David Silva is optimistic he will be back in the frame for City’s cup clash with Chelsea this weekend after sustaining a hamstring problem against United on Monday. John Obi Mikel reckons Rafa Benitez’s rotation policy has been detrimental to some players’ performances, Michu looks set to move back up front for Swansea’s next match, Ashkan Dejagah could return in time for Fulham’s double Gameweek, while Gareth Bale is undergoing an unusual recovery method in order to ensure he’ll be back in time for Tottenham’s Gameweek 34 clash with City:

David Silva remains confident he will be fit to face Chelsea in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final. The Spaniard was subbed off with a hamstring problem in the last few seconds of Monday’s Manchester derby and post-match, Roberto Mancini had revealed he expected Silva to miss out against the Blues but according to the playmaker:

“I have to have tests done tomorrow (Wednesday). We will see the results of the tests and we will see whether I can be ready to play on Sunday or not. I felt it at the end and I am still feeling it now. We will have to wait until tomorrow and see what the tests show. Hopefully I will be able to recover for Sunday. It would be a big blow for me. It is a game every player wants to play. Let’s see what happens tomorrow but if I can’t there are always team-mates that can play.”

A return to fitness would bring Silva into consideration for City’s midweek home clash with Wigan. While many Fantasy managers are understandably focussing on the double Gameweek options, the City midfielder could prove a canny alternative – he has returned double figures in three of his last four at the Etihad and with a superb run of fixtures to follow, many may decide to snap him up in advance if the prognosis comes back positive.

John Obi Mikel reckons Rafa Benitez’s constant rotation is starting to affect some Chelsea players’ form. With a Europa League clash against Rubin Kazan on Thursday followed by a FA Cup semi-final with City this weekend and league game at Fulham the following Wednesday, the Blues’ hectic schedule shows little down of slowing down, with the Nigerian admitting:

“You can say some of us are a bit tired. We knew it was going to be tough with the run of games that we have, so we were kind of prepared for it. The manager is doing his job by rotating the team as well, so it keeps some of the players a bit fresh going into every game. It is hard to maintain that level. You want to keep that rhythm going, that level going, and when sometimes you have been rested and you come back, you kind of lose that rhythm. It is hard to take, but you know it’s something that everyone has accepted since the manager came in. He said from the start that he was going to rotate the team, so we have to get on with it.”

Although the Blues continue to progress in the cups and have won three of their last four league matches, the recent Fantasy returns of midfield pair Juan Mata and Eden Hazard certainly back up Mikel’s claim. The duo have a single goal between them in the last five Gameweeks, with Mata providing just one assist in Chelsea’s last six league fixtures. Up top, the situation is even more alarming – Demba Ba has netted once since Gameweek 22 and Fernando Torres has failed to score since Gameweek 18, suggesting Benitez’s chopping and changing is proving detrimental the more the season unfolds.

Still on the subject of Chelsea strikers, Benitez remains hopeful Ba will be ready for the weekend cup clash against City after he was subbed off with an ankle problem against Sunderland last Sunday. The former Newcastle man is ineligible to feature in the Europa League and with Torres set to lead the line in Russia, Ba would start against Roberto Mancini’s side as Benitez alternates his forwards – if he fails to make it in time, a start for Torres against City is likely to make Ba favourite to feature in the Gameweek 33 trip to Fulham. According to Benitez yesterday:

“Demba Ba did not train today, just as a precaution. It’s not too serious. He will not go to Moscow. Hopefully he can train here and be okay for the weekend.”

Martin Jol is optimistic Ashkan Dejagah will recover from an ankle problem in time for the first match of Fulham’s double Gameweek away to Villa this Saturday. The 5.5 priced FPL midfielder missed out last weekend but had previously started the previous four, supplying three assists; his omission saw Stanislav Manolev start on the right flank in the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle but Dejagah looks set to be given the nod if fit as Jol prepares for a pair of fixtures over the next few days which also pits the Cottagers against Chelsea the following Wednesday.

Michael Laudrup has revealed he could be set to drop Luke Moore to the bench for Swansea’s trip to Southampton in Gameweek 34. Moore notched in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Norwich and has now scored three times in his last four appearances but according to his manager:

“If you look at team against Norwich, I wanted him to play with Michu just behind. Maybe Michu will be up front in the next game again because I want another kind of midfield because the game is different.”

The quote gives us a window into Laudrup’s thinking, with Michu’s role clearly changing in accordance with how his managers views the opposition backline. Having mainly played behind Danny Graham at the start of the season, the Spaniard has flitted between the role in “the hole” and lone forward berth but while the first half of the season harvested 13 goals in 19 appearances, Michu has netted just four times since. Fortunately for his owners, he has scored in each of the last two and with a double Gameweek 36 on the horizon after this weekend’s blank, many will be content to simply bench him in light of the recent return to form.

Finally, reports suggest Tottenham are employing an unusual method in order to ensure Gareth Bale’s quick return to fitness. The Welshman is expected to be back in time for the Gameweek 34 clash with City and his club are using a “blood spinning” technique in order to quicken his recovery. The process “involves a small sample of a person’s blood being injected out of the body before it is spun to increase the concentration of the growth hormone. The blood sample is then injected into the athlete’s problem area which can help an injury heal five times faster”. Spurs have already used the procedure on Jermain Defoe earlier this term and are confident Bale’s recovery time will be boosted as the Welshman remains in line for a quick return to action after injury his ankle against FC Basel in the Europa League last Thursday.