Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson are fit for Liverpool’s visit to the Emirates. Michael Laudrup is intent on utilising his Swansea squad, Adam Lallana could return for Southampton’s trip to Old Trafford, Andy Carroll may be back for West Ham, while Martin O’Neill expects to be without two of his first-choice back-four once again as Sunderland host Swansea this evening:
Brendan Rodgers is set to welcome back three of his first-team regulars for Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal tomorrow night. Still reeling from his side’s FA Cup exit at the hands of Oldham on Sunday, the Reds boss took some solace in yesterday’s update:
“We’ve got players coming back from injury, which will be good. Glen Johnson is back, Jose Enrique will be back and Pepe Reina will be back, so we’ll travel there with a strong squad and the mentality to get a good result. It’s a very important game. I wouldn’t say it was a must-win game, but it’s a game where, if we put yesterday aside, the team that has been playing of late in the league has got big confidence.”
As Fantasy managers eagerly await any news of a potential double Gameweek 26 for the Reds, Enrique and Johnson will be making their way onto radars. Granted, the upcoming trips to Arsenal and City are likely to deter investment but Liverpool’s fixtures look particularly enticing from Gameweek 26 onwards, more than atoning for their blank Gameweek 27. Both full-backs remain differentials, with FPL ownership of under 5%, while Enrique has now dropped from 6.1 to 5.7 in recent weeks in comparison to Johnson’s costlier 6.4 – the Spaniard has averaged 6.7 points per game over his last 10 starts and could be set for significant investment now he has shrugged off his hamstring injury.
Martin O’Neill has admitted it is highly unlikely that injured trio Danny Rose, Carlos Cuellar and Lee Cattermole will return in time for tonight’s home match with Swansea. Speaking to the press yesterday, the Black Cats boss conceded:
“At this moment, I think it would be too early for them. They’re coming on very well, but I need to see how things develop in training today.”
From a Fantasy perspective, Cuellar has been the only real bona fide target of the aforementioned trio – having said that, almost 15,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have transferred out the Spaniard in light of his hamstring injury. Clearly, however, his return to action seems imminent and with games against Reading, West Brom, Fulham, QPR and Norwich in five of his next six from Saturday onwards, those who have sold him on could quickly regret their decision. Now down to 4.5 and with two sets of double figures in his last three at the Stadium of Light, he looks likely to be propelled straight back onto Fantasy radars as soon as he is fit and available.
Michael Laudrup reckons squad rotation has been key to Swansea’s success this season. As the Welsh club prepare for a Capital One Cup final next month, their manager seems keen to continue his rest and rotation policy:
“We have used a big part of the squad so far, and that is very important. It is important that players play as much as possible, because everyone wants to play. Our defence has improved over the last few months. We’ve conceded less goals, particularly away from home, and that has been very pleasing.”
In defence, Laudrup has tended to stick to the same four, with Gerhard Tremmel picking up game time in goal only due to an injury to Michel Vorm. It’s further up the pitch, however, that the Dane has proved frustrating – as many as eight midfielders have featured in at least 12 league matches so far. While Michu has afforded Fantasy managers an obvious Swansea attacking option, Pablo Hernandez, Wayne Routledge and Jonathan de Guzman have all averaged between 4.0 and 4.1 points per game so far – with Laudrup looking to maintain alternating his players, however, our options look frustratingly limited ahead of a possible double Gameweek for the Swans.
Laudrup has, at least, acknowledged that his squad needs trimming ahead of next season…
“In the last couple of months we have used a big part of the squad and that’s important because you want as many players as possible to feel they are important. But there are still three or four players who unfortunately we have not found space for, and I have gained good experience from that. The number of players in our squad has to go down next season.”
Reports suggest Andy Carroll could be set to return to the bench for West Ham’s trip to Fulham tomorrow. Sidelined since Gameweek 13 with a knee injury, the on-loan forward’s comeback is set to add further uncertainty to the lone striker role for the Hammers, with Carlton Cole and Marouane Chamakh also vying for game time. Sam Allardyce’s side have scored just 10 goals and registered two wins in the nine games without Carroll but with a price tag of 8.2 compared to Cole and Chamakh’s 4.9 and 5.4 respectively, few, if any, will be willing to take a punt. While the Hammer have games against Swansea and Villa to follow their trip to the Cottage, the following four (TOT, sto, MUN, che) highlights the task ahead for Allardyce’s off-form side.
The Hammers have moved to bolster their defensive ranks by snapping up Emanuel Pogatetz on loan until the end of the season. From a Fantasy perspective, this is also likely to give us a selection headache – the Austrian could be fielded at centre-half or left-back but with the latter role looking more likely in light of George McCartney’s knee injury absence, Joey O’Brien’s versatility could allow him to switch over to the right and raise question marks over Guy Demel’s game time. Alternatively, a role in the middle could be on the cards depending on James Collins’ length of absence. The former Villa man suffered a hamstring tear in Gameweek 22, with James Tomkins resultantly deputising alongside Winston Reid – with a single clean sheet in their last 12, however, faith in Allardyce’s backline has taken a significant dip in recent weeks after a solid start to the season saw them keep out their opponents in five of the opening 10 Gameweeks.
Mauricio Pochettino had some mixed news on the injury front yesterday ahead of his first away match in charge of Southampton. As the new boss at St Mary’s prepares for a visit to United, he revealed:
“Adam Lallana is doing well. He’s definitely recovering well, but he needs rhythm to get back into competition. José Fonte is a no for Wednesday and he’ll need some more time to recover. We also have an injury to Guly (Do Prado) who has had a knock to his knee. He will also need some weeks to recover and we’re not sure when he’ll be back.”
While Lallana’s potential return will be good news for Saints fans, it’s likely Pochettino will choose to be cautious with his captain tomorrow evening. The midfielder has been sidelined since Gameweek 16 with a knee injury and only returned to full training last week. Previous boss Nigel Adkins had mainly fielded Gaston Ramirez on the left in Lallana’s absence but Pochettino shifted the Uruguayan to a central role behind Rickie Lambert against Everton, with Do Prado handed the chance to impress on the left. The latter’s injury absence could see Jay Rodriguez handed a starting role on the left instead, with Lallana perhaps climbing off the bench late on in the match – intriguingly, the new manager’s high pressing tactic saw all three attacking midfielders subbed off in the latter stages of his first game in charge against Everton a week last Monday as he looked for fresh legs to keep the pressure on the Toffees’ backline.
Under-fire Villa boss, Paul Lambert, is ready to turn to veteran Richard Dunne to provide the foundation for Premier League survival. Talking before tonight’s vital home clash with Newcastle, Lambert stressed the qualities that Dunne can bring to his ailing side…
“Richard has had a great career but you can’t rush somebody that’s been out for that length of time. He will go and put his head in. He’s been around the block and knows the game. He knows exactly what it entails. He’s what we need, especially when the ball comes into the penalty area, going to compete and putting your head on the line. He’s a good talker too, a really good talker.”
Dunne has suffered a long absence with a groin injury that eventually required surgery. Whilst the warhorse defender has stepped up his training, Lambert is clearly being cautious and is unsure whether Dunne will factor in tonight’s encounter…
“I’ll go by Richard himself. We’ve had chats to see how he’s feeling but he’s been out for over half a year now and he’s hardly trained. So it’s difficult just to throw him back in. It’s difficult for players who have been out for a few weeks, never mind half a year. You’re taking a risk there. We’ll see how he feels on the morning of the game.”
Dunne has spent his career playing as part of a four-man defence so it will be interesting to see if his availability will force a change in formation from the 3-5-2 that Lambert has favoured this term. Should a back three be maintained, it would seem likely we’ll see Dunne line up alongside both Ciaran Clark and Ron Vlaar, with Nathan Baker relegated to the bench.
