Chelsea cruise past Galatasaray thanks to goals from Samuel Eto’o and Gary Cahill. Vincent Kompany will face no action for an alleged gesture to Hull fans last Saturday, Roberto Martinez has mixed news on the injury front, Tim Sherwood’s worries in defence continue to escalate, whilst Mark Hughes has attacking concerns for Stoke’s visit to Villa Park:
CHELSEA EASE THROUGH TO QUARTER FINALS
Jose Mourinho rolled out his usual 4-2-3-1 formation for last night’s comfortable Champions League victory over Galatasaray, with Frank Lampard and Ramires fielded in the centre of the park and Samuel Eto’o handed the lone forward role ahead of the trio of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian. Eto’o repaid his manager’s faith in just the fourth minute of the game – his tenth home strike of the season put Chelsea ahead courtesy of an Oscar assist, whilst Gary Cahill served Fantasy managers a reminder of his attacking potential by notching the hosts’ second just before half-time.
The Scout Says: A sixth shut-out in a row at home in all competitions indicates just what a fortress Stamford Bridge has become under Mourinho. With no double Gameweeks to play over the remainder of the season many will have begun to neglect Chelsea’s assets, but with a superb schedule to come once this weekend’s home clash with Arsenal is out of the way (cry, STK, swa, SUN), John Terry and co look set to reap more returns in the coming weeks. After starting twice in succession earlier this month, Andre Schurrle has now been utilised as a sub in each of the last two matches. The German was afforded a 10-minute substitute appearance last night and seems to have fallen down the pecking order once again, having rocketed onto our radars after a headline-stealing hat-trick against Fulham only a few weeks ago.
FA KIND TO KOMPANY
Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany will not face further FA action for an alleged reaction to the Hull supporters following his dismissal at the KC on Saturday. This means that the Belgian’s suspension will remain at the mandatory one match and ensure that he is available for the Manchester derby in a week’s time.
The Scout Says: Kompany’s 4.9% owners will be somewhat relieved to hear that the centre-back will face no further punishment for his actions ahead of City’s run of 11 matches in the final eight Gameweeks. Those owners will be frustrated by his absence for the potentially profitable home fixture against lowly Fulham this Saturday, though, with over 26,000 turning to Pablo Zabaleta instead thus far. Nonetheless, with two more double Gameweeks to come, and three clean sheets in City’s last trio of games, Kompany could still be worth our attention once his suspension is out of the way.
BARRY WINNING FITNESS BATTLE
Roberto Martinez insists that Gareth Barry should be fit for Saturday’s game against Swansea, with the midfielder’s availability having been put in doubt after picking up a knock against Cardiff last weekend. Meanwhile, Martinez also confirmed that the fitness of captain Phil Jagielka and winger Steven Pienaar will be assessed prior to Saturday’s match.
The Scout Says: Despite incurring the knock mid-way through the Cardiff game, the 5.3-priced Barry battled on for the whole 90 minutes and assisted Everton’s late winner. Hardly renowned as a major Fantasy figure, Barry – who has been all but immune to rotation for his side this season – has still outscored the likes of Steven Pienaar and Ross Barkley in the Toffees midfield this term and his consistency of game time may be worth an outside punt ahead of the Toffees’ two impending double Gameweeks. Jagielka’s potential absence may see Fantasy managers eyeing up John Stones (4.1) as a cut-price option, though there’s no doubts that Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines are still the chief assets in Everton’s rearguard. A return from injury for Pienaar looks set to further problematize the midfield conundrum for Martinez and Fantasy managers, with the Spaniard already hinting at rotation in the attacking areas earlier this week.
CENTRE-BACK DILEMMA FOR SPURS
Younes Kaboul has emerged as a doubt for Tottenham’s Europa League trip to Benfica on Thursday, potentially leaving Tim Sherwood with no centre-backs for the tie. Reports suggest that Kaboul picked up an injury in his side’s defeat to Arsenal last weekend and with Michael Dawson and Vlad Chiriches still recovering from injuries themselves, and Jan Vertonghen suspended from European duties, Sherwood’s has a dilemma on his hands that could well carry on to Saturday’s match against Southampton.
The Scout Says: Whilst Sherwood will have the comfort of Vertonghen being available at the weekend, the rest of his defence is currently in a state of disarray. If neither Kaboul, Dawson nor Chiriches are able to recover for domestic matters, the Spurs boss may potentially have to utilise Sandro alongside Vertonghen in the heart of defence, and will also be keeping his fingers firmly crossed that Kyle Walker will make his comeback from the groin injury that kept him out of last Sunday’s derby. Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert will be the men looking to profit from Spurs poor fortunes on Saturday, whilst further problems for the North London side’s rearguard could be disastrous as they square up to Liverpool’s lethal attack the following weekend.
IRELAND INELIGIBLE FOR VILLA TRIP
Stoke City have confirmed that Stephen Ireland will sit out this Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa due to a clause in the contract he signed in January that bars him from facing his former club.
The Scout Says: With Jon Walters and Charlie Adam still missing through suspension, Ireland’s absence will be even more of a blow for Mark Hughes’ side. The playmaker helped inspire the Potters to their 3-1 win over West Ham last weekend, but without him or his two aforementioned teammates available for this weekend, Stoke’s sources of creativity look set to be lacking, with Hughes likely to have to shift Marko Arnautovic into the central role for Sunday’s game. Owners of Villa’s defensive assets, on the other hand, will be confident going into the fixture – only two goals conceded in their last four games highlights Villa’s current defensive form, and an under-strength Stoke attack will have to work hard to ruin that record.
