Chelsea fought an inconclusive fight at home to Copenhagen as both sides conspired to the leave the fixture goalless despite having a record 37 shots in the game between themselves. Elsewhere some faces start to crop back up on radars as they make varied returns from injury…
Carlo Ancelotti had the same squad to choose from as that which beat Blackpool in the last gameweek (besides the cup-tied David Luiz) and made just a handful of changes from said successful team. The aforementioned Brazilian centre-back took an enforced rest which saw Branislav Ivanovic fill in quite capably while the £50m man Fernando Torres was left on the bench with Michael Essien to allow John Obi Mikel and Chelsea’s top European striker Nicolas Anelka a starting berth.
For Fantasy Managers looking ahead to the current gameweek they can find just as much to take promise from as disappointment. Fernando Torres being on the bench is likely a sign of rotation from Ancelotti putting him at the forefront of his mind ahead of Chelsea’s fixture with Man City, but on the down side he still hasn’t got his first Chelsea goal.
Rotation will of course be order of the day in the coming gameweeks with Chelsea’s progression to the quarter finals of the Champions League. With fixtures looming in the midweeks that follow gameweek 31 (away at Stoke) and gameweek 32 (home to Wigan) don’t be surprised to see the manager mix his wares around fixtures with the strikeforce in particular susceptible to a shake-around.
After missing the last 12 games through injury midfielder Adam Johnson is nearing a return for Manchester City and is hoping to get back on the field as soon as realistically possible…
“My ankle is almost there and I’m back in training again so I should be playing again soon, all being well,”
Roberto Mancini had also previously acknowledged that missing the English midfielder left City short in certain departments and if the 5.6 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bargain can return in form he might provide an end of season differential.
Andy Carroll is further along the rehabilitation line after two substitutes appearances for his new club Liverpool, but despite shelling out a record £35m for the gargantuan Geordie his manager won’t rush him back to a start regardless…
“The fitter he gets, the more tempting it will be (to start him). But when that day comes, or when it will be, we don’t know…He’s fit and well, but what we’re going to do with him remains to be seen. We either start with him or he comes on in the second half – it’s up to us to make that decision”
With Liverpool playing at home to Braga this evening a start will be a positive step in the right direction but, if not, the cheap FPL striker may still be a risk too far for those wanting to jump on board ahead of this gameweek’s trip to his boyhood rivals of Sunderland.
Reports early on yesterday suggested that William Gallas was set for a scan on his hamstring after pulling up in training… said scans gave the frenchman the all-clear paving the way for the possibility of a swift return at home to West Ham on Saturday.
In the continuing saga of Johan Djourou the most recent reports seem to suggest that the Swiss FA (for whom we reported on recently) may have jumped the gun in proclaiming his return could be sooner than initially reported. This one goes on, so when we hear anything definitive following the scans he must have undertaken we will share them – and hopefully that will be that.
