Sunday finds us camped in front of the box, preparing for a feast of football that delivers four challengers for the Champions League places. Proceedings start at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea host the Gunners as Arsene Wenger’s side get their double Gameweek underway. United’s trip to White Hart Lane then follows, with Fantasy managers facing the unlikely prospect of watching Robin Van Persie in action without their armband on his sleeve: Theo Walcott or Santi Cazorla being the popular choices this weekend with their two fixtures at play.
Our Dugout Discussion Chatroom is now available to collect your thoughts as we sit back and wait to see if Van Persie’s unerring consistency makes us regret that particular decision.
The team news form the early afternoon kick-off is hugely significant. As suspected, Rafa Benitez chooses to rotate his forwards, bringing Fernando Torres in from the cold and resting Demba Ba to the bench. Branislav Ivanovic also makes a return to the fray after a midweek rest: he replaces David Luiz amidst claims of a slight knock.
Arsenal are without both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski through illness, so they’re unchanged from the side that took on Swansea in the midweek FA Cup replay. That sees both Abou Diaby and Francis Coquelin in central midfield, with Jack Wilshere expected to push up in support of lone striker Olivier Giroud. Captain contenders, Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla seem set to occupy the flank roles.
