Aaron Lennon has returned to full training for Spurs ahead of the trip to Wigan. Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole are included in Chelsea’s squad to face FC Basel, Tony Pulis fears Marc Wilson could be out for the season, James Milner is hopeful of returning for Man City this weekend, while Michael Laudrup reveals Swansea’s focus on defence ahead of games against three of the top four:
Spurs were handed a boost ahead of this weekend’s trip to Wigan after Aaron Lennon returned to training yesterday. The winger has failed to feature since picking up a knee problem in the Europa League home clash with FC Basel three weeks ago but, after narrowly failing to recover in time for Sunday’s win over City, now looks set to return to the Spurs XI for the DW encounter. When available, Lennon has been an automatic pick under Andre Villas-Boas; he started the first 28 Gameweeks before being briefly sidelined with a hamstring tweak and his comeback now places question marks over the Tottenham midfield ahead of the double Gameweek 33. If Villas-Boas rolls out the 4-3-3 formation that finished the win over City, Lennon and Gareth Bale can be expected to take the wide roles, placing doubts over Gylfi Sigurdsson and Clint Dempsey’s game time. Alternatively, the latter two are perhaps more likely to battle it out for a role on the left of a 4-2-3-1, with Bale tucking in behind a lone forward and Lennon installed on the right.
James Milner is optimistic of a quick return to action for City this weekend. The midfielder was forced off with a hamstring injury in last week’s loss at Spurs but speaking to his club’s official website, he has revealed:
“I had a tight hamstring and as frustrating as it was to come off, I think it was the right decision. Obviously we were 1-0 up at White Hart Lane when I went off and it was such a big game so you want to play every minute you can. But I think it was the right decision to come off, if I had stayed on the pitch I might have torn my hamstring and been out for the rest of the season. I’ve done some work with the physios the past few days.. I’m hoping to get back into training and hopefully be fine for the weekend which is obviously a positive.”
Milner had teed up Samir Nasri for City’s opener at the Lane and has also grabbed a goal against United in the last three Gameweeks. With a double just around the corner, he’s starting to blink on Fantasy radars – coming in at 6.1 in FPL and with a 0.8% ownership , Milner has started 10 of the last 13 league fixtures for Roberto Mancini’s side and could well be worth consideration as a Gameweek 36 differential if he can prove his fitness.
Michael Laudrup has revealed Swansea’s approach in Saturday’s goalless draw with Southampton was designed specifically to prevent the Saints from creating many chances after a recent run of poor defensive displays:
“I said that to the team before the Southampton game that we had conceded two goals in each of the last four games, even at home, and we should have the mentality to keep a clean sheet. We always create chances, but if we have a bad day in front of goal and we defend well it is 0-0. But if we concede one or two goals we will need two or three to win and that is too much to ask. That’s what’s happened in the previous four games, so to get a clean sheet was a big positive.”
Having picked up their first clean sheet in five attempts, Swansea now face a daunting schedule, with games against Chelsea and United on either side of a double Gameweek that hands them a home clash with City before travelling to Wigan. From a Fantasy perspective, it’s debatable whether a defensive-minded approach will prove fruitful against three of the current top four – if Laudrup intends on keeping things tight, however, Michu’s owners may be a little concerned. The Spaniard had notched in back-to-back matches prior to last weekend and, having scored against United and Wigan already this term, in addition to netting away to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup, will be confident of returning to goal scoring form should Laudrup afford him a little more offensive freedom.
Chelsea’s defensive injury worries are starting to ease after Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill were included in the squad to face FC Basel in the first leg of tonight’s Europa League semi-final. While this is good news for the Blues as they battle for European silverware and a third place finish, the pair’s return is set to further muddy the waters when it comes to double Gameweek 36, with increased competition for places at the back under Rafa Benitez. The duo have missed the last four league matches due to hamstring and knee problems respectively but with Benitez revealing “they are both fine†and will train ahead of tonight’s match, Fantasy managers may be thinking twice over opting for David Luiz due to Cahill’s return, with John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic also in the frame at centre-half. Cole, however, had played all but one league under Benitez but has failed to flourish going forward, producing just one assist since the Spaniard arrived last November.
Tony Pulis has admitted Marc Wilson and Matt Etherington are both doubtful for this weekend’s home game with Norwich, amid concerns that the duo may not feature again this season:
“Both of them are having intensive treatment and it’s a case of keeping everything crossed for them. They are clearly a concern, and at this stage we don’t know when, or if, they will be back. They have been a miss, there’s no denying that.”
Wilson continues to be plagued with a hamstring injury which has curtailed his game time over the last few matches. Subbed off after 51 minutes of the Gameweek 32 defeat by Villa with the problem, the left-back missed the following league match but returned for last weekend’s win over QPR only to limped off after 61 minutes after suffering a recurrence of the injury. With the likes of Andy Wilkinson and Geoff Cameron offering cover at left-back, Pulis certainly has no reason to rush Wilson back for this weekend’s home clash with Norwich.
After Luis Suarez’s 10-match ban was announced yesterday, Liverpool were dealt another blow after it was revealed Steven Gerrard will require shoulder surgery over the summer. The Reds skipper has been bothered with the problem for a number of weeks but is set to finish the final four games of the season before going under the knife and could be joined in this weekend’s squad to face Newcastle by Fabio Borini, who returned to full training earlier this week. The Italian has been plagued with injuries in his debut season on Merseyside but has recovered from a shoulder dislocation and may be handed a sub role against the Magpies, according to Liverpool coach Mike Marsh:
“It has gone really well. He’s been involved in training for the last week or so, non-contact. He had the all-clear from the surgeon and joined in during the last couple of days and it’s looking really good. He might be included on the bench at the weekend, it might be the week after. He’s coming to the time when he can be included off the bench pretty soon. We’ve hardly been able to use him so it will be like an extra player. We’re looking forward to that.”
