Let’s walk and talk. You can spare a few minutes – what I’ve got for you might just be of interest. This morning’s stroll to calm the nerves before the boys cross the white line, takes in two specific team-sheet concerns – those at Chelsea and United. In particular, let’s chat about the chances of Fantasy favourite Daniel Sturridge turning in some profit in today’s early encounter.
The clash between Norwich and Chelsea looks a fine introduction to our weekend football. Sunday is the big day of course, but we’ll gladly accept the Carrow Road clash as a lip-smacking amuse-bouche before Sunday’s bloated feast. The thing is, however, we could do with Daniel Sturridge turning up this afternoon to add a few flourishes to the affair.
The Chelsea striker goes into the game as the club’s joint leading scorer in the league and with over 15% ownership in the Fantasy Premier League game. Surfing a recent price rise, there’s expectation on a Sturridge return – some immediate profit against a Norwich defence who have failed to keep a shut-out all season. The scene is set then, although Sturridge’s start is far from assured.
A hip injury sidelined him for the Gameweek 20 trip to Wolves, only for him to return a week later for the win over Sunderland. However, Andre Villas-Boas left him unused on the bench and now there’s real concern that we could see him shuffling on the timber at Norwich.
As usual, we’ve looked to our friends at the football press for some guidance here, surveying their predicted lineups for some wisdom on the matter.
It’s got to be said, the early outlook wasn’t great, with The Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian all sticking with the same attack that brought the three points against the Black Cats. Ramires stays on the right of Fernando Torres here, with Juan Mata patrolling the left flank. The midfield consists of Oriol Romeu, Raul Meireles and Frank Lampard.
Only The Sun and The Independent agree with our view that Sturridge will come back in on the right-flank, with Ramires shifting deeper and Romeu dropping out. A split decision then, with the heavyweights backing Villas-Boas to keep the status quo.
We’re not so sure – we’re backing a return for Sturridge simply because we feel Chelsea have to go to Norwich and find goals. They have both Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill as defensive reinforcements, so the need for caution can be abandoned for the quest for goals. Sturridge, as leading scorer, surely merits his selection.
The other point for debate this morning rests with the United back four for their trip to the Emirates. Not surprisingly, with Phil Jones versatility and Rio Ferdinand’s wavering fitness, we’re treated to a whole array of configurations that see Jones in and out of the midfield and at centre-back.
There’s no real consensus here – we’ve gone for Chris Smalling to return at right-back for Rafael and Jones to shift into midfield, leaving Ferdinand and Johnny Evans to look after Robin Van Persie.
The Times agree with us, although The Telegraph have no place for Evans in their lineup, with Smalling partnering Ferdinand at the back and Jones in midfield. The Guardian also omit Evans, but also leave Smalling out, with Rafael claiming the right-back spot and Jones alongside Ferdinand. The Independent are another who leave Evans out of the equation.
To be honest, it’s a mess of options. We’re sticking by Evans at centre-back however – he returned last weekend and United kept their fourth consecutive clean sheet with him in the side. They conceded six in the two games without him in between that spell. Like it or not, the statistics and logic point to Evans being in favour and that will likely see Jones in midfield.
I’ll leave you with this little nugget – we’ve been talking all week how we expect Sir Alex Ferguson to shift to a 4-3-3/4-5-1 with wingers either side of Rooney as a lone striker; we’ve also put the idea of Ji-Sung Park earning a start. The Telegraph have gone with this – they’re backing Park to start, with no place for Antonio Valencia. Cat and Pigeons.
