In case you missed it, Nemanja Vidic faces a three-match Champions League match ban following his dismissal in the Club World Cup at the weekend.
The United defender was dismissed for elbowing an opponent on 49 minutes of the final, an offence that see’s him granted a one-match ban with every chance that an additional two matches for violent conduct will be dished out to follow. Vidic could well miss both legs of the Champions League tie with Mourinho’s Inter Milan then.
The ban does not apply to domestic matches – in fact, this suspension makes Vidic all the more attractive to us fantasy managers as we gear up for United’s double fixture gameweeks…
United saw off Liga de Quito 1-0 to win the Club World Cup in Japan while their domestic rivals again dropped points in the Premier League. Ronaldo displayed his full arsenal of flicks and flurries once again but it was Rooney who stole the show – peppering the Ecuadorian’s goal before striking the winner with 73 minutes on the clock. Ronaldo was again the provider and it’s that pair that return from Japan with the form to kick-on over Christmas and into United’s double fixtures in January and February.
Ferguson’s men take on Chelsea and Wigan at Old Trafford in gameweek 21, whilst in February they have another double-header against West Ham and Fulham. That pair of fixtures currently resides in gameweek 25.
Preparations for those double gameweek’s are already underway in some fantasy camps as the United squad comes under assessment. Although there will be some rotation, along with Ronaldo, Evra (on his return from suspension) Carrick and possibly Rooney, Vidic should be nailed-on to play all four games. Not only that, his ban from the Champions League tie with Inter in February and March, should protect him from any risk of rotation from that point on. In a nutshell then, he looks an outstanding short and long-term prospect.
Fantasy managers have been quick to see the potential in Vidic, who is the form defender in the FPL game. He is currently on the verge of a price rise to 7.2 and could rise further in the week that follows. Fixtures at Stoke on Boxing Day and Boro at home, two days later, only help his cause prior to going into that double header with Chelsea and Wigan in gameweek 21.