Scout Scribbles – Torres Nets in Blues Draw

Fernando Torres strikes to earn Chelsea a draw in their Champions League clash with Galatasaray. Mesut Ozil is back in training for Arsenal, Jonjo Shelvey is ruled out of Swansea’s trip to Napoli with a hamstring problem, Tim Sherwood has worries in defence for Tottenham’s clash with FC Dnipro and Alan Pardew praises the weekend display of young left-back Paul Dummett:

Blues Earn Turkish Stalemate

For last night’s trip to Galatasaray, Jose Mourinho made just three alterations from the side that edged past Everton on Saturday lunchtime. The Blues boss drafted in Ramires for the cup-tied Nemanja Matic alongside Frank Lampard in the double-pivot, whilst further up the field Andre Schurrle got the nod ahead of Oscar, and Fernando Torres was selected as the lone forward ahead of Samuel Eto’o. Cesar Azpilicueta supplied the assist for Torres’ opener in the 1-1 draw, whilst Oscar and John Obi Mikel both recovered from injury to replace Eden Hazard and Schurrle as second-half substitutes.

After the match, Mourinho bemoaned his side’s inability to convert a number of chances:

“In the first half the game was our game and we had chances once more to kill the game. I am not critical of my strikers, because they gave a very good game. But overall when we got to counter-attacks situations, we are missing the last pass, the last control and the last choice. In the first half we had we have many occasions to do the second goal and the second goal would change completely the story of the game”.

The Blues boss also went on to discuss Torres’ contribution and admitted he subbed off the Spaniard midway through the second period due to a lack of match sharpness:

“Nando’s having a very acceptable season, he had two injuries in his best moments. The first was after he scored the winner against Man City and he was out for a month. After that he scored at Southampton and Hull, he had another injury but in the middle of that he was doing well and scoring some important goals. Today he gave a lot but obviously the gas was finished and I had to change him.”

The Scout Says: As his manager points out, Torres had started to develop a little consistency in the league prior to injury – scoring in three of his last four starts. Given the likelihood of rotation up top, though, there’s no guarantee his next start will be at Fulham on Saturday, with last night’s strike unlikely to be enough to persuade many investors this weekend…Once again, Mourinho’s back-four remained unchanged last night, with Azpilicueta’s attacking display maybe set to convince Fantasy managers he’s worth a punt. Priced at 5.5 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, the Spaniard is the cheapest option at the back in the Premier League’s tightest defence, yet is owned by less than 5% of managers due to a lack of attacking returns. With the Blues set for a trip to Fulham and home clash with Tottenham in the next two, interest in their options is picking up, though Lampard’s back-to-back starts perhaps raises a question mark over his place in the weekend XI at Craven Cottage – Matic’s expected return could see the veteran drop to the bench as Mourinho rotates in the middle.

Ozil Back in Training

The Arsenal playmaker confirmed via Facebook he has returned to full training ahead of Arsenal’s weekend visit to Stoke.

The Scout Says: Sidelined for last Saturday’s win over Sunderland due to a thigh injury, Ozil’s absence saw the Gunners register one of their most decisive displays of the season. Having peaked at 10.8 in FPL, a woeful run of form has seen the German’s price plummet to 9.7 after he returned a single assist over his last eight league appearances. Ozil’s loyal 13% of Fantasy owners may be convinced to hold for this week, then but, with a blank Gameweek 29 preceding a dire run of matches (tot, che, MCY, eve), Arsenal’s main assets are likely to be earmarked for the exit door until a kinder run from Gameweek 34 onwards.

Shelvey Out of Napoli Clash

Garry Monk has ruled Jonjo Shelvey out of contention for this evening’s Europa League trip to Napoli. The Swansea boss – who is hopeful Michu will be back training this week – went on to confirm he is optimistic of a weekend return for Shelvey at home to Crystal Palace:

“Jonjo has a slight hamstring so we are not risking him for Thursday, but he should be available for the weekend “.

The Scout Says: Shelvey’s long-range strike against Liverpool last weekend saw him arrive on our radars only for a hamstring problem to force him off at the break. The midfielder has netted in two of his last three appearances now, taking his tally for the season to five goals and four assists – providing he can prove his fitness, the 5.3-priced Shelvey may be a worthwhile differential to consider, with home games against West Brom and Norwich also on his agenda in the next five.

Pardew Praise for Dummett

The Newcastle boss took time out to laud the left-back’s overall display against Villa on Sunday afternoon.

“Young Dummett did terrific, I thought. He was under a lot of pressure to replace Davide. I thought he did very well. The set-plays were an up. We actually looked like we might score from a set-play because the delivery was very good from Dummett. That was a bonus”.

The Scout Says: With Davide Santon missing out due to a knee problem, Dummett was handed his second start in the last three league matches at home to Paul Lambert’s side. The return of Fabricio Coloccini helped the Tyneside team to their first home shut out since Gameweek 10, and with games against Hull, Fulham and Palace in the next four, Newcastle’s schedule offers optimism as Pardew looks to kick on from Sunday’s win. Obviously, much depends on the availability of Santon, but if Dummett can earn regular game time, a price of 3.9 and a fair share of corner kicks could help sneak him onto our radars.

Full-Back Concerns Grow for Tottenham

Tim Sherwood has confirmed that Kyle Walker and Danny Rose are both unavailable for this evening’s Europa League clash with FC Dnipro. Walker remains sidelined with the hip injury that forced him to miss Sunday’s loss at Norwich, whilst Rose picked up a knee problem in the Carrow Road defeat. The Spurs boss is also without Younes Kaboul for tonight’s clash but remains hopeful the centre-half will be fit in time for the weekend game against Cardiff at White Hart Lane.

The Scout Says: With Vlad Chiriches also injured, Sherwood has a dilemma in defence if the current injury situation fails to improve by the weekend. Only two games ago, the Spurs boss named Walker, Kaboul and Rose alongside Jan Vertonghen in the 4-0 romp at Newcastle but could be forced to operate with Kyle Naughton and Ezequiel Fryers either side of Vertonghen and Michael Dawson. Ironically, Dawson looks to have benefitted from the injuries just when it appeared he had lost his first-team place – a potential return for Kaboul could see Vertonghen shifted to left-back in order to cover for Rose’s potential absence. Nonetheless, the north London club will be heavily backed to register a clean sheet, given that the Bluebirds have drawn blanks in five of their seven league fixtures under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.