Florent Malouda’s starting berth gets secured by Salomon Kalou’s troubles. Andy Carroll shuffles into the frame for a recall to a Newcastle 4-4-2 and Roberto Martinez singles out Jordi Gomez for praise, the latest budget midfielder to offer potential from the “in the hole” role.
According to Chelsea’s statement Kalou is “due to return to full training next week”, ruling him out of this weekend’s trip to Villa Park. With both Kalou and Benayoun out of the equation, it would seem that Malouda is now far more assured of his start on the left flank, despite facing a Champions League tie on Tuesday.
Previously Malouda was rested for the trip to West Ham which preceded the Champions League meet with MSK Zilina. Many Fantasy Managers will have been looking closely at Malouda’s prospects given that Cesc Fabregas is back in the frame as a heavyweight midfield option. The Chelsea man’s fixtures show three away games in four, compared to Fabregas’ three in four at the Emirates. The fact that Malouda also faced the threat of rotation also counted against him; Kalou’s continued absence appears to have reduced that risk considerably.
This will have obvious repercussions on Nolan’s potential but also hopefully improve Carroll’s output in what would appear to be a Newcastle side with a greater attacking threat. The flipside of that of course is that Hughton will have to remove one of his midfield protectors to make way for Nolan’s shift back into the engine room. That could leave Newcastle’s defence, impressive to this point, exposed that little bit more.
“We have created a very good competition for places throughout the squad and the team. But it’s important we use our players when they are in good moments of form – and that certainly applies to Jordi right now.”
Gomez has scored three goals in three starts for Wigan this term, two of which have come in the Carling Cup. He was on target against Wolves in Gameweek 7 however and our recent Members article revealed he put in a highly impressive shift – only Rafael Van der Vaart fired in more efforts on goal in the league over that weekend. Gomez’ free-kick strike against McCarthy’s side should certainly give him the opportunity to hog Wigan’s set-plays. At 4.8 in the Fantasy Premier League game, Gomez may warrant some Watchlist attention over Wigan’s kind fixtures if you’re looking for a budget option in midfield.
