It’s the morning of possibly the most disrupted gameweek in the fantasy season, as injuries and rotation threaten to tear our lineups and end of season plans to shreds. Here’s my early morning thoughts on what Ferguson, Hiddink and Wenger have in store for us…
Undoubtedly our biggest concerns surround Ferguson’s selection for the morning kick-off at the Riverside. The United boss has readied us for a major upheaval of his established lineup. The likes of Carrick, Rooney and Tevez all look unlikely to figure but the big question of us fantasy managers is of course the likelihood of Ronaldo taking the field.
It’s a tough call – United have to win the game and Ferguson may well feel that he will need to start Ronaldo to give him the opportunity to claim and early goal which they can then defend against a Boro attack that has struggled for goals. The decision to play Ronaldo will depend on Ferguson’s confidence in Nani, Park and Giggs to provide the width to unlock the door. I’ve leaned towards Ronaldo being on the bench today, with his threat in reserve to do damage should United struggle. Subsequently Ronaldo is missing from my picks, but I’m certainly not selling him on from my FPL lineup.
The United defence should escape severe rotation – Rafael and O’Shea will compete the right-back spot, while Evans is the obvious candidate to replace Rio and his ribs. That’s reflected in the selection of Evans in my Picks, although as the day went on yesterday, doubts over the fitness of Evans emerged. Having just recovered from a foot injury there are continued concerns over his fitness and with Ferdinand likely to remain a major doubt for the second leg with Arsenal on Wednesday, there’s every chance that Ferguson won’t risk starting with Evans. That could be where the recalled and fit-again Wes Brown comes in.
I’m not expecting the same kind of damage from Wenger and Hiddink. Fabregas is probably the main concern for us fantasy managers. Having attracted decent investment of late, the playmaker may well find himself benched at Fratton Park as Wenger protects him for Wednesday’s United’ clash. Lampard in contrast, looks more secure. His goals and set-play delivery are vital and I just can’t see Hiddink sacrificing that contribution – even for a home game with Fulham.
Hiddink’s back four is probably the most difficult area of the Chelsea side to call right now. Ashley Cole come back into the equation today and he should start. That may well see Bosingwa return to right-back and hopefully, Alex and Terry will remain intact in the centre. Previous weeks have shown that Hiddink is not afraid to shuffle here though and with Ivanovic and Mancienne as options, there’s a lottery in play here.
The other major area of doubt that’s concerning me surrounds the impact of the return of Gerrard to the Liverpool lineup. Personally, I’m hoping that Benayoun doesn’t drop out – although my head tells me that this will be the case. Benayoun has been outstanding of late but that won’t cut any ice with Rafa, who has always likes to keep players on their toes with rotation. Lucas will surely make way for Gerrard but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Riera also restored for Sunday’s clash with Newcastle.
I’ll leave you there. I’ve got my own transfers to consider now and with a decent mini-league lead, I’m toying with the idea of gambling some points to make the gameweek even more interesting.
Good luck to you all and apologies again for the disrupted service this week. My internet connection will be back up and running on Tuesday next week so I’ll raise my game again soon.