Manchester City progress to the Champions League semi-finals thanks to a late Kevin de Bruyne winner against PSG. Phil Jagielka is ruled out of Everton’s next two league outings, West Ham’s Diafra Sakho is sidelined for a week, whilst the injuries ease for Palace up front ahead of tonight’s clash with the Toffees.
De Bruyne Fires City into Semis
Manchester City progressed through to the Champions League semi-finals by virtue of a 1-0 home win (3-2 aggregate) over Paris Saint-Germain. Kevin De Bruyne scored the all-important goal (courtesy of a Fernando assist) at the 76-minute mark, before being replaced by a fit-again Yaya Toure eight minutes later. David Silva and Nicolas Otamendi both recovered from their respective knocks and were named in the starting line-up.
The Scout Says: De Bruyne hasn’t missed a beat since completing his recovery from a knee complaint, notching three goals in as many starts across all competitions. Assuming Manuel Pellegrini’s selection policy against West Bromwich Albion is anything to go by, however, the scheduling of the Champions League semi-finals (first leg: April 26/27; second leg: May 3/4) could render City players a domestic rotation risk for their league clashes against Stoke (Gameweek 35, April 24) and Southampton (Gameweek 36, May 1). Those who invested heavily in Pellegrini’s side for their double Gameweek 34 may be soon be looking for an exit route if the Chilean plans to chop and change again.
Jagielka blow for Toffees
Roberto Martinez revealed that Phil Jagielka has been ruled out of Everton’s upcoming league ties against Crystal Palace and Southampton following a scan on the hamstring injury he sustained last weekend:
“With Phil Jagielka the scan has revealed he is going to miss tomorrow’s game and miss the game at the weekend against Southampton. At that point we will have to assess it on a daily basis. It is such a congested fixture list that it would be dangerous to give a date on when he will be back.”
The Spanish boss said that Tom Cleverley is a doubt for the Palace match with a knock, while Ross Barkley is likely to be passed fit:
“[On Cleverley] I don’t think it is going to be a long-term problem but at the moment he’s quite doubtful for tomorrow. Ross has progressed really well and the knock that he had is quite soft. I would expect him to be fit and available.”
The Scout Says: Jagielka’s prognosis is gutting news for the 23,000 Fantasy managers who recruited the Everton captain for the club’s successive double Gameweeks. Although the 5.1-priced centre-back might return for the Toffees’ trip to Anfield next week, the limited clean-sheet potential that fixture harbours (and a blank Gameweek 35) could prompt Jagielka’s 7% ownership to source a replacement. Looking at the short-term ramifications, Ramiro Funes Mori (5.5) is poised for a return to the starting XI, having recently been usurped by John Stones. Barkley’s 34% owners will be desperate for the mercurial midfielder to showcase improved attacking intent at Selhurst Park, given that he mustered just four attempts in his last quartet of starts.
Hammers’ Sakho ruled out for a week
Amid reports of friction between player and manager, Slaven Bilic asserted that Diafra Sakho missed West Ham’s draw with Arsenal because of an injury and not through a display of dissent:
“The situation with Diafra is very simple. He reported an injury after training on Friday. Yesterday he had a scan, which showed a little bit of a problem and he will be out for one week.”
The Scout Says: Due to injuries and rotation, the Irons’ forward line has been tricky to penetrate this season, ensuring we focus our Fantasy attentions on their impressive array of attacking midfielders. Nonetheless, Andy Carroll’s eye-catching hat-trick against Arsenal brings him back into relevancy ahead of West Ham’s double Gameweek 34 (lei & WAT). The former Liverpool frontman boasts four goals in three outings and ranked top among forwards last Gameweek for penalty-box touches (13), attempts (ten), shots inside the box (nine) and efforts on target (five), underlining his differential potential (0.4% ownership). Leicester’s exceptional home record (seven clean sheets in eight) serves to diminish Carroll’s appeal, though the fact that only three teams have conceded more attempts from set pieces (51) plays right into the big man’s strengths.
Injuries ease for Eagles
Alan Pardew offered a squad update ahead of Crystal Palace’s home clash against Everton on Wednesday, confirming that Connor Wickham and Emmanuel Adebayor are available for selection. As for James McArthur, the Scotland international trained this week and is targeting a return when Manchester United pay a visit on April 20:
“Wickham was involved on Saturday and will be involved again for this game. Whether he starts or not we’ll have to wait and see. As far as Adebayor is, he is now fit. He’s going into the squad. McArthur is very close, he’s training with us now and he’ll probably, if all goes well, feature in the Man United game, and that will be a huge boost for us before the FA Cup semi-final.”
The Scout Says: Although Wickham netted braces in his last two starts and should be fit to feature prominently during Palace’s double Gameweek 34 (ars & mun), the tricky nature of those fixtures, allied with the increased competition up front and the subsequent blank Gameweek 35 deters investment. Those Fantasy managers that gambled on the likes of Yannick Bolasie (50,000 new owners) – who remains the safest route into the Londoners’ offense – to find form across the Eagles’ successive doubles will hope he can capitalise on an Everton rearguard that failed to record a shut-out in their previous six matches.
