Leighton Baines grabs a goal and assist for Everton reserves. Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho is ruled out for up to eight weeks. Alex Song and Diafra Sakho are close to West Ham returns, whilst Pablo Zabaleta steps up his recovery for City.

Baines Impresses for Toffees Reserves

Stepping up his rehabilitation from an ankle injury, Leighton Baines netted and supplied a free-kick assist during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston.

Discussing his rehabilitation with the local press, the left-back admitted he’s looking to step up his match sharpness with more minutes:

“Ten days ago I was floating on the edge of training, not really able to get involved, but now I’m right in it and have to deal with a lot of those things, even though it’s a little bit more controlled in training. So it’s about now going into these games and getting back to being at that point where I am able to return.”

The Scout Says: Everton failed to secure a single clean sheet in their last six fixtures, but the Toffees’ excellent upcoming run of seven match-ups (AVL, bou, CRY, nor, LEI, new, STO) keeps us interested in their defensive assets. Seamus Coleman (8.7% ownership) is the most popular choice at present, yet he’s not been the marauding powerhouse we’re accustomed to seeing, having amassed just seven attempts and one assist in nine outings. Although Baines is no longer the preferred penalty taker at Goodison Park, he’s certain to take his fair share of free-kicks upon his return, in light of the fact that Ross Barkley has failed to convert any of his 12 set-piece attempts – no player has tallied more. Moreover, the English left-back has dropped to 6.1 due to his injury layoff, rendering him an intriguing differential if he can match his attacking output from the previous campaign (two goals and nine assists).

Sakho Ruled out for Reds

Scans revealed that Mamadou Sakho sustained knee ligament damage during Liverpool’s home tie against Crystal Palace and will be out of action for six to eight weeks.

The Scout Says: Sakho’s period of convalescence will likely open the door for Dejan Lovren to establish himself as a regular fixture in the Red’s defence – he started the opening five match-ups but lost his place when Sakho recovered from a pre-season complaint. Valued at 4.9, Lovren – who failed to deliver any attacking returns across 2,037 minutes last season – is unlikely to attract any interest on the Fantasy market as the 4.8-priced Alberto Moreno offers greater attacking potential from the left-back berth. Over the last four Gameweeks, Moreno charts joint-top among defenders for attempts (six) and joint-third for key passes (six), underlining his merits ahead of a decent run of fixtures once next week’s trip to City is out of the way (SWA, new, WBA, wat, LEI, sun).

Song and Sakho Close to Hammers Comebacks

Alex Song and Diafra Sakho could both be back in the frame for the Hammers’ trip to Tottenham Hotspur next Gameweek. The former clocked up 70 minutes in a friendly on Wednesday, whilst Sakho has been out running on the pitch, with the club “very confident” he will make the White Hart Lane encounter.

The Scout Says: With Dimitri Payet out of the picture, it will be interesting to observe how Slaven Bilic reshuffles his troops to compensate for the Frenchman’s absence. One train of thought suggests that Manuel Lanzini will begin to operate from the number ten berth, freeing up a wide slot for the likes of Mauro Zarate or Sakho, with Andy Carroll retaining his lone-striker role. Considering that Carroll notched just two attempts (zero on target) across his last two starts, though, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the big Geordie dropped out for the Spurs clash, enabling Sakho to lead the line, with Zarate and Victor Moses out wide. With Song’s return offering further options in central midfield, it’s likely that Lanzini– who’s bagged two goals and assists in five outings – will serve as the only viable source of Irons attacking coverage while their line-up is in flux.

Mixed Injury News for City

Wilfried Bony has been ruled out of Ivory Coast’s back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Liberia, having sustained a hamstring injury at Aston Villa last Gameweek. Conversely, Pablo Zabaleta is progressing well in his rehabilitation and could be back in contention for Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad:

“I am doing OK, progressing well and trying to be fit for the visit of Liverpool after the international break. We’ll see how it goes in the next week or so. At the moment, the plan is to re-join the rest of the team next Monday so hopefully, everything will go well and I’ll be available for our next game.”

The Scout Says: Although back-up striker Kelechi Iheanacho has shown glimpses of his potential – netting two goals in just 192 minutes across all competitions – Manuel Pellegrini will be desperate to nurse one of his premier forwards back to health ahead of a challenging pair of home match-ups (LIV, SOU). In the event that Bony is unavailable for selection beyond the international break, Pellegrini would be tempted to fast-track Sergio Aguero – who’s hoping to train this week – into a return. Alternatively, both Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling have been utilised up top in recent outings and could offer another option if the Chilean chooses to take no risks. At the back, Zabaleta’s return to the matchday squad increases Bacary Sagna’s risk of rotation. Ally this with the fact that Gael Clichy is pushing Aleksandar Kolarov for starts and Vincent Kompany is struggling to fully shake off a calf injury, and Nicolas Otamendi (6.5) is shaping up to be an attractive route into Man City’s defence. The former Valencia centre-back has already registered more shots inside the box (seven) than Kolarov and claimed eight bonus points in his previous trio of starts.

Van Aanholt Handed Reserves Outing

Patrick van Aanholt grabbed an assist (converted penalty) and saw his goal disallowed for offside as Sunderland’s U21 outfit recorded a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao.

The Scout Says: The Dutchman has played just one of Sam Allardyce’s four matches in charge – the 6-2 defeat at Everton in Gameweek 11, where he produced an assist. Last night’s outing perhaps underlines his fall from grace this season after chalking up an impressive five assists in the campaign gone by. Although Van Aanholt has fashioned attempts (one every 152 minutes) and key passes (126 minutes) at a greater frequency that any other Black Cats defender, he seems to have slipped down the pecking order under Big Sam, with Billy Jones and DeAndre Yedlin (both 4.4) in the driving seat at full-back. Given that the Black Cats have managed a single shut-out this season (at home to a 10-man Newcastle United side) and rank top for goals conceded (26), there’s next-to-no interest in Allardyce’s backline charges right now ahead of a very unforgiving schedule (cry, STO, ars, WAT, che, mci, LIV).

Elliot Withdraws from Ireland Duties

By virtue of an ongoing thigh injury, Newcastle’s Rob Elliot will not team up with Ireland for their Euro 2016 play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina – as confirmed by Martin O’Neill. In more positive news on the goalkeeping front, the Magpies’ Karl Darlow returned to training this week so should be fit for Leicester City’s visit next Gameweek:

The Scout Says: Priced at a mere 4.0 in FPL, Elliot has helped the Magpies record two successive clean sheets in the league, though it’s worth noting that their opponents for those fixtures – Bournemouth and Stoke City – rank bottom (four) and third-bottom (five) for goals scored over the last six Gameweeks. Consequently, it’s hard to get excited about the Newcastle defence as they prepare to face off against the likes of Leicester, Crystal Palace and Tottenham in their next quartet of match-ups. Nonetheless, Daryl Janmaat remains the prime pick for those managers willing to back the Tynesiders’ rearguard, given that he places joint-third among defenders for key passes (six) over the last four Gameweeks. With question marks over Elliot’s fitness failing to go away, then, those eyeing up a cut-price stopper could turn to Palace’s Wayne Hennessey, who has earned three clean sheets in six appearances ahead of an eye-catching run of matches.