Sergio Aguero is amongst the goals as Man City establish a two-goal lead in Kiev. Harry Kane is expected to be fit in time for Tottenham’s home clash with Swansea, the defensive injuries start to ease for United, whilst West Ham receive positive news at both ends of the pitch ahead of their home clash with Sunderland.
City grab first leg advantage
Manchester City rolled out the big guns as they ran out 3-1 victors over Dynamo Kiev in the away leg of their Champions League tie. Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure inflicted the damage, while Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling and Toure were awarded assists.
The Scout Says: In response to Man City’s upcoming blank, Sergio Aguero currently sits third in terms of “transfers out” (69,000) this week. Considering that the Sky Blues lock horns with Liverpool’s leaky defence in Gameweek 28 and then enjoy two mouth-watering fixtures (AVL, nor), though, the majority of Aguero’s 30% ownership will take solace from last night’s strike and be happy to hold for now. Silva’s excellent display at the number-ten berth against the Ukrainian outfit might persuade Pellegrini to adopt a similar strategy in the league, given that the former Valencia recruit has flattered to deceive on the wings of late. On that note, Kevin De Bruyne’s absence has starved us of a viable route into Man City’s midfield, with Toure, Silva and Sterling tallying just one goal and an assist between them over the last six Gameweeks. Given that Pellegrini’s troops still have a double to follow and travel to Norwich in Gameweek 30, at a time where at least eight teams will face blanks, we’ll be keeping a keen eye on their form men once this weekend’s blank is out of the way.
Kane expected to be fit for weekend
Mauricio Pochettino revealed that Harry Kane and Mousa Dembele will be sidelined for Tottenham Hotspur’s second leg against Fiorentina this evening. The Argentine boss expects the former to be available for selection by the weekend but admits that the latter faces up to two weeks in the treatment room:
“We expect Mousa to be [out for] longer than Harry – 10 days to two weeks. It’s not a big issue but similar to before. It’s small but we have a lot of games ahead so it’s come at a very bad moment. Harry Kane will be available for Sunday – we expect and we hope he’s available. Today he wasn’t here because he saw the specialist about his nose. On medical advice, it’s impossible for Harry to play tomorrow. In the last few minutes against Crystal Palace he played with a broken nose. Today we need to fix the problem – it’s impossible for him to play tomorrow but he’s available for Sunday.”
In more positive news on the injury front, Erik Lamela (illness) and Hugo Lloris returned to training on Wednesday after recovering from their respective complaints.
The Scout Says: Judging from Dembele’s projected return date, he looks certain to miss Spurs’ next two league ties (SWA, whu) and is a major doubt for the North London derby on March 5. Tom Carroll is also still contending with an Achilles injury, so at least in the short term, it may well be that Dele Alli – instead of Ryan Mason or Nabil Bentaleb – will partner Eric Dier in the double pivot. Considering that he’s mustered just two goals and as many assists in 10 outings as a deep-lying central midfielder, Alli’s 31% ownership will be wary of such an occurrence. Ultimately, Alli’s deployment behind the attacking quartet would augment Christian Eriksen’s appeal as a source of Spurs offensive coverage. Despite being overshadowed by his more affordable counterpart, the 8.6-priced Denmark international boasts three goals and a trio of assists in five starts, and has amassed the joint-most shots on target (six) among midfielders across the previous four Gameweeks. Moreover, the doubts surrounding Kane’s fitness and Alli’s positioning might convince more Fantasy mangers to slap the captain’s armband on Jamie Vardy or Riyad Mahrez for Leicester City’s home tie against Norwich City – the former notched four goals in as many starts, but the latter has chalked up seven more double-figure hauls (10 compared to three) and is the far more explosive option.
Klopp reluctant to tinker
Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Dejan Lovren will sit out Liverpool’s Europa League clash against FC Augsburg because of illness. Meanwhile, Joe Allen and Adam Lallana are closing in on a return to full fitness, but Martin Skrtel is still nursing a hamstring injury.
Quizzed as to whether he intends to rest players ahead of the Capital One Cup final on Sunday, Klopp asserted that rotation is out of the question:
“If you think about the second step before you make the first step, you will always fall down. So there’s no other chance. We have to be fully concentrated and give everything for this game. If we think, for example, to leave this player out then for sure he will be injured in a training session. So it’s not allowed. We have to be fully concentrated on this game and then go to the next one. That’s how we select the team. The only other thing we have to think about is who is available?”
The Scout Says: One would imagine that the Merseysiders will once again line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation at home to Augsburg, then, with Roberto Firmino operating behind lone striker Daniel Sturridge. Given that Firmino failed to register a single attempt in a deeper-lying role in the 6-0 win against Villa and faces two blanks across the next four Gameweeks, it’s little surprise that he’s the fourth-most transferred-out (49,000) midfielder this week. With a couple of double Gameweeks still to be factored in somewhere along the line, the Reds’ display against City at Wembley this Sunday affords us the chance of some early scouting, with the fit-again Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge back on our radars for the run-in.
Rojo back in United squad
Speaking ahead of Manchester United’s Europa League encounter with FC Midtjylland, Louis van Gaal said that David De Gea will not recover in time to make the matchday squad. Conversely, Marcos Rojo will be named among the substitutes but is not fit to start. Elsewhere, Antonio Valencia is also stepping up his rehabilitation from a foot problem:
“I was hoping for that [De Gea’s return] but he shall not be involved, that is already certain. Valencia didn’t train with our first squad, only individually as part of his own programme. Rojo has only trained with the second team yesterday and today with the first squad so he’s on the bench but is only good for 20 minutes or something like that.”
The Scout Says: Although Cameron Borthwick-Jackson – whose spell as a budget prospect looks to have ended – shook off the knock he sustained in the FA Cup, Rojo’s return offers a boost to the Red Devils’ depleted defence before a visit from Arsenal. The Argentina international will struggle to make the starting XI for that clash, but the fact that Man United conceded just three goals in the six matches he’s started this term bodes well for Rojo’s eventual reinstatement. The Red Devils’ blank in Gameweek 30 negates his short-term appeal, but the 5.0-priced defender will certainly factor into our thinking when their two doubles come around. As for Valencia (5.1), he could yet emerge as the prime route into Man United’s defence if he can nail down the right-back berth in the final quarter of the campaign.
Injuries ease for Hammers
According to West Ham United’s head of medical science, Stijn Vandenbroucke, Winston Reid and Andy Carroll are back in full training and could play a part against Sunderland on Saturday. Enner Valencia, however, will undergo further assessments to determine his availability:
“Diafra Sakho, Winston Reid and Andy Carroll are all back in training and will now spend the next few days building up their fitness. Diafra has obviously been out for three months and will need a bit more time, while Andy and Winston will hope to play some part in the games that we have got coming up next week. Enner Valencia has seen a specialist and is doing individual training at the moment. We will know in the next few days if he has a part to play in the three games that we face next week.”
The Scout Says: In the wake of Emmanuel Emenike’s brace against Blackburn Rovers, Slaven Bilic has a potential selection headache on his hands this Gameweek. Irrespective of who is chosen to spearhead the Hammers’ offense, the lack of a standout candidate should promote a fair amount of rotation between forwards, forcing us to source attacking coverage from their midfield. Dimitri Payet’s recent flourish (three goals and two assists in two outings in all competitions) reaffirmed his status as the choice pick, but it’s worth noting that the 4.9-priced Manuel Lanzini places top among the Irons’ midfield contingent for shot frequency (one ever 36.8 minutes) and bagged three goals in five outings earlier in the season. With a blank Gameweek 30 just around the corner and their blank Gameweek 35 also yet to be arranged, though, few will be willing to load up on the Hammers until the fixtures are rescheduled.
