Carlos Tevez could feature again for Man City- but only if he says sorry. Nemanja Vidic is looking to hit top form, Chelsea are forced to watch their weekend mauling again, while Barry Bannan’s club ban is lifted by Aston Villa:
Nemanja Vidic reckons he’s on his way back to his best after an eight-week absence at the start of the season. The Serbian has played back-to-back games for United over the last week, recording clean sheets against Aldershot and Everton, and spoke of the frustration of being sidelined:
I have never been out so long. I was desperate to be there but at least we did well, so I didn’t have that much pressure to come back and play. That helped me. Now I feel well. I don’t feel any pain, which is the most important thing. I can move on, try to reach my top form game by game and help the team reach our goals.
Arsene Wenger admits he is tempted to keep with the players that saw off Chelsea on Saturday for this evening’s Champions League game with Marseille. The Gunners boss is looking to continue the momentum that has seen his side win eight of their last nine matches:
I am tempted to do it. Sometimes if you take a team on a roll there is no need to change it. You can defend any decision but when a team is on a positive experience, why not? That is what I have to decide. I changed players away from home at Donetsk last season and got punished.
Abou Diaby has suffered a setback in his recovery from an ankle problem. The midfielder has yet to play in the league this season and according to Arsene Wenger, will be out for another three weeks as he builds up his muscular strength.
Reports this morning suggest Roberto Mancini is considering allowing Carlos Tevez a return to the Man City first-team fold- but only if Tevez says sorry. Speaking to the Italian press, the Man City boss was quoted as saying:
Everything depends on Carlos. If he apologies to the squad and to me then everything will be as before. If he doesn’t then Tevez has a value that everyone knows and something will happen in January. He is totally unprepared and being badly advised. I don’t want it to be like this and I would be the first to forgive him.
Ahead of City’s trip to Villarreal, Mancini has revealed he feels Mario Balotelli is a key figure in the club’s Champions League campaign. The forward had been banned for the first three games after a red card in the Europa League last term and was the only forward Mancini rested for the home game against Wolves on Saturday.
QPR’ s Akos Buzsaky is set to undergo an operation after a cyst was found in his knee . The Hungarian has been plagued with the problem for some time and has not featured in the league since gameweek three. He will now go under the knife during the upcoming international break and expects to be out of action for a short period of time.
Branislav Ivanovic revealed the Chelsea players have been forced to sit through a re-run of Saturday’s horror show at home to Arsenal. The side have struggled to keep out opponents so far, with a single clean sheet after ten games and the Serbian is confident of a return to form ahead of the weekend trip to Blackburn:
We know how we made mistakes and how we plan to do things better. We have to be fully concentrated for the whole game and be strong for 90 minutes. In some moments, we lost some concentration. We weren’t fully concentrated and things happened that we didn’t want to happen, and that changed the game psychologically. This could be one of the most important things in our season after this game: a great reaction of the group would be good to show how we are strong.
Didier Drogba will undergo an arm operation during his three-match ban and is expected to be available when his suspension ends, with the game against Liverpool on November 20th earmarked for his return. Drogba will have screws removed from an arm after they were inserted in a previous operation.
Aston Villa today revealed they have lifted Barry Bannan’s suspension. The club had banned the player after recent off-field issues but Alex McLeish confirmed Bannan has returned to training and will be available for selection this weekend against Norwich.
