Chelsea’s ineffectual display in Turin has them staring group stage elimination in the face and, earlier this morning, cost Roberto Di Matteo his job. Elsewhere, United’s decision to rest and rotate helps Galatasaray register a narrow win, while Theo Walcott is ruled out of Arsenal’s vital match with Montpellier this evening due to a shoulder injury…
Juventus 3 Chelsea 0
Last night’s main talking point was Roberto Di Matteo’s decision to drop Fernando Torres and field Eden Hazard as the lone forward for the Blues last night. In what proved to be his final game as Chelsea boss, Di Matteo’s faith in the Spaniard has clearly reached rock bottom – reports had suggested Daniel Sturridge was set to replace Torres up top but, despite Sturridge being unavailable through injury, Hazard got the nod ahead of the former Liverpool man. Torres was afforded a 20 minute sub appearance late in the second-half but failed to impress yet again. Di Matteo selected Cesar Azpilicueta on the right of midfield, though he was replaced by Victor Moses on the hour mark.
This morning’s main talking point is, of course, Di Matteo’s departure. Just four points off the top of the league, victory over City this weekend would close the gap to just one but, with two points accrued in their last four league games, form has not been on their side. The fallout now casts a huge cloud of uncertainty over Stamford Bridge going into Sunday’s showdown. Fantasy managers must now sit tight and wait for events to unfold in the next 48-hours before assessing how the changes, if they come, could affect the potential of Chelsea’s assets.
Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole; Ramires, Mikel (Torres 71); Azpilicueta (Moses 60), Oscar, Mata; Hazard
Galatasaray 1 United 0
Having already qualified as Group H winners, Sir Alex Ferguson omitted many of his experienced stars for the trip to Turkey. Only three players – Rafael, Michael Carrick and Javier Hernandez – were retained from the side that lost to Norwich on Saturday. Carrick shifted to central defence and was joined by fit-again Phil Jones, as Ferguson chose to start with a midfield diamond once again, with Nick Powell tucked in behind Hernandez and Danny Welbeck. From a Fantasy perspective, last night’s game was more about who didn’t play – Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney will be afforded plenty rest ahead of a home clash against basement-dwellers QPR on Saturday, with the Dutchman set to handed the armband by huge numbers ; he has an incredible 66% of votes in this week’s Captain Poll so far.
United Starting XI: Lindegaard; Rafael, Carrick, Jones, Buttner; Anderson (Young 74), Fletcher, Cleverley; Powell (Macheda 74); Hernandez, Welbeck (King 85)
In Other News
Arsene Wenger rolled out a handy injury update ahead of Arsenal’s home clash with Montpellier this evening. The Gunners boss revealed Kieran Gibbs and Gervinho will both return to the squad following recent thigh and ankle injuries respectively, though Andre Santos misses out due to an abdominal problem. Gibbs’ return should see Thomas Vermaelen return to a central berth once again – the Belgian has filled in at left-back in the last two after Santos’ much-maligned display at Old Trafford in Gameweek 10. The knock-on effect is that it’s likely to raise question marks over the starting roles of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, though the former looks the likeliest to drop out, bearing in mind Mertesacker has started all but one of the first 12 Gameweeks.
Wenger also dealt Theo Walcott’s Fantasy owners by ruling the winger out of tonight’s crucial encounter:
“It’s the injury he got during the (Spurs) game with his shoulder. We have to scan that today and see if there is no damage. He will be out for tomorrow but it should be short-term.”
With Gervinho available, the Ivorian is likely to be afforded a chance to impress on the right as Arsenal go in search of the three points. Walcott’ impact over the last two gameweeks has harvested a goal and three assists and with a strong run of fixtures on the horizon, he was seen as a cheaper midfield option to Santi Cazorla, though yesterday’s news will shelve any ideas of investing until Wenger gives us a more definite prognosis.
Alan Pardew has revealed Jonas Gutierrez could be set for a quick return to action this Thursday. The Argentine limped off early against West Ham in Gameweek 11 and was sidelined for the 2-1 home defeat by Swansea last weekend but his manager is confident he is closing in on a comeback:
“It was really touch and go with him (for Swansea). We had a tough week, and it was a tough call on Jonas. Jonas had an injury where we thought we could not risk losing him, especially after learning we’d lost Cabaye. We made that call. We think he’ll be OK for Thursday, and hopefully for Sunday at Southampton.”
With a single point in their last three, the Magpies now travel to Southampton in search of their first away win of the season. Pardew still has Fabricio Coloccini suspended and with Yohan Cabaye out for six weeks with a groin injury, the Newcastle boss doesn’t have his troubles to seek right now. Looking at the schedule, the weekend’s game may be the best chance of an away win over the next few Gameweeks – the Tyneside outfit’s next road trips takes them to Stoke, Fulham, United and Arsenal.
QPR have confirmed Bobby Zamora is set to be sidelined for three months due to a hip injury. The forward had been a regular under Mark Hughes and started very match between Gameweek 2-9 but after picking up the problem in training recently, managed a couple of brief sub appearances as the club afforded him time to recover. With Zamora out of the picture now, and the likes of Andy Johnson also sidelined, Djibril Cisse looks nailed-on as the lone forward for the foreseeable future – given that the Frenchman has notched just once all season, though, the omens don’t look too good as Hughes attempts to engineer a scramble up the table.
