Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League Team News - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

Burnley/Sunderland - Hard to imagine that the early match is going to be worthy of being on TV just about everywhere the Prem can be seen.  Not much news that will make fantasy managers scramble to switch up their sides either.

Arsenal/Wigan - RvP should be a go but Arshavin and Almunia are still out; Go with Mannone at your own risk but Cesc is always more valuable when Arshavin isn't present as he is the undisputed fulcrum of the attack.  All hands are on deck for Wigan.

Bolton/Stoke - Elmander is back; Gardner will probably play some; Lawrence and Eth should inject some attacking inspiration for Stoke while the man who is expected to cash in (that's Big Fat James Beattie) is a major doubt.  Fuller is even more interesting with Lawrence and Eth available to help get him the ball.

Villa/Pompey - They wrote an entire paragraph that said little other than Carew MAY get a start - not sure why they bothered.  Equally little to say about Pompey.

Hull/Brum - Fun news that JVoH may get his first start.  I'm not sure I'd do anything about this other than having a smile on my face on Saturday knowing that it is going to happen..  No word what it might mean for Jozy.  Brum is pretty much an entire team of injuries - Faddy, Queudrue, Jerome, Vignal, Bent, Taylor, Carsley, and Johnson.  Not exactly Manchester United's Treble Winning side but still going to be a lot to overcome.  Might be worth making some investments in Hull beyond Stephen Hunt.

WHU/Liverpool - Sounds like Diamanti might start but I'm not sure if you want to pick him up for the Liverpool match (might be worth watching for the future though); Masch should be back for Liv which is good for the value of Liverpool defenders and Reina but virtually worthless as news in its own right.  Aurelio is also fully fit but I'm not sure he'll actually play so that news may only be interesting to the Aurelio family.

ManYoo/Citeh - Rio seems unlikely meaning that Jonny Evans will slot into the "too expensive to consider based on the match-up" slot that Ferdinand previously held.  Berbs and Fletch are both likely but again, not sure I'd spend much time worrying about them until the competition gets easier.  For Citeh - looks like Robinho and Ireland will play while K2, RSC, and Carlito will all sit.  Amazing that Citeh will be lacking for strikers given all of their spending.

Wolves/Fulham - The interesting news here is that Kightly should be back.  I'm not sure if this match will be available on TV here but if I have a chance, I'm going to watch at least some of it so I have a better feel for whether he will be as productive in the Prem as he was in the Championship (is he another Ashley Young? or another Chris Eagles?).  Fullham appears to be fully healthy.  Not too much else of interest here unless you were thinking of starting Jody Craddock (and I'm not sure why you would be).

Everton/Rovers - Neill isn't ready yet, Bilyaletdinov is a doubt with a groin injury; PNev is out for a month so really not much of note to report from the Everton side; Rovers appear to be fully fit with Benni making it back from his ankle injury.

Chelsea/Spurs - A Joe Cole sighting against Porto (plus Deco's return to health) throws Chelsea's midfield into even more selection chaos (outside of Lamps) - you have to assume there's only a 50% chance than any given CHE midfielder outside of Lamps will start as Essien, Ballack, Deco, JCole, Malouda, and Mikel fight for 3 spots.  Drogs is back from Champions League suspension so expect him to start.  On the Spurs side of the pitch there isn't much to report other than a Gomes/Cudicini decision (you should have either vs. Chelsea at the Bridge) and Bale will be back (presumably to the bench if he even gets that far).

Good luck and remember not to make any rash Friday trades.

See you tomorrow morning for the Live Chat.

Cheers - Neal