Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Villa are sweating on the fitness of Micah Richards, Papiss Cisse is set for further scans on a groin problem, whilst Claudio Ranieri fails to mention Jamie Vardy’s hamstring niggle in his pre-Gameweek press conference.
Skrtel Sidelined for Reds
Martin Skrtel revealed via Instagram that he’s poised for a six-week spell on the sidelines after being forced off with a hamstring injury at Vicarage Road.
The Scout Says: The Skrtel news adds to Jurgen Klopp’s woes as the Reds look to recover from their 3-0 hammering at Watford. Dejan Lovren is expected to be passed fit for the Boxing Day home encounter against league leaders Leicester, with Mamadou Sakho only returning to action last weekend after recovering from a similar complaint. Alternatively, Klopp could turn to Kolo Toure or Emre Can at centre-half, though considering his side have registered just two clean sheets in nine since his installation, it will be a major surprise if their backline is able to rebuff the advances of Leicester’s effervescent attack. Beyond that head-to-head, back-to-back road clashes against Sunderland and West Ham carry more promise.
Drinkwater still absent for Foxes
According to Claudio Ranieri, Danny Drinkwater is yet to shake off the hamstring knock he picked up against Chelsea and will not feature against Liverpool this Saturday. Aside from that, the Italian boss alluded to a clean bill of health, yet Jamie Vardy was conspicuously absent from the Foxes’ training pictures on Tuesday:
“Drinkwater is getting better but I don’t want to risk him. King played very well. Robert Huth comes back and is ready. Everybody is ok.”
The Scout Says: With Andy King performing admirably in the last two matches, Ranieri is clearly taking no chances with Drinkwater’s fitness as the Foxes look to extend their lead at the summit. The main issue is, of course, Ranieri’s lack of an update on Vardy, who was subbed off late on against Everton due to a slight hamstring knock. With no more updates from Ranieri prior to the trip to Anfield, Vardy’s 57% owners will still be confident in his fitness, given he has a history of playing through the pain barrier – as evidenced earlier this season when he shrugged off a wrist complaint for a number of weeks. With the fixtures coming thick and fast, though, it’s another reminder that we need to have strong benches at this time of year to plan for every eventuality.
Richards remains doubtful for Villa
Remi Garde revealed that Micah Richards – who’s been sidelined for the last three Gameweeks – has a chance of recovering from his knee injury in time to face West Ham United on Boxing Day:
“Micah is a little bit improving. I won’t know until the end of the week. It is early in the week so it’s difficult for me to give more information than that.”
The Scout Says: Ranking joint-second-bottom for clean sheets (two), the Villains have been devoid of Fantasy appeal on the defensive front. Nonetheless, the West Midlands club now embark on an exceptional run of fixtures (WHU, nor, sun, CRY, LEI, wba, whu, NOR) through to Gameweek 25, which may yet prove beneficial to their budget rearguard recruits, with Richards’ security of starts making him arguably the only certainty in Garde’s back-four.
Cisse Set for further scans
Papiss Cisse is set to undergo a second scan on the groin injury he sustained during Newcastle United’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. Steve McClaren confirmed that the Senegalese striker is a major doubt for their home tie against Everton on Boxing Day, but had more positive news regarding the rehabilitation of Jamaal Lascelles, Rolando Aarons, Emmanuel Riviere and Steven Taylor:
“We don’t know about Papiss, he’s just had one scan, I think he needs a second opinion on another to gauge the severity. How long? We still don’t know, but he’s a doubt for the weekend. Jamaal (Lascelles) trained this morning for the first time, Rolando (Aarons) will train come the end of the week, and Manu (Riviere) by next week will be training. So it’s a bit of a plus, and Stevie Taylor is coming along really well, so a fortnight into January he could be back training as well.”
The Scout Says: Cisse’s injury has potentially paved the way for Aleksandar Mitrovic to earn a run of starts in the lone-striker berth. The Serbia international fashions attempts at a greater frequency (one every 36.6 minutes) than the likes of Cisse (42.9) and Ayoze Perez (45.7) but ultimately harbours minimal allure when he’s competing with the 6.1-priced Odion Ighalo (12 goals and five assists) in the budget bracket. Although the Magpies’ form has picked up of late (two wins, one draw), they still charted joint-bottom for attempts (29) across the last four Gameweeks and with a tough upcoming schedule (EVE, wba, ars, MUN) to follow, few will be willing to bet on any of their strikers right now, with midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum looking a safer option.
Cameron Struggling for Potters
Mark Hughes admitted that it’s unlikely Geoff Cameron will feature again this calendar year as he contends with a hamstring problem. Meanwhile, Peter Crouch and Stephen Ireland will also sit out the Potters’ Christmas match-ups with their respective hamstring injuries:
“It is probably a little too close to call with Geoff at the moment given the time before the game at the weekend. I would suggest that he is more likely to miss out than to play however, which would mean we may not see him until the New Year. It’s a busy period for us and we certainly won’t be taking any risks with anyone. We have a large squad and we will utilise it if we feel the need to. It’s good to see Crouchy back amongst the group, but he is going to need a full weeks training before we can realistically look at including him.”
The Scout Says: After a number of weeks on the periphery, the 4.4-priced Cameron had started each of the two matches prior to last weekend’s home loss to Palace in central midfield and looked to offer a cheap route into a defence with seven clean sheets in ten. Fantasy managers still keen on Mark Hughes’ rearguard could still turn to Philipp Wollscheid (4.5), though Jack Butland – who’s bagged five clean sheets, seven save points and nine bonus points in his last seven starts – represents the most enticing option amongst the Potters’ defensive regulars. In light of the fact that Manchester United (10) and West Bromwich Albion (11) rank in the bottom three for shots on target across the previous four Gameweeks, Stoke could well harvest further shut-outs in their next trio of league ties (MUN, eve, wba).
Saints Stoppers on the Mend
Ronald Koeman said that Maarten Stekelenburg returned to training at the start of the week and is subsequently in line to start against Arsenal this weekend:
“He’s ok. He did training sessions today and yesterday, and if that continues for the rest of the week then he’s available.”
Similarly, Fraser Forster expressed his delight at returning to training in the wake of a lengthy layoff. The ex-Celtic shot-stopper confirmed he’ll build up his fitness with reserves outings over the next month:
“I’m delighted – obviously a lot of hard work has gone in to get back to this point and I’m thrilled to be out there with the lads. It’ll take a bit of time to get up to speed, but every day I will get better and better, so I’m just buzzing to be out there. I’ve got to take it day-by-day and see how I get on. I think I’ll play some under-21 football in the New Year and we’ll go from there. We’ve been patient the whole way and done everything correctly. That’s got to continue really. It’s important we do the next part properly, not rush and make sure I’m right and ready to come back when I do.”
The Scout Says: Southampton surpassed everyone’s expectations from a defensive perspective last term, conceding the second-fewest goals (33) and chalking up the third-most clean sheets (15). They kicked off this season with three shut-outs in the opening five Gameweeks but have since notched just two in 12 outings. Beyond their home clash against the Gunners, the Saints’ schedule throws up a favourable quartet of match-ups (whu, nor, WAT, wba) that look conducive to clean sheets. On that note, Virgil van Dijk – who’s recorded two goals already and ranks joint-fourth among all defenders for shots on target (five) – presents the most convincing case for investment, though it remains to be seen whether Ronald Koeman can halt his side’s alarming defensive decline
