the full-backs more of a rotation risk now that the midweek cup fixtures are a factor. As for Wilshere, the fact that his absence has next-to-no relevance on the Fantasy scene says everything about his recent injury record.

Martinez Hopeful on Injured Duo

Roberto Martinez is optimistic that the injuries sustained by Muhamed Besic and Seamus Coleman are not as bad as they initially appeared. The pair are set to undergo scans this week to shed further light on their respective knocks:

“Forty-eight hours after the game, we’re quite positive in the way Mo and Seamus feel. I think Seamus felt a lot better than Mo [immediately after the game] but we’re going to get the scans done today so we have a clear idea. I don’t think it looks as bad as we feared once it happened but we’ll get more information as the week goes on and we’ll see how long a period we’re looking at for the two players. They were the only two to pick up knocks against Chelsea, so everyone else from that squad is fully fit for the weekend.”

The Scout Says: In the wake of Tom Cleverley’s long-term injury, Muhamed Besic was Roberto Martinez’s favoured replacement against Chelsea, with the Toffees moving to a 4-3-1-2 set-up last weekend. Steven Naismith’s hat-trick from the bench has now cut off the Bosnian’s route back into the side on an immediate basis, likely restricting him to cameo roles. Coleman has yet to garner strong interest from Fantasy regulars, given the unforgiving nature of the Toffees’ early-season schedule. Everton’s fixture list turns kinder beyond their next quintet of match-ups (swa, wba, LIV, MUN, ars), though, with a trip to West Ham arguably their toughest encounter leading into the New Year. Coleman could well factor into our thinking from Gameweek 11 onwards, then, having displayed a propensity for attacking returns (nine goals and six assists) in the previous two campaigns.