Aaron Ramsey misses out for Wales through illness. Mesut Ozil is set for a bench role for Germany’s trip to England. James Collins and Joey O’Brien are injury concerns for West Ham, while Roberto Martinez vows to stick to the same tactical approach despite Everton’s recent goal drought:
Mixed Midfield News For Wenger
Mesut Ozil is set to be omitted from the Germany XI for Tuesday’s showdown with England. Joachim Low has admitted he is keen to give some of his fringe players a chance to impress at Wembley:
“The game against England is one of the last opportunities to test some tactical and personnel ideas before the World Cup. Lahm, Neuer and Ozil are absolutely the best (in their positions) so, for me, it is now important to see how other players in key positions fare against a good team like England. They will have a chance to prove themselves.”
In last night’s friendlies, Santi Cazorla continued his recovery from injury by notching for Spain in a 2-1 win over Equatorial Guinea before being subbed off just before the hour mark. Aaron Ramsey, however, will be hoping to recover from a flu bug in time to face Southampton next weekend. This season’s Fantasy sensation was forced out of Wales’ clash with Finland due to the illness that swept the Gunners’ camp prior to last Sunday’s loss at Old Trafford.
The Scout Says: Given that both Tomas Rosicky and Per Mertesacker missed the United game through illness, Wenger will be hoping the flu bug starts to shift ahead of the Emirates clash with Southampton. Given that Mathieu Flamini is also suspended for Gameweek 12, the Arsenal boss has plenty worries in midfield – with a week’s recuperation, though, Ramsey’s 58% of FPL owners will be confident he’ll be fit in time. A rest for Ozil will be welcome relief for the Gunners boss after his playmaker has gone off the boil in recent matches – with 35 points accrued in three home fixtures so far though, he could be set to plunder the returns ahead of a trio of Emirates matches in the next four Gameweeks.
Bruce Speaks Out On Brady Availability
Hull’s top scorer is on course for a return in time for next weekend’s home game with Crystal Palace. Speaking to the local press, the Tigers’ assistant boss Steve Agnew was hopeful of a comeback for the former United man, who has stepped up his recovery from a hernia problem with the Republic of Ireland squad:
“We’ve missed Robbie, like any team would. He’d scored four goals for us and along with Sone Aluko, that was our creative pair. You’re going to miss that creativity when they’re out. It’s important we get them back fit as soon as we can. After a good start to the season, the double hernia set him back a few weeks. Let’s hope he can have a good week and be in consideration for the weekend. It would be a big lift if Robbie can be fit for the Palace game. He’s a fantastic talent….Robbie’s been in Ireland as they were keen for him to meet up and be part of the group. He’s spent a few days with them and we were happy for him to go. Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane wanted him in and around the group so he continued his rehab over there.”
The Scout Says: Having scored in three of the first six Gameweeks, Brady looked poised to become a cut-price phenomenon until a hernia problem forced him onto the sidelines. Bruce’s decision to rush him back from surgery after the previous international break hardly helped – the midfielder managed 90 minutes against Everton in Gameweek 8 but has played just 22 minutes since after suffering a reaction to an early return to the starting line-up. Clearly, Bruce has decided to court caution now and is determined not to rush his star player back into action – with double figure returns in two of his three home appearances prior to injury, though, Brady makes a persuasive case for consideration against the Eagles; Fantasy managers will be eagerly awaiting confirmation at next Thursday’s press conference.
Defensive Concerns for Hammers
Joey O’Brien is an early injury worry for West Ham’s game with Chelsea after picking up a problem during the warm-up in the Republic of Ireland’s win over Latvia on Friday night. Martin O’Neill admitted he’s currently uncertain of the prognosis:
“He’s going for a scan. We are not sure. He just felt a little bit last night in the warm-up, so even though there was an opportunity last night to play him, we wouldn’t have done so just because there might be some risk, so he is going for a scan later on. It’s his hamstring. He just felt a little bit sore and it is just precautionary. But he wasn’t too bad.”
Sam Allardyce was given further reason for concern after James Collins missed Wales’ clash against Finland last night, with reports suggesting he had “tweaked something”, with a possible recurrence of a hamstring problem suspected.
The Scout Says: With Winston Reid potentially sidelined for another few weeks with an ankle injury, Collins’ availability looks vital for the Hammers. The Welshman has only just returned from a hamstring injury and started alongside James Tomkins in the previous Gameweek’s loss at Norwich – if he is also ruled out, Allardyce may turn to Dan Potts (3.9) as an alternative in the heart of defence. A possible absence for O’Brien would merely cement Guy Demel’s role at right-back – indeed, the former has now fallen behind the Ivorian in the pecking order and has failed to start any of the last four. While the upcoming clash against Chelsea looks problematic, the Hammers also have Fulham, Palace and Sunderland in the next five – they look likely to add to their six clean sheets so far, with Razvan Rat (4.5) the cheapest of the nailed-on starters.
Aspas Nearing Injury Return
Liverpool’s summer signing from Celta Vigo has revealed he could be back in contention in a fortnight’s time after suffering a thigh injury last month.
“Not playing is frustrating, but I can take advantage of this stoppage, and try to get back to playing as soon as possible. I think I can improve; I am happy with the team’s level but not so much individually because I think I can do a lot better. First I want to recover from my injury and afterwards I can use my qualities better and exploit them better as a centre-forward. I have been injured for four weeks, but I have been training for four or five days on the pitch – running and exercising. I am a lot better. Soon I will be able to kick the ball. In 10 days to two weeks I will be ready to play.”
The Scout Says: The Spaniard faces a real battle to establish himself in Brendan Rodgers’ first-team after an underwhelming start to life at Anfield. After starting four of the first five Gameweeks in the absence of Luis Suarez, Aspas – who has managed a single assist thus far – became a peripheral figure under Rodgers and played just three more minutes before being forced into the treatment room. Mainly fielded on the right of a 4-2-3-1, he looks likely to rely on ousting Jordan Henderson from the recent 4-4-2, with Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho looking nailed-on through the middle and on the left respectively. Given that Henderson is the only outfield player to have managed every minutes of the season thus far for the Reds, though, Aspas’ career on Merseyside may struggle to get off the ground, with further minutes off the bench more likely.
Martinez Won’t Change Approach
The Everton manager has vowed to keep faith in his possession-based approach, despite the Toffees failing to score in each of the last two Gameweeks. Speaking ahead of a run of games which pits them against Liverpool, United and Arsenal in the next four, Martinez said:
“For me it’s important that we can play eye to eye against the top four clubs. It’s not good enough to let them take the leading role and simply say we’re going to be solid and hard to beat, then we’ll take opportunities. We’re not like that. I want us to be ourselves in any situation against any team and I was pleased we did it in the second half at Crystal Palace.”
The Scout Says: In the short-term at least, Fantasy interest in the Toffees has waned as a result of their lack of cutting edge. While the likes of Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka have racked up the points in defence, and Tom Howard tops the FPL keeper standings, their recent run of three successive clean sheets is set to be put to the test, with defensive returns perhaps at a minimum over those fixtures. Up top, Romelu Lukaku’s lack of points can’t be attributed to bad luck – he has managed just one shot over the last couple of matches since Martinez dropped Ross Barkley to the bench. The big Belgian has now been shipped out by over 50,000 managers this week alone but with three home games and a trip to Swansea from Gameweek 16 onwards, he’ll be back on our radars come mid-December.
