Jack Wilshere returns to full training for Arsenal. Martin Jol admits he has a forward dilemma ahead of Fulham’s trip to Wigan. Michael Laudrup talks midfield rotation, Sam Allardyce hopes Andy Carroll will return in Gameweek 7, while Carlos Cuellar is a major doubt for Sunderland’s visit to West Ham..
Arsene Wenger was handed a midfield boost yesterday after Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong both returned to first-team training:
“We are so pleased that Jack is back in full training. It’s been 14 months and that’s a long time for someone at his age. It’s an eternity, but it’s great news. We have to give him a few training sessions to see how he copes and responds to it. That’s the delicate, sensitive stage – to choose when to bring him in and out. We’ll have to handle that day-by-day. We also have Emmanuel Frimpong who has returned to full training this week, which is great news as well. Emmanuel has also been out a long time, but is progressing well.”
With both players having been sidelined long-term, Wenger will clearly take his time with the pair. Abou Diaby’s form has more than made up for the loss of Alex Song to Barcelona and with Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin also available as cover, the Gunners boss is well stocked in the central midfield area right now. Wilshere will surely be eased tentatively back into the fold over the next few months, then, and with Wenger eager to avoid any repeat of a possible absence, the midfielder is unlikely to have real Fantasy impact initially – he could be handed a deep-lying role alongside Mikel Arteta, it remains to be seen whether he can oust Santi Cazorla in our Fantasy affections, though that 6.4 FPL price tag could be enticing once he’s fully fit and established in Wenger’s first XI again.
Martin O’Neill has admitted Carlos Cuellar is unlikely to feature for Sunderland this weekend after picking up a hamstring problem against Liverpool last Saturday:
“Carlos has a hamstring problem and I think he would be very doubtful for not only this game but perhaps the next couple of matches. From that viewpoint it’s a bit disconcerting but these things happen and we have to get on with it.”
The most popular Sunderland backline pick in FPL due to his 4.5 price tag, Cuellar was replaced by Titus Bramble at half-time in the 1-1 draw, with the latter now looking in the driving seat to partner John O’Shea in the short-term. If O’Neill’s prognosis is correct and Cuellar misses the next two, Fantasy owners may be content to hold, though looking at the fixture list, Cuellar has just two matches at the Stadium of Light between Gameweeks 7 and 12, with Newcastle and Villa the visitors. From a Fantasy perspective, then, it may well be he’s set for a major spot of bench-warming over the next few matches until the Black Cats’ schedule picks up. O’Neill also revealed he is still unsure over whether Adam Johnson will feature – the winger is still struggling to overcome a thigh problem that forced him to miss the Reds’ showdown.
Martin Jol gave us a handy injury update yesterday afternoon. The Cottagers boss revealed that Mladen Petric was injured last week and is now available for selection, while Bryan Ruiz has also recovered from a hamstring problem. With Dimitar Berbatov and Hugo Rodallega leading the line last week, Jol admitted he has plenty of options up front for tomorrow’s trip to Wigan:
”It’s nice that we’ve got quality up front. Any quality striker at any club will have an influence. It’s always nice to see Hugo, to see Dimitar and Petric and they’ve each got different qualities. I feel that Hugo stretched West Bromwich Albion – he was a handful and, of course, we’ve got different options with Petric or Rodallega so we have to make a decision on that. Bryan Ruiz came back from injury so that is the other option to play with a number 10 and Berbatov, or play with two strikers. That is the big decision we have to make so it’s either Bryan Ruiz or Hugo. I felt that Hugo was a bit unlucky not to score [against West Brom] as he had three or four shots on goal. He had a header that hit the bar before we scored with Steve Sidwell so he’s very eager to score and he’s eager to score against his former club.”
Picking through the comments, one thing is apparent – Berbatov looks the most nailed-on for a starting place. Petric’s owners will be a little concerned – although Ruiz could move to either flank and Jol has previously spoken of played Rodallega wide left, the Croatian is a little more limited to a central role. Despite his two goals and an assist in the season opener against Norwich, it look far from certain that Petric is guaranteed a place in Jol’s first XI. Already, his FPL price has dropped this week with many jumping onto the Berbatov bandwagon – tomorrow’s line-up may well give us an indication of Jol’s thinking, now that his quartet of attackers are all fit and available for the first time this term.
Sam Allardyce has revealed Andy Carroll is making progress as he looks to recover from a hamstring problem sustained in the Gameweek 3 win over Fulham:
“Andy is improving every day. He has started some light training now and we will continue to monitor it on a daily basis until he is fit and ready to go back into the team. At the very earliest, if we are very lucky, it will be the final game before the next international break which is Arsenal at home. If not it will be after that.”
Certainly, this rules Carroll out of the Hammers’ next two against Sunderland and Wigan but the Gunners clash, in Gameweek 7, may be viable. Indeed, that Arsenal match begins a run of four home games in six (ARS, SOT, MCY, STO) for Allardyce’s side – with a fortnight between the first two, Carroll looks set to return for the home clash against Southampton at the latest; with Carlton Cole failing to make the same sort of impact as Carroll’s replacement, the Hammers medical staff will be doing all they can to speed up his return date.
Michael Laudrup gave the biggest hint yet that he plans to rotate many of his midfielders this season. Ahead of the visit of Everton, the Swansea boss admitted:
“We have three quality players for two wide positions. Two will obviously start and one will drop to the bench. But it is important to have these options because it is a long season and things can change very quickly. Ki Sung-Yueng has also fitted in well so far and he can play either as a holding midfielder or in a more attacking position, similar to where Jonathan de Guzman has been playing.”
The good news for Michu’s owners is that Laudrup omitted his name from the equation – an indication of his importance for the Swans. On the flanks it’s a different story, however. Pablo Hernandez appeared from the bench at Villa last weekend, with Wayne Routledge making way and the Spaniard could well be set for a role of the left against David Moyes’ side. Nathan Dyer’s owners may be a little concerned with Laudrup’s intentions – the fourth most popular FPL midfielder with over 27% ownership, he has played all but 14 minutes of the season so far but any downturn in game time is a particular worry.
Laudrup may well be forced into changes. The Dane revealed in his Thursday press conference that he has a number of his regular starters struggling to be in contention for the meeting with Everton. Leon Britton is suffering from flu, while Ashley Williams, De Guzman and Danny Graham have all missed training with ankle injuries – it’s reported that Graham is the biggest concern having sustained his injury in Wednesday’s session.
Europa League Notes
Alan Pardew chose to rest the vast majority of his first-team regulars for Newcastle’s 0-0 draw at Maritimo. Steven Taylor and Davide Santon were handed starts at the back but elsewhere, the Magpies boss handed fringe players a chance to impress. The likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse were all given the night off ahead of Sunday’s home game against Norwich, with Pardew instead opting for Shola Ameobi as the lone forward in a 4-2-3-1.
Brendan Rodgers grabbed a leaf out of Pardew’s book for Liverpool’s trip to Young Boys. The Reds boss was taking no chances ahead of Sunday’s match with United, changing his first XI completely from the one that drew at Sunderland last Saturday. Jose Enrique’s starting berth last night suggests he’s likely to miss out at the weekend, while new boy Oussama Assaidi was handed his debut as he builds up his match-fitness. Jonjo Shelvey climbed off the bench to bag a brace as a young-looking Liverpool snatched a 5-3 win.
Andre Villas-Boas made three changes from the side that won at Reading last weekend as Lazio rolled up to the Lane. Hugo Lloris was handed his debut in goal at the expense of Brad Friedel, while Steven Caulker replaced William Gallas alongside Jan Vertonghen in the heart of defence. Intriguingly, Clint Dempsey was handed the role in “the hole”, with Gylfi Sigurdsson dropping to the bench. The hosts had three efforts disallowed in the 0-0 draw as Villas-Boas’ winless run at home continued.
There were unconfirmed tweets post-match that Kyle Naughton left White Hart Lane on crutches and wearing a protective boot. We await confirmation of this later today ahead of the meeting with QPR on Sunday.
