After another FA Cup interruption, we’re now counting down the hours until Gameweek 26. No surprises to see the Scout Selection Picks Committee stand firmly behind Man City this weekend, with a home game against Blackburn too tempting to ignore, despite the possible rotation concerns. Newcastle and Chelsea feature strongly, too, with just one of our XI playing away from home:
Thomas Sorensen gets the nod between the posts ahead of Stoke’s home clash with Swansea. With Tony Pulis resting several of his key players for Thursday’s Europa League trip to Valencia, the Potters boss is clearly prioritising his side’s league fixtures after a series of lethargic displays on the domestic front. Having been beaten 2-0 in the Liberty Stadium reverse back in Gameweek 7, Pulis’ side will be raring to go against a team that have scored just 10 goals on the road all season.
Vincent Kompany is a nailed-on candidate this week. With just 6 goals conceded at the Etihad all season and four clean sheets in their last five at home, confidence in City’s defence will be sky high as Blackburn pay visit to the league leaders on Saturday evening. While Roberto Mancini’s penchant for full-back rotation stung Micah Richards’ owners last time round at Villa, Kompany has played every game when available for City and offers greater security of selection.
Ryan Taylor is next up, after today’s confirmation of his return to fitness for Newcastle. Alan Pardew has strongly hinted he sees Taylor as an integral part of his midfield four now and, with a share of set-pieces also adding to his appeal, Taylor looks a strong prospect ahead of Wolves’ visit to Tyneside.
The final slot in our three-man defence goes to Gary Cahill, ahead of a home clash with former club Bolton. A start at the Bridge looks assured for the centre-half in light of John Terry’s recent knee injury and, priced at 5.2, he offers a cut-price route into the Chelsea defence. While the Blues have underperformed of late, Bolton’s woeful away form was a significant factor in Cahill’s inclusion- the Trotters have failed to net in four of their last six on the road.
With Man City up against a Blackburn side that have conceded more away goals than any other team this season, David Silva gets the nod. The Spaniard’s midweek goal against Porto is still very much in the mind- with Yaya Toure back in the first-team, Silva is likely to be afforded more attacking license against Steve Kean’s strugglers and has scored or assisted in eight of his ten home starts this term- an indication of his consistency at the Etihad.
Chelsea’s top Fantasy scorer Juan Mata makes a strong case for inclusion. Mata has averaged over 6 points per game at the Bridge, with double figure hauls against Arsenal and United amongst his tally. A goal against Napoli in midweek, as Chelsea switched to 4-2-3-1, was indicative of his importance to Andre Villas-Boas’ team right now and, with a home clash against Bolton on the horizon, he looks the man most likely to spark the London outfit into life tomorrow.
We’re sticking our neck out with the inclusion of Adel Taarabt. With Djibril Cisse suspended, the Moroccan has been afforded a role in the hole, tucked in behind Bobby Zamora for QPR and has produced his best performances of the season over the last couple of games. With Fulham rolling up to Loftus Road this weekend, the home side will be all-out for revenge after the 6-0 reverse earlier this season and Taarabt could well prove the difference as Mark Hughes’ side go searching for a crucial three points.
With Sunderland heading to the Hawthorns, West Brom’s home form makes Stephane Sessegnon impossible to ignore. Despite excelling on the road, Roy Hodgson’s side have picked up one point in the last six in front of their own fans and, with the Benin international having scored or assisted 50% (7 of 14) of the Black Cats’ goals on the road, the chance of attacking returns seems more than a distinct possibility.
Sergio Aguero is another nailed-on selection this week. The Argentine has returned double figures five times at the Etihad already this term and, with Blackburn next on the agenda, it’s no real surprise to see he’s runaway leader in the Captain Poll. Averaging 8.6 points per home game, with attacking returns in all but two of his eleven Etihad appearances, Aguero could be set to plunder the points against the Ewood Park outfit.
While there’s an argument that Aguero and/or Silva could be potentially rested or benched tomorrow, we’re confident that, with Roberto Mancini looking to stretch City’s lead to five points on Saturday evening prior to United’s trip to Norwich, he’ll field his strongest team. With the Italian declaring today that his side should “treat every game as a final”, his selection tomorrow will hopefully reflect that statement of intent; as far as we’re concerned, with the Fantasy potential on offer, it’s far more of a risk to exclude the pair than to draft them into our XI. With two games in twelve days after the Rovers match, City’s schedule is hardly the most punishing, either.
A home clash with Wolves makes Demba Ba an obvious choice. The Newcastle forward has netted in each of his last three games at the Sports Direct Arena, including a double figure points haul in the 3-0 win over Man United. Having already scored against Wolves this term, Ba will be in confident form as Alan Pardew’s side look to banish the memory of the Gameweek 25 hammering at the Lane tomorrow afternoon. With the likes of Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye and Ryan Taylor all set to return, the Magpies look poised to give new Wolves boss Terry Connor a debut to forget.
The final place goes to Robin Van Persie. In truth, Arsenal’s recent poor form had us favouring Wayne Rooney but, with Sir Alex Ferguson admitting his star forward has been struggling with a throat infection for a week, there was sufficient doubt in our minds to turn to the ever-reliable Gunners skipper instead. Arsene Wenger’s side are afforded the perfect opportunity to banish their recent poor form as Spurs make their way to the Emirates and Van Persie-with thirteen goals in his last ten home starts- will be keen to lead by example, as the Gunners look to cut their rivals’ league lead down to 7 points.
