Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla are both fit for Arsenal’s home clash against Norwich as Arsene Wenger hints at making changes. Glen Johnson is back for Liverpool’s trip to Newcastle, who are without Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez for tomorrow’s lunchtime kick-off. Artur Boruc is fit for Southampton’s trip to United, Ashley Williams is sidelined again for Swansea, Steven Fletcher returns for Sunderland, while Robbie Brady could be back in time for Hull’s trip to Everton:
Arsene Wenger gave Fantasy managers a heads-up earlier this morning by revealing Mesut Ozil has recovered from the knee knock that forced him off in Germany’s win over Sweden. Santi Cazorla and Bacary Sagna are both fit following recent injuries, though Theo Walcott is still a couple of weeks away from returning. Wenger’s thoughts on team selection, however, is perhaps a little worrying. Speaking to the Arsenal official website yesterday, the Gunners boss admitted rest and rotation may play a factor in deciding his XI to face the Canaries as he looks for a balance ahead of the upcoming Champions League matches:
“We start to look at it [the minutes each player has played] and you get their [the players’] feeling as well. You add that to the number of minutes they have played since the start of the season, then you make your decisions. Overall we do not come off it [the international break] too bad because Koscielny didn’t play the first game at all, Giroud played only one half and 80 minutes in the second. The only one who played again over the two games is Aaron Ramsey, and apart from that Mertesacker played only one, Ozil played nearly two full games. You look at it [the numbers] because we play so many games now. That’s why it’s important to have players like Cazorla, like Rosicky and hopefully Walcott, Podolski and Chamberlain back soon.”
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup will be without Ashley Williams yet again for the visit of Sunderland, while Ben Davies remains doubtful for the Welsh outfit. The Swans are expected to welcome back Pablo Hernandez and Jonathan de Guzman after recent injuries, though, while Michel Vorm is set to take his place between the sticks despite missing out for Holland with a minor hand problem in midweek. Laudrup admitted he is uncertain when Williams will return – boosting the chances of Jordi Amat as a potential bargain in light of a kind run of fixtures:
“If we are not careful it could become a chronic problem with him. He has not been at 100 per cent and that’s not a good condition for a player to carry on playing because there are always doubts. You could go on for months always playing at 85 per cent and we don’t want that, so it’s better to wait. We wanted him back for this game against Sunderland but it is more important to get him back 100 per cent so he is comfortable when he is playing. I don’t know when that will be. He’s been training with the physios but the only training he has done with the squad since playing against Crystal Palace has been for 30 minutes. I will not force him to play because even if he is back training and no longer injured, to be fit to play 90 minutes is another thing, so he must come back when he feels ready to.”
Steven Fletcher is back for Sunderland’s trip to Swansea after recovering quickly from a dislocated shoulder. New Black Cats boss Gus Poyet – who could also be set to hand Phil Bardsley a place in the squad – confirmed the former Wolves forward is firmly in his thoughts for the Liberty clash:
“He will be available for us which is great news. When I signed the contract, he was a question mark, but now we know that he is back. It’s a massive boost because I didn’t know whether he’d be fit. We were waiting on the other options up front, when Jozy Altidore would be getting back, Fabio Borini and Connor Wickham. It was always something I was waiting on, but it’s been confirmed that he’s available for Saturday.”
Artur Boruc’s legion of Fantasy owners breathed a sigh of relief after the Southampton keeper was passed fit to face Man United this weekend. Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino seemed perplexed by recent reports which suggested his keeper was forced out of Poland’s match against England on Tuesday, while the Argentine also revealed Luke Shaw is back after recovering from a recent illness:
“Luke has been training with us for a couple of days after his illness, so he’s basically recovered. We’ll see over the next couple of days whether he’s available for the match. And Artur is fine. He is fit, so I’m a little surprised that it’s been reported that he had an injury.”
Alan Pardew is facing a central defensive headache after Fabricio Coloccini was ruled out of the visit of Liverpool. The Magpies boss is looking to avoid a repeat of last term’s 6-0 home defeat at the hands of the Merseysiders but with Steven Taylor still sidelined with a hamstring injury, Pardew looks set to field Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa against Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. Having subbed off the Frenchman at the break in the defeat at Everton after Romelu Lukaku ran riot, Pardew clearly has concerns over his form but is confident Yanga-Mbiwa will keep the visitors at bay:
“The most important thing is his response on the pitch, but his response in training has been very good. Sometimes you need to come out to have a little breather. You could perhaps say his chance has come early, with Colo’s injury, to come back in, so it will be interesting, his performance. I hope – I really hope because he’s a terrific person – that he puts in great display on Saturday. You have to sit down with them and make it clear why they come out of the team, and give them a solution to get back into the team. I like to think I have done that for him and I’d like to think he can reward me with a performance.”
Liverpool are set to welcome back a quartet of faces ahead of tomorrow’s lunchtime encounter at St James’ Park. Brendan Rodgers has revealed Glen Johnson (down to 5.7 in FPL), Joe Allen and Aly Cissokho have all recovered from injury and will return to the squad, while Lucas is also back after serving a one-match suspension against Palace in Gameweek 7. Philippe Coutinho is still sidelined with a shoulder problem, though, meaning Victor Moses is likely to retain the role in “the hole” if Rodgers keeps faith in the 3-4-1-2 formation.
Robbie Brady could be set to make a quick return from hernia surgery for Hull’s trip to Everton tomorrow. In yesterday’s press conference, Steve Bruce admitted his star midfielder is back in training and will be monitored prior to the Goodison clash – good news for the 5.2 priced midfielder’s owners, as Brady looks to improve upon a run of three sets of double figures in six appearances:
“I’m speaking to you on Thursday morning and he’ll be training today. We’ll see how he is and how he trains and hopefully he’ll be ok. With modern medicine, it’s quite incredible that you can be back playing (after a hernia op) within two or three weeks and we expect him to take some part (at the weekend).”
Fulham look in good health for Monday’s trip to Palace after Dimitar Berbatov, Brede Hangeland and Scott Parker returned to training for the Cottagers. Martin Jol has also revealed Maarten Stekelenburg is available for selection after finally recovering the shoulder injury picked up in Gameweek 1, while the likes of Aaron Hughes and Ashkan Dejagah are also likely to be in the mix after recent stints on the sidelines.
Roberto Martinez is likely to be cautious with Steven Pienaar for tomorrow’s home clash against Hull. The Toffees boss conceded he was uncertain whether the South African will feature against the Tigers despite returning to full training, while Antolin Alcaraz is closing in on a comeback:
“Steven has been working with the group very well. I think this weekend could be too early but I do expect him to be fully fit for next Saturday. Antolin is looking very strong. He had a setback three weeks ago but now is back and fully recovered. I do feel he will be ready in the next three weeks – probably in the next international break, but we’re very pleased with his recovery.”
James Collins looks set for a spell on the sidelines after Sam Allardyce revealed the defender has pulled a hamstring on international duty with Wales. Collins has recently lost his place to James Tomkins and has missed the last two for the Hammers, though yesterday’s news is likely to see sales of the centre-half speed up. Elsewhere at the back, Allardyce revealed he expects Winston Reid to shrug off fatigue in time to feature – the Kiwi international arrived back late yesterday after turning out for New Zealand over the break.
