Wigan accept Chelsea’s offer for Victor Moses. Younes Kaboul is a doubt for Spurs ahead of a strong run of home fixtures, Clint Dempsey is unavailable for Fulham’s trip to Old Trafford, while Newcastle and Liverpool rings the changes for their Europa League games ahead of weekend clashes with Chelsea and City respectively…
Wigan have confirmed they have accepted a bid from Chelsea for the services of Victor Moses. After a summer-long chase, it looks like the winger could be off to the Bridge – a move that virtually kills off his Fantasy appeal and immediately promotes Ryo Miyaichi in our thinking. The on-loan Japanese star now looks the likeliest to find a place alongside Shaun Maloney behind a lone striker for the Latics; coming in at 5.0 in FPL and 4.6 in the Sky Sports game, Miyaichi looks an enticing prospect ahead of a schedule that see his face (sot, STK, FUL) over the next four Gameweeks.
Martin Jol has omitted Clint Dempsey from the Fulham squad once again for the trip to Old Trafford this weekend. The US international has been agitating for a move away from the Cottage in recent months and failed to feature in last week’s hammering of Norwich and, speaking to the club’s official website, the Cottagers’ boss revealed he was frustrated at the situation but keen for the player to stay:
“Mentally Clint wants to move, he doesn’t want to stay here. His head was turned and that was the problem. It’s a problem and a situation you don’t want. It’s not something you can talk to a player about every day because he doesn’t want to. I don’t know if he’ll remain a Fulham player. I’d love to keep him, but I’m not sure. Hopefully if he stays, then in the next couple of weeks he will change his thoughts about us. With me there’s no problem and I don’t think there’s a problem within the team over him.”
It’s likely to see Alex Kacaniklic continue on the left wing for the United match – the Swede grabbed a goal in last weekend’s thrashing of Norwich and currently looks strong value at just 4.5 in FPL and 4.2 in the Sky Sports game. With Kacaniklic offering Fulham more width on the left than Dempsey tends to afford, John Arne-Riise was able to push on from left-back and grabbed an assist in the Canaries rout, suggesting the Norwegian’s attacking potential could also be boosted if the American does indeed depart before the transfer window closes.
Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that Younes Kaboul is a doubt for Spurs’ home clash with West Brom tomorrow. The Frenchman’s troublesome knee problem has surfaced once again and, with Seb Bassong moving to Norwich and Michael Dawson looking likely to leave, the scene could be set for Jan Vertonghen to finally make his debut. The Belgian was a surprise omission for the trip to Newcastle in Gameweek 1, with William Gallas preferred as Kaboul’s central defensive partner, but is odds-on to start against the Baggies, with Steven Caulker set to miss out once again. Gallas, priced at 5.0 in FPL and 5.3 in the Sky Sports game, could well be an enticing prospect over a run of fixtures that sees (WBA, NOR, QPR, AVL) all rolling up to the Lane over the next six Gameweeks.
Alan Pardew made nine changes for Newcastle’s Europa League trip to Atromitos last night, with only James Perch and Papiss Cisse (who came through 77 minutes unscathed) remaining from the side that saw off Spurs at the weekend. The Newcastle boss was still without Fabricio Coloccini and the Ameobi brothers – all three missed the Spurs match – and rolled out a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Ryan Taylor at right-back. Taylor’s set-piece duties again came to the fore as the defender netted a free-kick to earn the Magpies a 1-1 draw. It’s a quick-turnaround now for Pardew’s side – they now play Chelsea tomorrow evening, with changes aplenty once again on the agenda as they seek to halt the Blues’ winning run. Given last night’s line-up, it seems like Danny Simpson and Davide Santon will be the full-backs tasked with stopping Eden Hazard and Juan Mata in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Brendan Rodgers made seven changes from the side that lost to West Brom at the weekend as Liverpool travelled to Hearts on European duties. Jamie Carragher played alongside Daniel Agger in defence; with the Dane suspended for City’s visit on Sunday, the Reds’ vice-skipper looks nailed-on to play. The likes of Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Glen Johnson and Lucas were given the night off, with the latter an unused sub but their lack of cutting edge in front of goal continued – the 1-0 win at Tynecastle came courtesy of an Andy Webster own goal. Rodgers also revealed Andy Carroll was due to start the game but pulled out after sustaining a hamstring problem.
