Ward injury opens door for budget defender Kelly to start

Budget defender Martin Kelly (£4.1m) could be set for a run of games in the Crystal Palace side from Gameweek 14 onwards.

The former Liverpool man has come on for an injured Joel Ward (£4.5m) in each of the last two matches.

On Thursday afternoon, Palace manager Roy Hodgson ruled out Ward for “several weeks”, opening the door for Kelly to start regularly during the Christmas period.

VIEW PREDICTED LINE-UPS IN FULL HERE

Between now and the end of the calendar year there are seven Gameweeks so Kelly owners could get several rounds of action out of Ward’s absence, even if it lasts no longer than three weeks.

With John Lundstram (£5.0m) very much out of the budget defenders category this season following his huge success and Diego Rico (£4.3m) perhaps coming to the end of his usefulness, regular starts for Kelly could make a huge difference for Fantasy managers.

There are favourable fixtures on the horizon for Palace too with no matches against last season’s top-six until Gameweek 22, further improving the case for investment in the Eagles’ assets.

🗣 | Hodgson: “Joel Ward is the only injury we have. He will be out for some weeks but other than that we have recovered well.”#FPL #FantasyPL #FFScout #GW14 #cpfc pic.twitter.com/aX5B4i8bcw

— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) November 28, 2019

Meanwhile, there will be plenty of attention on the West Ham squad ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge, with a large number of managers still invested in Chelsea assets.

The Hammers will obviously be without Issa Diop (£4.5m) after he earned a one-match suspension for a fifth yellow card of the season against Spurs.

That could see either Fabian Balbuena (£4.3m) or Declan Rice (£4.8m) fill in at centre-back, although Manuel Pellegrini gave no indication which of them was most likely to do so.

However, the West Ham manager did touch on the recent poor form of goalkeeper Roberto (£4.4m).

Pellegrini has called upon the Spaniard to show some improvement which could suggest that David Martin (£4.0m) will finally come in for him.

However, Pellegrini insisted that “we will see” when asked if there would be a change between the sticks and, of course, a call to arms could suggest he is willing to give Roberto another go. If so, that could be good news for Chelsea’s attack.

Jack Wilshere (£4.7m) and Manuel Lanzini (£6.2m) remain ruled out with abdominal and shoulder problems respectively.

🗣 | Potter: “Aaron Connolly is back in the squad and training now too.”#FPL #FantasyPL #FFScout #GW14 #bhafc pic.twitter.com/WsFiO9zrRE

— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) November 28, 2019

Brighton have received good news ahead of their trip to Liverpool as Aaron Connolly (£4.7m) has recovered from his groin injury.

Also returning will be Lewis Dunk (£4.6m) who missed Gameweek 13 through suspension.

Meanwhile, Solly March (£4.7m) is a doubt with a tight hamstring while Bernardo‘s (£4.3m) recent outings with the Under-23s is not enough for him to be ready for Saturday.

Very little is likely to change at Burnley for Gameweek 14. Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£5.9m) is still out with a long-term hamstring problem although Sean Dyche continues to report good progress.

Meanwhile, fourth-choice centre-forward Matej Vydra (£5.3m) is back from a hip injury but is unlikely to come in for either of the in-form strikers Chris Wood (£6.2m) and Ashley Barnes (£6.3m).

The only enforced alteration for Dyche to make is to replace the suspended Ashley Westwood (£5.4m), who picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign at Watford, earning a one-match suspension in the process.

🗣 | Dyche: “Danny Drinkwater comes into the thinking for the weekend. He has worked well.”#FPL #FantasyPL #FFScout #GW14 #TwitterClarets pic.twitter.com/Uxv3bboD22

— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) November 28, 2019

Danny Drinkwater (£4.4m) has been reported as back in contention for a start but it seems more likely that Jeff Hendrick (£5.4m) slots into the middle with Jack Cork (£5.0m).

Daryl Janmaat (£4.4m) remains out with a knee problem for Watford while Craig Dawson (£4.8m) will not be risked after sustaining a head injury against Burnley.

Christian Kabasele (£4.3m) also joins the injury list, which could be good news for Southampton assets while Roberto Pereyra (£5.6m) is still a serious doubt.

Saving the best until last, the Saints might be without midfielder Sofiane Boufal (£5.5m) this weekend after an unfortunate incident in his kitchen.

While not quite as unfortunate as Dave Beasant and his infamous bottle of salad cream, the Moroccan international stubbed his toe on the kitchen table whilst at home.

According to manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, the big toe is not broken but the swelling has stopped Boufal training for the last three days.

🗣 | Hasenhüttl: “Boufal hit his toe, at home, on the table. He couldn’t train for 3 days now, and it is a little bit swollen still. It would be difficult for the weekend I think, next week yeah. It’s not broken, but it’s very swollen.”#FPL #FantasyPL #FFScout #GW14 #saintsfc pic.twitter.com/vZCtMXL4Rv

— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) November 28, 2019

Southampton will also be without Stuart Armstrong (£5.2m) when they face Watford as he is set for roughly two weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

VIEW PREDICTED LINE-UPS IN FULL HERE