Chelsea are hit hard by injuries at both ends of the pitch. Manuel Pellegrini is still uncertain over a couple of City’s key players for the midweek clash with PSG, whilst Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson concedes he’s still playing through the pain barrier.
Aston Villa
Caretaker boss Eric Black revealed that Ciaran Clark sat out Aston Villa’s 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea because of injury:
“Ciaran told us he was feeling his calf. We tested it this morning but he was ruled out. I am hoping it won’t be too long. But we will have a better idea tomorrow when we get them in again.”
Bournemouth
Having suffered a hamstring complaint with DR Congo during the international break, Benik Afobe missed Bournemouth’s loss to Manchester City. Eddie Howe believes the former Arsenal frontman may face up to four weeks in the treatment room:
“Benik could be out for a month. I don’t know if it will be that long but I have put that time scale on it. It is a low-grade hamstring strain. We are all disappointed he did it. It happened while he was training with Congo so we hope to get him back soon.”
Howe also offered an update on Adam Smith, who was forced off with a groin injury he’s been nursing for six weeks:
“Adam has been carrying it for around six weeks and has been managing to play through the games. It just got a little too much for him against City.”
Chelsea
Guus Hiddink confirmed that Chelsea will monitor the progress of John Terry (Achilles tendon) and Gary Cahill (tendon) after the centre-back pairing picked up injuries before the Villa encounter:
“John had a little problem in his Achilles tendon. Gary came from the England v Holland game and appeared to have an injury. The situation was surprising for me, he also had a tendon problem. He didn’t play but he came back with an injury, that’s the reason he wasn’t in the squad today, but we’ll see what happens with his progress in the upcoming days.”
Elsewhere in the Blues camp, Willian wasn’t in contention because of a knock, while Hiddink fears that Loic Remy will play no further part this campaign due to the tendon problem he aggravated in the first half at Villa Park:
“It is a tendon, a groin problem. I think he will be out for a long period.”
Remy’s absence, along with Diego Costa’s latest suspension, could well bring Alexandre Pato into the first XI for the first time since arriving on loan earlier in the year. The Brazilian bagged a goal and assist off the bench after replacing Remy early on against Villa and looks in line for a rare start away to Swansea next weekend.
Liverpool
Although Jordan Henderson continues to play through the pain barrier as he contends with a chronic heel problem, the Liverpool captain insists he is improving week by week:
“Sometimes I can be my own worst enemy if I’m playing with an injury or different things. I feel as though now I’m starting to get back to the physicality — that’s a big part of my game — and when that’s correct then everything else seems to flow much better. After games it still gets a bit sore but it’s much better than how it was. When it completely goes will be whenever I have a rest but I’m not sure if I’ll have one of them any time soon. Until then I just have to manage it. I felt good against Spurs and I feel better physically all the time and I’m getting back to where I want to be.”
With eight fixtures in the final six Gameweeks, including a couple of doubles, Liverpool’s key protagonists are on our wildcard radars. Although he’s started 13 of the Reds’ last 15 league matches, Henderson has struggled as a Fantasy forced under Jurgen Klopp and earned two goals and as many assists since the German’s arrival in Gameweek 9. With Roberto Firmino still nursing a hamstring problem, Philippe Coutinho’s weekend strike has earned his plenty of new owners since the weekend, though Adam Lallana (7.3), with three goals and as many assists in seven, has also impressed amongst the Reds’ mid-price options.
Manchester City
Manuel Pellegrini admitted that Manchester City’s midweek Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain might arrive too soon for injured duo Joe Hart (calf) and Yaya Toure (heel):
“Tomorrow we are going to start thinking about the next game and we are going to see what happens with Joe and Yaya. It may be difficult for them to be fit for Wednesday, but we will see if they improve in the next few days.”
In light of the Sky Blues’ three clean sheets in four outings ahead of their double Gameweek 34 (che, new), their back line invites investment from wildcarders. In the absence of Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi (6.5) represents the only secure route into Man City’s rearguard, so Hart’s return to the side would afford us greater flexibility in sourcing defensive coverage.
Shifting our focus onto Man City’s midfield, Kevin De Bruyne reaffirmed his status as the choice pick with a goal against the Cherries, yet his big-ticket valuation (10.2) may yet mean the 8.5-priced Toure remains a viable option. In the event that the Ivorian powerhouse can prove his fitness before the weekend, some managers might be tempted by a midfielder that mustered the joint-fourth-most attempts (12) across his previous four starts.
Manchester United
Louis van Gaal said that Daley Blind – who was withdrawn at the 82-minute mark against Everton because of fatigue:
“Daley Blind has played nearly all the matches so I need to give him rest. I don’t want to because he is playing very well. I shall give him two days off so then he is alright I think. He has played every match this season, more or less, and he is at the end of his strengths. I shall give him two days off this week, and then he is OK again.”
The Dutch boss also explained that Marcos Rojo was replaced at the break after struggling with jet lag:
“I think [Marcos] Rojo had a problem with his jet-lag, so I changed him. He came back [from international duty] on Thursday but I had to play him.”
With Luke Shaw still sidelines, Rojo is clearly Van Gaal’s favoured option at left-back, but the fact he’s not lasted the distance in four of Man United’s last five match-ups is a concern for prospective investors prior to their double Gameweek 34 (AVL & CRY). As the Red Devils gear up for an 11-day period in which they embark on four fixtures, Chris Smalling and David De Gea serve as the safest routes into a defence that’s accrued two more home clean sheets (10) than the rest of the field.
Norwich City
Alex Neil informed reporters that Russell Martin missed Norwich’s win over Newcastle United due to a minor injury:
“He picked up a knock I think on Thursday, which was disappointing for us because Russell has done well, but I thought Andre Wisdom came in and handled (Moussa) Sissoko very well.”
